Aug 18 (Reuters) - Indian share benchmarks extended their losing streak on Tuesday, as fading hopes of an imminent end to the Iran war kept crude oil prices elevated, stoking inflation concerns globally and triggering a selloff in bonds.
Iran threatened a "fully offensive" military posture as efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war with the U.S. have stalled, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, while Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement that has now expired.
The Nifty 50 fell 0.55% to 24,154.9 and the BSE Sensex lost 0.63% to 77,235.46. This was Nifty's sixth straight losing session, while the Sensex has fallen in five of the last six sessions.
Twelve of the 16 major sectors fell. The broader and mostly domestic demand-driven small-caps ended flat, while mid-caps fell 0.4%.
Brent crude hovered around $91 per barrel, rising about 9% in less than two weeks. Sustained higher crude prices could also rekindle inflation worries for India, the world's third-largest oil importer.
"Market sentiment remains fluid as the Middle East crisis has spilled over into bond yields, particularly in the United States. If yields remain elevated, it would not bode well for risk assets globally," said Pankaj Pandey, head of retail research at ICICI Securities.
Higher Treasury yields make India and other emerging markets relatively less attractive for foreign investors who have already sold a record $25 billion worth of local shares so far in 2026.
Global shares were also subdued, with MSCI's broadest index for Asia Pacific shares outside Japan and Europe's STOXX 600 both logging losses.
The IT index, which gets a major portion of its revenue from the U.S., fell 1.9% and topped sectoral losses.
Among stocks, Milky Mist jumped 29.6% in trading debut.
Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Harikrishnan Nair
Source: Reuters