Mumbai, June 18 -- Equity benchmarks ended slightly lower today, marking their second straight day of losses, as rising geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran weighed on investor sentiment. Early gains fizzled out, dragged down by nervousness around Middle East instability and oil price volatility. Amid the volatility, auto and consumer discretionary stocks bucked the trend, rising on optimism around a potential demand revival. The Nifty settled below the 24,850 mark.

Attention now turns to the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy verdict due later tonight. With inflation risks looming, fueled by recent tariff threats, investors are betting the Fed might hold rates steady.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 138.64 points or 0.17% to 81,444.66....