West Asia tensions give Dalal Street a headache

Mumbai: India’s key stock gauges, led by banking and financial shares, slumped more than 1% each Monday on mounting concerns of an escalation in the West Asia conflict, while likely central bank intervention in the currency markets cushioned the rupee’s fall, but couldn’t prevent a record closing low for the unit. Benign inflation prospects on a lower-than-expected rise in oil prices kept bond yields steady.