India, Aug. 28 -- Stock markets declined for the second consecutive day on Thursday, with the benchmark Sensex dropping by 539 points due to last-minute selling in blue-chip shares such as HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries amid persistent geopolitical uncertainty.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 539.35 points, or 0.70 per cent, to settle at the day's low of 76,933.59 on the monthly derivatives-expiry day. The index traded with a negative bias for most of the day and fell sharply in the last 15 minutes of the session.

Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 116.90 points, or 0.48 per cent, to end at the day's low of 24,090.85.

HDFC Bank was the biggest loser among 30 Sensex firms, dropping by 2.08 per cent following news of a US clas...