Indian benchmark indices ended lower for the third consecutive session on October 22, with the Nifty slipping below 22,700 as escalating geopolitical tensions pushed crude oil prices above $110 per barrel.
Amid weak global cues, the market opened lower and remained in negative territory for most of the session. The Nifty fell below 22,600 intraday amid broad-based selling across sectors, but recovered from the day's low of 22,554.85 to close above 22,650.
At close, the Sensex was down 460.30 points or 0.62 percent at 73,249.39, and the Nifty was down 123.70 points or 0.54 percent at 22,687.65.
The broader markets continued to underperform the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices declining around 1 percent each.
Biggest Nifty losers were Nestle India, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, HDFC Life, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries, while gainers included Bajaj Finance, Cipla, SBI, Bajaj Auto and ICICI Bank.