Crude, Bank Stocks Sink Sensex, Nifty

Indian shares opened lower Wednesday, extending a three-day slide. The Sensex fell 403.54 points to 77,066.06, and the Nifty dropped 114.75 points to 24,070.05.

A jump in crude oil past $92 a barrel and a broad selloff in banking stocks drove the move. Brent crude rose 1.15% to $92.06. Elevated crude prices and geopolitical tensions have tempered risk appetite, one market participant said.

Eight of the 30 Sensex stocks traded lower. InterGlobe Aviation, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, UltraTech Cement, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the major laggards. Titan, Eternal, Maruti and Asian Paints posted gains.

Asian markets were mixed. South Korea's KOSPI jumped 5.16%. Japan's Nikkei and Shanghai's SSE Composite traded higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell.

Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,650.16 crore on Tuesday, exchange data showed.