Indian Shares End Off Day's Lows

(RTTNews) - Indian shares recouped some early losses on Wednesday but still ended lower due to tariff concerns and lingering uncertainty over U.S.-Iran peace negotiations.

Tariff worries returned to the fore after the U.S. Trade Representative proposed slapping 12.5 percent additional duties on 54 countries, including India, for forced-labor practices.

The new tariffs, if implemented, would enable U.S. President Donald Trump to skirt limits on his tariffs imposed by the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, oil prices continued to rise, with Brent crude futures climbing nearly 3 percent toward $99 a barrel following reports that the U.S. military had thwarted Iranian missile attacks targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, and other locations in the region.

There is considerable uncertainty over U.S.-Iran negotiations aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for the energy market globally.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Iran has mined "large segments" of the Strait of Hormuz and peace talks could take several months to conclude.

Mixed signals from peace talks kept geopolitical uncertainty elevated. Iranian media had reported that talks with the U.S. were halted amid continued fighting in Lebanon.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump said reports of stalled talks were "fake news" and that the two sides have been "continuously" having conversations.

The OECD has sharply cut its global growth outlook and warned that a prolonged U.S.-Iran conflict could push global growth close to recession levels.

A weakening rupee on the back of continued foreign fund outflows and caution ahead of the RBI's upcoming monetary policy decision also kept investors nervous.

The benchmark BSE Sensex hit an intraday low of 73,492 before recovering some lost ground to end down 303.67 points, or 0.41 percent, at 74,346.17.

The NSE Nifty index settled 77.95 points, or 0.33 percent, lower at 23,405.60, after having hit a low of 23,151 earlier.

The BSE mid-cap index fell about half a percent while the small-cap index ended little changed.

The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,398 shares falling while 1,814 shares advanced and 174 shares closed unchanged.

IT stocks succumbed to heavy profit booking after recent string of gains. Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and TCS slumped 4-8 percent.

Among other prominent decliners, Larsen & Toubro, Eternal and ITC fell 1-2 percent. Among the top gainers, Power Grid Corp, Trent, ICICI Bank, SBI and Indigo all rose over 1 percent.