Defense & Geopolitical Fragmentation▲impact 4
Indian Shares Open Lower Amid Middle East Chaos
Indian shares traded notably lower on Monday as U.S. forces struck Iran for a ninth consecutive day and Iran retaliated by firing missiles toward Jordan, risking a wider conflict. The benchmark BSE Sensex was down 640 points, or 0.8 percent, at 77,512 in early trade while the broader NSE Nifty index fell 170 points, or 0.7 percent, to 24,163. Brent crude prices rose above $90 a barrel for the first time since mid-June, fanning inflation fears and clouding the interest-rate outlook. Reliance Industries rose over 1 percent after beating Q1 expectations, while HDFC Bank slumped 4.7 percent despite a 5 percent year-on-year rise in standalone net profit. ICICI Bank gained about 1 percent after its Q1 consolidated net profit jumped 14 percent, and JSW Steel advanced 1.2 percent after its consolidated net profit more than doubled for the quarter ended June.