Indian stock markets ended lower on Wednesday, with the Sensex falling 352.64 points, or 0.48 per cent, to close at 73,246.03 and the Nifty 50 slipping 50.90 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 22,698.85, as a sharp rise in crude oil prices and heavy selling in information technology stocks weighed on sentiment.

The benchmarks had opened sharply lower and at one point during the session the Sensex touched an intraday low of 72,603.57 while the Nifty fell to 22,497.70, before recovering part of the losses by the close. The previous session had ended almost flat, with the Sensex at 73,598.67 and the Nifty at 22,749.75.

Crude surge sets the tone

The trigger for the sell-off came from the oil market. Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed above $115 a barrel during the day, rising more than 1 per cent, after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis claimed a missile strike on Saudi Arabia's largest refinery at Ras Tanura. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the strike, but the claim was enough to revive concerns about supply disruptions in the Gulf.

India, which imports the bulk of its crude oil, is sensitive to such spikes: higher oil prices raise fuel and transport costs and can widen the import bill. Analysts said the crude spike, combined with selling in IT stocks, overshadowed otherwise steady domestic cues, and investors were also waiting for the United States Federal Reserve's policy guidance on the interest-rate path into December.

IT and Reliance drag, healthcare and autos gain

Within the Nifty 50, Infosys was among the biggest losers, falling 3.43 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries, down 3.19 per cent, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, down 2.16 per cent, Tech Mahindra, down 1.92 per cent, and Bharti Airtel, down 1.55 per cent. Sectorally, Nifty Oil and Gas fell about 2.3 per cent and Nifty IT about 2 per cent, while energy and realty also declined.

On the gaining side, Apollo Hospitals rose 4.43 per cent, Larsen and Toubro gained 3.72 per cent after reporting a 32.5 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for the September quarter to Rs 5,202.10 crore, Trent rose 3.31 per cent, SBI Life gained 2.06 per cent and IndiGo 2.03 per cent. Nifty Auto led sectoral gains at about 1.45 per cent, with consumer durables and media also higher, and the midcap and smallcap indices closed in positive territory even as large caps fell.

A debut that could not lift the day

The session also marked the debut of Jio Platforms, whose shares listed at a premium of about 21.4 per cent to the issue price after a Rs 30,213-crore offering subscribed more than 22 times. The strong listing was not enough to offset the pressure from oil and IT stocks.

Foreign institutional investors had bought equities worth Rs 4,240.39 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. For now, traders say the near-term direction will depend on whether crude cools, how the Fed guides markets, and whether earnings in the coming days justify current valuations.