Indian equity benchmark indices ended lower for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, with the Sensex declining nearly 374 points and the Nifty settling below the 24,000-mark amid heightened geopolitical tensions in West Asia and rising crude oil prices.
The Sensex closed at 76,570.35, down 373.93 points or 0.49 per cent, while the Nifty settled at 23,914.45, lower by 141.35 points or 0.59 per cent.
The decline was broad-based, with all broad-market indices ending in negative territory. Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto was the worst performer, falling more than one per cent, followed by the IT sector.
On the BSE, Adani Ports, Power Grid, NTPC, Titan, ITC, Reliance Industries, Trent, Bajaj Finance and Larsen & Toubro were among the top gainers.
Infosys, M&M, Tech Mahindra, SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Eternal, IndiGo and Tata Steel emerged among the major laggards.
On the NSE, Coal India, NTPC, Adani Ports, Power Grid, TMPV, Reliance Industries, ITC, L&T, ONGC and Titan were among the gainers.
Eicher Motors, Infosys, Sun Pharma, Eternal, Kotak Bank, Grasim, Axis Bank, Trent, Cipla, Hindalco, IndiGo, Hindustan Unilever, SBI Life, BEL and HCL Tech were among the major drags.
In the commodity market, Brent crude was trading at around USD 94.87 per barrel, while crude oil was quoted at around USD 90.37 per barrel at the time of reporting.
The sustained rise in crude prices and geopolitical uncertainty continued to weigh on investor sentiment, keeping domestic equities under pressure.
