Sensex closes 72 pts lower; oil, metal stocks drag

Mumbai, Jun 24 The BSE Sensex Monday slipped by another 72 points, dragged by losses in oil and gas and metal stocks in the midst of rising US-Iran pressures.

After swinging nearly 300 points in a volatile session, the BSE gauge settled 71.53 points, or 0.18 percent, lower at 39,122.96. The record hit an intra-day low of 39,021.70 and a high of 39,300.02.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty dropped 24.45 points, or 0.21 percent, to 11,699.65. During the day, the list contacted a low of 11,670.20 and a high of 11,754.

ONGC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, finishing 3.48 percent lower.

Tata Steel, Vedanta, Bajaj Auto, TechM, RIL, Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, and Infosys too fell up to 2.33 percent.

On the other hand, Yes Bank, M&M, TCS, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Maruti and ITC rose up to 2.19 per cent.

The US on Monday was expected to fix authorizes on Iran as the two nations exchanged thorns a strained standoff started by Washington's withdrawal from an atomic arrangement.

As per merchants, household bourses turned uneven as unrefined petroleum costs continued ascending in the midst of rising strains between the US and Iran.

Brent unrefined fates, the worldwide oil benchmark, rose 0.16 percent to USD 64.55 per barrel.

Meanwhile, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended on a positive note, equity markets in Europe were trading in the red in early deals.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee appreciated 15 paise to 69.43 against the US dollar intra-day.