India, Sept. 2 -- Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally lower on Tuesday as elevated crude oil prices and fresh US-Iran tensions weighed on investor sentiment.

After a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended lower by 12.99 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 76,944.28. At 3:12 pm, the benchmark was at the 76,685.48 level, down 271.79 points, but recovered most of the losses during the Closing Auction Session (CAS), which was introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) from August 3 in a phased manner.

During the day, the benchmark dropped 301.15 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 76,656.12.

The 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 24.60 points, or 0.10 per cent, to end at 24,055.80 on the weekly expiry day. The N...