Indian stock markets fall for third day as crude prices and foreign outflows weigh

Indian stock market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty fell for a third consecutive day on Wednesday, driven by rising crude oil prices, elevated global bond yields, and foreign fund outflows. The Sensex declined 48.78 points to close at 72,480.29, while the Nifty dropped 95.75 points to 22,620.45. The losses came despite the Sensex gaining 533 points intraday, with fag-end selling erasing gains. Brent crude rose 0.54 percent to USD 103.1 per barrel, while Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth ₹9,980.22 crore on Tuesday. Major laggards included Eternal, Sun Pharma, and Titan, while Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank gained. Market analysts cited profit booking at higher levels and uncertainty over regional conflicts affecting energy supplies as key factors. Asian markets showed mixed results, with South Korea's Kospi falling while Shanghai, Japan, and Hong Kong indices rose. US markets ended lower on Tuesday.