(RTTNews) - Indian shares fell for a fourth consecutive session on Tuesday as investors fretted about the oil price surge, a weakening rupee and continued foreign fund outflows. IT sector woes and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for austerity also spooked markets.
The rupee sank to a new record low of 95.63 against the dollar, bonds remained under pressure and Brent crude prices climbed above $107 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran's counteroffer to end the war as "unacceptable", adding the month-old ceasefire with Iran is "unbelievably weak" and on "massive life support."
Trump called Iran's response to his peace proposal a "piece of garbage" and said he "didn't even finish reading it."
Reports indicated that the Trump administration may consider military action against Iran due to growing frustration over deadlocked negotiations.
Saudi Aramco officials have warned that even if the Strait of Hormuz blockade ended immediately, global oil markets may not fully stabilize until 2027.
Elsewhere, Israel has launched new air strikes targeting Tehran and expanded its military campaign to include attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
The benchmark BSE Sensex plummeted by 1,456.04 points, or 1.92 percent, to 74,559.24, extending losses for a fourth consecutive session.
The NSE Nifty index plunged 436.30 points, or 1.83 percent, to 23,379.55 while the mid-cap and small-cap indexes on the BSE lost 2.6 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
The market breath was weak on the BSE, with 3,392 shares falling while 887 shares rose and 131 shares closed unchanged.
IT stocks bore the brunt of the selling on AI disruption concerns after OpenAI announced the launch of OpenAI Deployment Company with an initial investment of $4 billion to help organizations deploy AI systems across critical business operations. Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra tumbled 3-4 percent. Among other prominent decliners, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj FinServ, Trent, Bajaj Finance, BEL, Titan and Adani Ports declined 3-4 percent.
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