Indian stock markets declined Friday as weak global signals pressured sentiment.

Indian stock markets declined Friday as weak global signals pressured sentiment. The Sensex dropped 450 points while Nifty fell 122 points, reflecting overnight losses on Wall Street where the Dow fell 1.6 percent and the S&P 500 slid 0.6 percent. Geopolitical tensions in West Asia intensified selling pressure, with European natural gas futures surging nearly 70 percent after Qatar suspended LNG loadings following Iranian strikes. However, a US Treasury waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian crude in transit for 30 days provided partial relief to markets. The waiver is expected to ease global oil supply pressures and support the Indian rupee. Gold and silver gained ground amid market volatility, while crude oil futures showed mixed movement across international and domestic exchanges.