Indian Shares End Lower As Brent Nears $90 A Barrel

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended Tuesday's session lower after Brent crude futures topped $90 a barrel amid fading hopes for a deal between Washington and Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global energy supplies.

Iran said a pact with Oman to establish a shipping route through the critical waterway was "very close," while rejecting direct negotiations with Washington until several conditions are met.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. is semi-negotiating with Iran and wants Iran to remain under economic pressure.

After Tehran sought financial compensation over damages incurred during the U.S.-Israeli military operations in the country, Trump said he has instructed American representatives to firmly include compensation demands from Iran in any future negotiations, complicating efforts to reopen the crucial waterway.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 388.19 points, or 0.49 percent, to 78,154.25, while the NSE Nifty index fell 112.10 points, or 0.46 percent, to 24,471.70 amid the weekly contracts' expiry.

The BSE mid-cap index ended little changed while the small-cap index inched up 0.2 percent.

The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,266 shares falling while 2,044 shares advanced and 200 shares closed unchanged.

Selling was broad-based, with Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC, Power Grid Corp, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Indigo, Axis Bank and UltraTech Cement falling 1-3 percent.