Indian Shares Edge Lower As Gulf Tensions Spike

(RTTNews) - Indian shares were notably lower on Monday as crude oil prices jumped more than 4 percent in international markets amid renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The U.S. has launched a fresh round of military strikes against Iran after Iranian forces fired at commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, further straining a fragile ceasefire between the two countries.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was down 447 points, or 0.6 percent, at 77,123 while the broader NSE Nifty index dipped 129 points, or half a percent, to 24,077.

UltraTech Cement, Bajaj FinServ, BEL, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Steel were down 1-2 percent.

HDFC Bank dropped 1.4 percent on fund raising reports.

InterGlobe Aviation fell over 2 percent after receiving warning from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) over issues in how the airline handled dangerous goods.

Avenue Supermarts, which operates the DMart retail chain, fell 2.4 percent on concerns about slowing same-stores sales growth and increasing pressure from quick commerce in metro markets.

NMDC declined 1.4 percent after the miner reduced domestic iron ore prices amid softer international prices and the onset of the monsoon season.

IT stocks traded higher, with HCL Technologies rising about 1 percent ahead of its earnings release later today. Peer TCS rallied more than 2 percent and Tech Mahindra added half a percent.