Indian Shares End Lower As Iran Crisis Deepens

(RTTNews) - Indian shares slumped on Monday as the Iran-Israel-U.S. war entered its 10th day and the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade route, remained shut for the sixth consecutive day.

Oil prices surged past $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022 as investors braced for a potentially prolonged standoff in the Middle East and a global energy crisis.

Earlier, WTI crude futures soared over 20 percent to $110 a barrel and Brent crude futures added more than 24 percent at $115 a barrel, following production cuts by major Middle Eastern producers—including Kuwait, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

The economic fallout from surging oil prices is expected to significantly impact India's trade deficit and inflation.

Every $10 per barrel increase in crude oil prices is estimated to widen India's trade deficit by approximately 30 percent and boost retail inflation by 49-58 basis points.

The benchmark BSE Sensex ended down 1,352.74 points, or 1.71 percent, at 77,566.16 after hitting a low of 76,424.55 earlier.

The broader NSE Nifty index hit an intraday low of 23,697.80 before recovering some lost ground to close down 422.40 points, or 1.73 percent, at 24,028.05.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes tumbled 2 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 3,376 shares falling while 975 shares rose and 185 shares closed unchanged.

Among the prominent decliners, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, IndiGo, SBI, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki India and UltraTech India plummeted 3-5 percent.