Indian Shares End Lower As Oil Rebounds After Ship Attacks

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended modestly lower on Friday as heightened maritime tensions in the Middle East offset softer U.S. inflation data as well as eased concerns over Federal Reserve rate path.

Brent crude futures rebounded to around $88 a barrel as talks to end the Middle East conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz remained deadlocked.

The United States indicated that it would maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely and would ratchet up economic pressure on Tehran amid stalemate in talks.

Abu Dhabi National Oil company said two of its vessels were attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday evening, intensifying concerns over commercial shipping and global energy supplies.

The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex hit its lowest level since July 29 before closing down 70.71 points, or 0.091 percent, at 78,009.25.

The NSE Nifty index dropped 29.85 points, or 0.12 percent, to 24,366 despite a positive global backdrop.

The mid-cap and small-cap indexes on the BSE fell 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,322 shares falling while 1,952 shares rose and 228 shares closed unchanged.

Among the prominent decliners, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, SBI, Power Grid Corp, NTPC, Indigo and Asian Paints declined 1-2 percent.