Indian Shares End Marginally Lower Amid Middle East Turmoil

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended slightly lower on Tuesday amid escalating Middle East tensions and concerns over monetary tightening in the U.S.

Oil prices continued to surge and a global bond rout deepened, stoking fresh worries about inflation and interest-rate hikes.

Brent prices rose toward $92 a barrel on concerns about prolonged disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Iran traded fire for the first time in over a month.

The U.S. dollar index gained fresh traction as investors awaited key U.S. labor market data this week for additional clues on the Federal Reserve's rate trajectory.

Friday's U.S. August payrolls report and consumer price data due on September 11 will be key to assess the prospects of a Fed rate hike this month.

The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex swung between gains and losses before ending little changed at 76,944.28.

The NSE Nifty index slid 24.60 points, or 0.10 percent, to 24,055.80 despite the domestic economy recording robust GDP growth of 7.8 percent in the first quarter.

The BSE mid-cap index fell 0.7 percent while the small-cap index ended on a flat note.

The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,555 shares falling while 1,769 shares rose and 235 shares closed unchanged.

Among the prominent decliners, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj FinServ, Indigo, SBI and Maruti Suzuki India lost 2-4 percent.

Happiest Minds Technologies nosedived nearly 11 percent after the company announced a merger with ITC Infotech.

Jewelry stocks slumped after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Indian citizens to rethink discretionary spending, including limiting excessive gold purchases for a year.

Kalyan Jewelers plunged 6.6 percent, Augmont Enterprises tumbled 4.6 percent and Titan Company shares fell 1.6 percent.

Among those that gained, ITC jumped 4 percent after the announcement of Happiest Minds-ITC Infotech merger deal.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Infosys and HCL Technologies rallied 2-3 percent.