India, Sept. 4 -- Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty buckled under fag-end selling pressure for the fourth straight session on Thursday as rising crude oil prices and losses in IT stocks weighed on investor sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 417.49 points, or 0.55 per cent, to close at 76,152.86. The index opened higher and rose 354.13 points, or 0.46 per cent, to hit an intraday high of 76,924.48 before paring gains during the closing session. A total of 2,545 stocks advanced, while 1,778 declined and 223 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 41 points, or 0.17 per cent, to settle at 23,873.45.

The early market rebound, supported by a recovery in global equities and recent foreign capital inflows...