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Indian shares ended slightly lower on Wednesday as investors kept a close watch on escalating developments in the Israel-Iran conflict and awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision later in the day. <\/p>\n
A cautious undertone prevailed as comments from U.S. President Donald Trump raised fears of U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict. <\/p>\n
Trump demanded “unconditional surrender” from Tehran, warning that U.S. patience was “wearing thin” and that America held “complete and total control over Iranian skies”.<\/p>\n
The dollar slipped today after Trump’s warning and the release of weak U.S. economic data. Oil prices eased but hovered close to five-month highs on concerns about potential disruptions to Iran’s crude oil exports.<\/p>\n
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil route, has become a focal point of concern, with investors fearing that disruption of oil flows through this narrow strait could hit the Indian economy<\/span> hard.<\/p>\n The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 138.64 points, or 0.17 percent, to 81,444.66 while the broader NSE Nifty index closed down 41.35 points, or 0.17 percent, at 24,812.05.<\/p>\n The mid-cap and small-cap indexes on the BSE fell around 0.3 percent each. Among the prominent decliners, NTPC, Bajaj FinServ, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, Adani Ports and TCS declined 1-2 percent. <\/p>\n IndusInd Bank surged 4.4 percent after global brokerage firm Nomura raised its price target on the stock.<\/p>\n Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan Company shares rallied 1-2 percent. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,449 shares declining while 1,530 shares advanced and 136 shares closed unchanged. <\/p>\n