Sensex, Nifty Extend Losses For Fourth Day

(RTTNews) - Indian shares extended losses for a fourth day running on Thursday due to heightened tensions in the Middle East and concerns about the outlook for U.S interest rates.

Geopolitical tensions persisted and there are fears that the conflict could worsen and spread beyond Gaza if Israel responds brutally to Iran.

According to The Times, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clarified that "their state will do everything necessary to defend itself."

Fed rate uncertainty also weighed after Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said that inflation is higher than expected and the U.S. central bank should not lower interest rates in a hurry.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended the session down 454.69 points, or 0.62 percent, at 72,488.99 after having rallied over 500 points to a high of 73,473 earlier in the day.

Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty index hit an intraday high of 22,326 before reversing course to finish down 152.05 points, or 0.69 percent, at 21,995.85.

Axis Bank, ONGC, Titan Company, Nestle India and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise fell 2-4 percent in the Nifty pack while Bharti Airtel jumped more than 4 percent on news that the telecom firm has inked a definitive agreement with Dialog & Axiata Group to merge operations in Sri Lanka.

Infosys, Hindalco, Bajaj Auto and Power Grid Corp climbed 1-3 percent.

Other Asian markets ended mostly higher and European stocks saw modest gains in early trade as the lack of an obvious Israeli or U.S. response to Iran's weekend attack on Israel offered some relief to investors worried about an escalating of the conflict.

The dollar was weaker in international markets, while oil extended losses on demand concerns.