(RTTNews) – Indian shares were notably lower on Wednesday as renewed tensions in the Gulf region raised concerns about further disruptions to global oil supplies.
Brent crude prices rose toward $100 a barrel after Iran launched a barrage of missiles targeting U.S. military positions in Jordan and warned all tanker crews in Bahraini and Kuwaiti to “immediately abandon their vessels”, whether at anchor or at berth in ports.
The attacks came after the U.S. destroyed five Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island, a major crude export hub, in response to alleged attempts by Iran to target a U.S. warship with ballistic missiles twice over two days.
Rising global bond yields also weighed on markets ahead of crucial U.S. inflation data due this week, which could influence expectations regarding a potential Fed rate increase at its September 15-16 meeting.
The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex was down 620 points, or 0.8 percent, at 74,958 while the NSE Nifty index dropped 163 points, or 0.7 percent, to 23,473.
IT stocks led losses, with TCS, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Infosys tumbling 3-4 percent as chipmakers extended gains elsewhere in Asia on sustained optimism around artificial intelligence.
Among other prominent decliners, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever and HDFC Bank were down 1-2 percent.
Fusion Finance fell 2.2 percent after transferring a stressed loan of Rs. 35.20 crore to an Asset Reconstruction Company.
Enviro Infra Engineers soared nearly 6 percent on bagging a Rs. 189.99 crore wind EPC order from Tata Power Renewable Energy.
NLC India gained 1 percent on securing a 200 MW wind project.
Innovision skyrocketed 12 percent after bagging a Rs. 24.53-crore NHAI contract.
