Sensex, Nifty End With Small Losses

(RTTNews) - 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.

A cautious undertone prevailed as comments from U.S. President Donald Trump raised fears of U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict.

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".

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.

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 hard.

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.

The mid-cap and small-cap indexes on the BSE fell around 0.3 percent each. The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,449 shares declining while 1,530 shares advanced and 136 shares closed unchanged.

Among the prominent decliners, NTPC, Bajaj FinServ, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, Adani Ports and TCS declined 1-2 percent.

IndusInd Bank surged 4.4 percent after global brokerage firm Nomura raised its price target on the stock.

Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Titan Company shares rallied 1-2 percent.