Mumbai, June 17 || The Indian stock markets closed lower on Tuesday after a weak trading session, as escalating geopolitical tensions and concerns over inflation due to high crude oil prices kept investors on edge.
The cautious mood came after US President Donald Trump issued a strong warning to Iran, saying Tehran should have opted for a nuclear deal with the United States amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Both the benchmarks opened flat and briefly moved higher, but quickly lost momentum as selling pressure intensified through the session.
The Sensex fell by 212.85 points to settle at 81,583.30, after touching an intra-day low of 81,427. The Nifty also ended lower by 93.10 points, closing at 24,853.40.
"The benchmark equity index experienced moderate losses amid rising risk of an escalation of conflicts in the Middle East ahead of the FOMC meeting,” said Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments Limited.
“This uncertainty pushed Brent crude prices higher -- an unfavourable development for India, given its heavy reliance on oil imports, thereby dampening earnings growth,” Nair added.
Broader markets followed suit, with the Nifty Midcap100 and Nifty Smallcap100 indices falling 0.79 per cent and 0.82 per cent, respectively.
Sector-wise, only the IT sector managed to stay in positive territory. The rest saw selling across the board.