Indian stocks ended 1.3 per cent lower on Wednesday, their third session of falls, as global markets slumped after a decline in crude prices.

The 30-share BSE index Sensex plunged 315.68 points or 1.29 per cent at 24,223.32 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 93.75 points or 1.26 per cent at 7,361.80.

All BSE sectoral indices ended significantly in the red. Among them, power index fell the most by 4.16 per cent, followed by capital goods 2.79 per cent, realty 2.63 per cent and infrastructure 2.3 per cent.

Major Sensex losers were BHEL (-4.86%), NTPC (-4.1%), Tata Steel (-3.24%), ICICI Bank (-3.09%) and Tata Motors (-2.79%), while the only three gainers were HUL (+2.66%), TCS (+0.65%), and Sun Pharma (+0.24%).

European shares fell on Wednesday, as weak earnings from some leading companies weighed on markets, although Syngenta surged after ChemChina agreed on a $43 billion bid for the Swiss seeds and pesticides group.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which fell 2 percent in the previous session, fell 0.6 percent in early session trading.

Asian shares tumbled on Wednesday as oil prices dropped for a third day, prompting investors to seek shelter in safe-haven assets and lifting bonds and gold to multi-month highs.

The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.1 per cent, led by a 3.0 per cent fall in Hong Kong shares.

But given the recent fall in the domestic share prices, traders view it as a buying opportunity and feel India will outperform once the current bout of selling is done.

"This is a pure global risk off trade. Nifty is trading at very attractive valuations and falling much lesser than other EM indices," said Samrat Dasgupta, CEO of Esquire Capital Investment Advisors.

"Once the global markets stabilise, India will see outsized gains as well. Company results have been in-line barring a few disappointments and macros continue to improve," he added.

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