Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Wednesday after three days of rally, dragged down by selling pressure in HDFC Bank and unabated foreign fund outflows.

Halting its three-day rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 117.58 points or 0.16 per cent to settle at 72,987.03. During the day, it lost 281.95 points or 0.38 per cent to 72,822.66.

The NSE Nifty dipped 17.30 points or 0.08 per cent to 22,200.55.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, JSW Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and Titan were the major laggards.

In contrast, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro and HCL Technologies were among the major gainers.

In Asian markets, Tokyo settled in the positive territory while Shanghai ended lower. Markets in South Korea and Hong Kong were closed for a holiday.

European markets were trading mostly higher. Wall Street ended with gains on Tuesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.21 per cent to USD 82.55 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,065.52 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark climbed 328.48 points or 0.45 per cent to settle at 73,104.61 on Tuesday. The NSE Nifty went up 113.80 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 22,217.85.

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