Indian shares fluctuated before ending little changed on Tuesday as signs of escalating Middle East tensions offset expectations for more U.S. rate cuts and Chinas stimulus announcements.
Oil prices jumped more than 2 percent in European trade after Israel launched its biggest aerial offensive against Iran-backed Shite militant group Hezbollah.
Israels military said today it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight, a day after launching a wave of airstrikes against the Iran-backed groups sites in Lebanons deadliest day in decades.
Hezbollah said it had attacked several Israeli military targets, including an explosives factory 60 km (37 miles) into Israel, with the Fadi series of rockets.
The significant escalation of the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict offset last weeks big interest-rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve and a raft of stimulus measures unveiled by Chinas central bank to boost growth.
The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex fluctuated before ending the session down 14.57 points at 84,914.04 while the broader NSE Nifty index ended little changed with a positive bias at 25,940.40.
Metal stocks surged, with Hindalco and Tata Steel rallying more than 4 percent supported by Chinas stimulus measures.
Adani Enterprises, Tech Mahindra and Power Grid Corp climbed 2-3 percent while UltraTech Cement, Grasim, Hindustan Unilever and SI Life dropped 2-3 percent.