(RTTNews) – Indian shares ended slightly lower on Tuesday as oil prices remained elevated despite hopes the U.S. and Iran will resume peace negotiations.
Brent crude futures steadied around $89 a barrel, halting a recent rally as reports of mediation efforts between the United States and Iran helped ease worries over supply disruptions in the Middle East.
Axios reported that U.S. President Donald Trump is nearing a decision between a 10-day ceasefire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and a full-scale coordinated U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran.
Despite ceasefire reports, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, opening a fresh front in the war and stoking fears over global energy supplies.
Trade tensions also returned to the spotlight after Trump announced new 50 percent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian imports, citing what the administration calls discriminatory treatment of American products.
The latest tariffs mark another significant step in the Trump administration’s use of trade measures to pursue its America First economic agenda.
The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex ended down 238.41 points, or 0.31 percent, at 77,470.11 after remaining rangebound with a negative bias all through the day.
The NSE Nifty index dropped 50.80 points, or 0.21 percent, to 24,187.70 while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes rose 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
The market breadth was slightly positive on the BSE, with 2,190 shares rising while 2,014 shares fell and 195 shares closed unchanged.
Among the prominent decliners, Trent, Power Grid Corp, Infosys, TCS, SBI, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank fell 1-2 percent.
Among the top gainers, Titan Company, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, UltraTech Cement, Indigo and Bajaj FinServ rose 1-2 percent.
