Indian Shares Slide As US Renews Strikes On Iran

(RTTNews) - Indian shares fell notably on Tuesday after American forces hit missile launch sites in Iran and boats trying to place mines, denting hopes of an imminent peace deal.

The rupee slipped to 95.43 against the dollar in early trade while Brent crude futures for August delivery jumped more than 3 percent above $96 a barrel after the U.S. conducted 'self-defense strikes' on Iranian missile launch sites and boats near the Strait of Hormuz, clouding the outlook for an interim deal between Washinton and Tehran.

Elsewhere, the Israeli military has begun a wave of strikes against Hezbollah in the Bekaa Vally in the east of Lebanon and other parts of the country following an announcement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his country will intensify its attacks on Hezbollah.

Defense forces across the Gulf are on high alert as Iran pressed ahead with waves of missile and drone attacks on the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain.

In other geopolitical news, Russia has threatened to launch a fresh wave of "systematic strikes" targeting command centers, military sites and drone facilities in Kyiv, while urging diplomats and foreign nationals to evacuate the Ukrainian capital.

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell by 479.26 points, or 0.63 percent, to 76,009.70 after having risen 1.4 percent on Monday on hopes for a deal between Washington and Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz.

The NSE Nifty index dropped 118 points, or 0.49 percent, to 23,913.70 while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes edged up by 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. The market breadth was slightly positive on the BSE, with 2,175 shares rising while 2,027 shares declined and 183 shares closed unchanged.

Among the prominent decliners, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Titan Company, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, TCS and Trent al fell around 1 percent.

Among those that gained, Eternal added around 1 percent and Tech Mahindra shares climbed 1.7 percent.