Indian Shares End Range-bound Session Little Changed

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended a lackluster session little changed on Monday as uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz overshadowed growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates next month.

Brent crude prices remained elevated above $84 a barrel, building on gains of more than 5 percent over the previous three sessions after Tehran stressed that the United States must meet a number of conditions - including compensation, the lifting of sanctions, and an end to military threats - before access to the strategic waterway is restored.

U.S. President Donald Trump, however, signaled patience and suggested that he's prepared to allow economic pressure on Iran to mount rather than escalate militarily.

The benchmark BSE Sensex swung between gains and losses before closing up 43.27 points at 78,542.44.

The NSE Nifty index ended up by 13.15 points 24,583.80 after a range-bound trade. The BSE mid-cap index rose 0.2 percent and the small-cap index ended little changed.

The market breadth was neutral on the BSE, with 2,227 shares rising while 2,222 shares declined and 196 shares closed unchanged.

Asian Paints, Tata Steel, Bajaj FinServ, Bajaj Finance and Titan Company shares surged 1-3 percent while ITC, NTPC, Eternal and SBI dropped 1-2 percent.

Hitachi Energy India jumped 10.7 percent on strong quarterly results while Power Finance Corporation slumped 8 percent on concerns around its net interest income, margins and the growth outlook.

Paytm soared 10 percent on positive analyst commentary that UPI monetization could become its next major profit driver.