While the Russia-Ukraine war has kept stock market investors cautious, commodities are witnessing a bull run and experts believe it’s likely to continue.

On Thursday, Sensex shed 366.2 points to end at 55,102.7, and the broader Nifty50 benchmark settled at 16,498.1, down 107.9 points from its previous close. ONGC, UPL, Power Grid, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Indian Oil and Coal India rose the most whereas UltraTech, Asian Paints, HDFC Life, Shree Cement, Eicher Motors, SBI Life and Tata Consumer were the top laggards.

Meanwhile, crude oil inched closer to the $120 per barrel mark after hitting the highest level in almost a decade. Gold prices crossed $1900 per ounce, nearly at an all-time high.

Apart from market updates, in this edition of Top News Podcast, CNBCTV18.com’s Kanishka Sarkar shares the latest on the geopolitical tensions in Russia and Ukraine, assembly elections back home, the Future vs Amazon case, and more.

The war has entered its eighth day and the Russian military has intensified its assault on Ukrainian cities. Forces have captured at least one city Kherson in south Ukraine and pressed further into the strategic port towns of Odesa and Mariupol.

Meanwhile, the two sides are likely to meet for a second round of talks on ceasefire today. A Russian negotiator said a ceasefire was on the agenda, but Ukraine has said Moscow’s demands are unacceptable and Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities before any progress can be expected.

Back home, the Indian government has promised to evacuate all Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine within three days. So far, 17,000 Indians have left Ukraine but not all have been able to return yet. Nearly 4,000 Indian students have returned home until now and around 3,000 students are still estimated to be still in the war-hit country.

Voting for the sixth round of Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls was held today for 57 seats. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Congress' Ajay Kumar Lallu, and Samajwadi Party's Swami Prasad Maurya were among the big weights in the fray.

Meanwhile, political leaders continued to hold campaign rallies for the last phase of polls on March 7. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee campaigned for Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav in UP. During a rally, she accused PM Modi of being busy in poll meetings while Indians are stranded in war-hit Ukraine. Modi, on the other hand, alleged that the Opposition is trying to divide society for votes at a time when India needs to be strong to deal with "serious challenges" the world faces.

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