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The Indian benchmark indices traded higher on Thursday as the Sensex rose over 138 points to close at 74,902 and the Nifty increased more than 46 points to end at 23,447 at 3:30 PM.

Previously, during the early morning session, the Sensex opened the session over 74,800, climbing a little more than 50 points, while the NSE Nifty50 started trading near 23,450, rising merely 21 points, as of 9:15 AM.

Indian equities are expected to remain under pressure as elevated crude oil prices and rising US Treasury yields, amid persistent geopolitical tensions, continue to cloud the global macroeconomic outlook, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.20 per cent lower at USD 101 per barrel.

Elevated Oil Prices, Bond Yields Weigh On Risk Appetite

The combination of elevated energy prices and firming bond yields is likely to keep risk appetite subdued and weigh on emerging-market equities, including India, Ponmudi said.

While US President Donald Trump said the conflict with Iran could end immediately after the midterm elections, the lack of clarity over the path to de-escalation is keeping investors cautious and the geopolitical risk premium firmly embedded in energy markets, Ponmudi added.

Looking ahead, investors will closely watch upcoming US inflation data for fresh clues on the Federal Reserve's policy trajectory, he noted.

Asian Markets Trade Lower

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded lower.

US markets ended in negative territory on Wednesday.

FIIs Sell Rs 583 Crore

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 582.99 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the Sensex tanked 813.35 points, or 1.08 per cent, to settle at the day's low of 74,764.23.

The Nifty declined 203.60 points, or 0.86 per cent, to end at 23,431.50.