Indian markets ended lower for the third straight session as the benchmark index fell 75 points to end at 4,988 on Thursday. The Sensex ended much below 17K at 16,789, down 219 points.

Global stock markets dropped on Thursday, with a number of markets in Asia and Europe lower by 1 per cent or more.

Weakness on Wall Street and uncertainty about Chinese stimulus measures that have pumped up the country's economy led investors across the globe to take profits from the recent rally.

Investors were spooked by losses on Wall Street late on Wednesday after a leading analyst downgraded major U.S. bank Wells Fargo & Co, touching off more fears about the financial sector. That combined with growing anxiety about the pace of the market's rise to drag the Dow Jones index below the 10,000 level.

Meanwhile, news China's economy expanded at a heady 8.9 percent in the third quarter, in line with market expectations, gave investors few reasons to wade deeper into the markets.

While the figures were seen as mostly encouraging, some analysts said Chinese exports and private investment continued to lag, suggesting growth was still largely the result of enormous government stimulus spending.