Mumbai, March 11 The benchmark indices of the Indian stock market, Sensex and Nifty, ended nearly 2% lower on Wednesday after a day of recovery following a surge in crude oil prices amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
In addition, sustained outflows of foreign funds and selling in shares of major banks also contributed to the market's decline.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 1,342.27 points or 1.72%, closing at 76,863.71. During the day, it dropped by 1,446.72 points or 1.84%, closing at 76,759.26.
The 50-share NSE Nifty fell by 394.75 points or 1.63%, closing at 23,866.85.
Among the 30 companies in the Sensex, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Trent, Bharti Airtel, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the biggest losers.
Sun Pharma and NTPC were the gainers.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose by 5.76% to $92.86 per barrel.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 4,672.64 crore on Tuesday. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 6,333.26 crore.
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose by 1.43%, and South Korea's Kospi climbed by 1.40%. The Shanghai SSE Composite index also ended in positive territory, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed lower.
European markets were trading lower.
The US market closed flat on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the Sensex rose by 639.82 points or 0.82%, closing at 78,205.98. The Nifty climbed by 233.55 points or 0.97%, closing at 24,261.60.