MUMBAI: Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended nearly 2 per cent lower on Wednesday after a day's breather following a spike in crude oil prices amid growing tensions in West Asia.
Besides, sustained foreign fund outflows and selling in blue-chip bank stocks also drove the markets lower.
The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,342.27 points or 1.72 per cent to settle at 76,863.71. During the day, it dropped 1,446.72 points or 1.84 per cent to 76,759.26.
The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 394.75 points or 1.63 per cent to end at 23,866.85.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Trent, Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the major laggards.
Sun Pharma and NTPC were the gainers.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 5.76 per cent to USD 92.86 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,672.64 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 6,333.26 crore.
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.43 per cent and South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.40 per cent. Shanghai's SSE Composite index also ended in positive territory, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index settled lower.
Markets in Europe were trading lower.
The US market ended flat on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the Sensex jumped 639.82 points or 0.82 per cent to settle at 78,205.98. The Nifty climbed 233.55 points or 0.97 per cent to end at 24,261.60.