Mumbai, July 22 -- Key equity benchmarks extended their losses for a third straight session on Wednesday, with the Nifty closing below the 24,000 mark. Weakness was driven by rising crude oil prices, a sharp depreciation in the rupee, and profit booking in heavyweight stocks. Broader indices also remained under pressure. Sectorally, pharma, banks and IT stocks led the decline, while FMCG and auto bucked the trend. Among individual stocks, Bandhan Bank plunged 16% after a cautious management outlook.

The S&P BSE Sensex tumbled 715.06 points or 0.92% to 76,755.05. The Nifty 50 index fell 191.45 points or 0.79% to 23,996.25. Over the three consecutive sessions, the Sensex has lost 1.78%, while the Nifty has slipped 1.38%.

ICICI Bank (down ...