Sensex ends marginally lower, Brent jumps by 4%

Mumbai, June 13 (IANS) The Sensex on Thursday closed marginally lower after trading in the red throughout the session.

The rupee too depreciated by 16 paise after oil prices surged nearly 4 per cent amid reports of an attack on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman which added to the already-heightened tensions between Iran and the United States.

"The banking index continued its consolidation for the third consecutive week and the open interest activity in futures segment remained subdued," said Sneha Seth, Derivatives Analyst, Angel Broking.

The Sensex closed 15.45 points or 0.04 per cent lower at 39,741.36 while the Nifty settled at 11,914.05, down 7.85 points or 0.07 per cent.

"Asian markets were mixed even as suspected attacks on two tankers off the coast of Iran saw oil markets erupt out of their recent slump on Thursday and kept traders gobbling up ultra-safe government bonds, gold and the Japanese yen," Deepak Jasani of HDFC Securities said.

Indiabulls group stocks rose after declining in the early trade as Indiabulls Housing Finance said that the writ petition filed in the Supreme Court against the company and Sameer Gehlaut has been withdrawn.

"This improved sentiments although other troubled companies like Jet, DHFL and Yes Bank closed near their lows," Jasani added.

After hitting an all-time low of Rs 84.80 per share, the Jet Airways scrip closed 16 per cent lower on Thursday, a day after the exchanges decided to shift the security from Rolling Segment to Trade for Trade Segment.

Maruti Suzuki, Indian Oil Corporation, UPL, IndusInd Bank and Yes Bank finished as the top losers on Nifty. Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited, Zee Limited, BPCL, Grasim and Kotak Mahindra Bank settled as the top gainers.