Mumbai, June 19 || The Indian stock market closed lower on Thursday as investors remained cautious due to rising tensions between Iran and Israel, unstable crude oil prices, and concerns around US President Donald Trump's looming reciprocal tariffs.
The Sensex declined by 82.79 points, or 0.10 per cent, to close at 81,361.87. During the day, it moved between an intra-day high of 81,583.94 and a low of 81,191.04. Similarly, the Nifty also ended lower by 18.80 points, or 0.08 per cent, to settle at 24,793.25.
The uncertainty was heightened after the US Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.25 to 4.5 per cent.
"The Indian equity index experienced rangebound movement with a negative bias as cautious sentiment spread across the globe, driven by concerns over potential US involvement in the Middle-East conflict," said Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments Limited.
Investor mood was further affected by the Fed's decision to keep interest rates unchanged while signalling persistent inflation and slower economic growth, which weighed on software export stocks, Nair added.
In Sensex, the biggest drags on the index were Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, and Nestle India, which fell between 2.50 per cent and 1.28 per cent.