Equity indices slipped in the negative territory on Wednesday after a two-day breather, with the BSE Sensex tumbling 709.54 points following weak trends in global markets.

Unabated foreign fund outflows also played spoilsport for the bourses.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 709.54 points or 1.35 per cent to settle at 51,822.53. During the day, it declined 792.09 points or 1.50 per cent to 51,739.98.

The NSE Nifty fell 225.50 points or 1.44 per cent to end at 15,413.30.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Wipro, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finserv, Titan and Bajaj Finance were the major laggards.

On the other hand, TCS, HUL, PowerGrid and Maruti Suzuki India were the gainers.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo ended lower.

European markets were also trading in the red in mid-session deals.

The US markets recorded smart gains on Tuesday.

"Pull back rallies can be sharp and it was sharp yesterday. The important question is -- will this continue? There is no economic news, except the softness in crude, to sustain the rally.

"There is no reason for FIIs to change their selling strategy since the dollar continues to be strong and US bond yields are attractive and expected to rise further," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE Sensex had zoomed 934.23 points or 1.81 per cent, while the NSE Nifty climbed 288.65 points or 1.88 per cent on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dropped 4.19 per cent to USD 109.8 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 2,701.21 crore on Tuesday, as per exchange data.