Indian shares muted as rising Mideast tensions weigh
- The benchmark Nifty 50 fell 0.04% at 23,233.95
Indian shares opened little changed on Wednesday, as renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran clouded hopes for a durable ceasefire and kept global markets on edge.
The benchmark Nifty 50 fell 0.04% at 23,233.95, while the BSE Sensex gained 0.09% to 73,988.27, as of 9:15 a.m. IST.
Eleven of the 16 major sectors advanced at the open, but the gains were marginal. The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.
The Nifty and the Sensex each gained about 0.5% in the previous session, supported by the Reserve Bank of India’s forex swap facility for banks’ overseas foreign-currency borrowing and a pause in the Middle East hostilities.
Tensions flared again after the U.S. launched strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump said that Tehran had downed a U.S. Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.
Broader Asian stock markets fell 1.8%, as Brent crude rose 1% after sliding to a seven-week low on Tuesday.
Higher crude prices are a key risk for the world’s third-largest oil importer as they weigh on growth, squeeze corporate margins and add to inflation pressures.