Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled about 1.5 per cent on Thursday amid heavy foreign fund outflows and selling in HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries.

Declining for the third day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 1,062.22 points or 1.45 per cent to settle at 72,404.17. During the day, it tanked 1,132.21 points or 1.54 per cent to 72,334.18.

The NSE Nifty dived 345 points or 1.55 per cent to 21,957.50. During the day, it tumbled 370.1 points or 1.65 per cent to 21,932.40.

From the Sensex basket, Larsen & Toubro tanked over 5 per cent after March quarter earnings.

Asian Paints, JSW Steel, ITC, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Power Grid were among the laggards.

In contrast, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Infosys and HCL Tech were the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,669.10 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled with gains, while Seoul and Tokyo ended lower.

European markets were trading on a mixed note.

Wall Street closed mixed in overnight trade on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.48 per cent to USD 83.89 a barrel.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 45.46 points or 0.06 per cent to settle at 73,466.39 on Wednesday. The NSE Nifty remained unchanged at 22,302.50.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.