Mumbai, Jun 24 (IANS): The Indian stock market snapped its four-day gaining streak on Wednesday as the indices plunged in the last two hours of trade tracking a global sell-off.

The BSE Sensex settled below the psychological mark of 35,000 points after gaining over 270 points earlier in the day.

Heavy selling pressure was witnessed in the banking and finance stocks. The S&P BSE Banking index closed 4.08 per cent lower and the Finance index was down 2.91 per cent.

Rahul Sharma, Research Head at Equity99 Advisors, said: "We witnessed a sharp correction today as traders were seen unwinding long positions in private sector banks, NBFC, auto and pharma stocks ahead of derivative expiry on Thursday."

He added that negative clues in the global markets also added to the sell-off. A surge in the number of coronavirus cases globally added to the investors' woes, Sharma said.

The BSE Sensex closed at 34,868.98, lower by 561.45 points or 1.58 per cent from the previous close of 35,430.43.

It had opened at 35,679.74 and touched an intra-day high of 35,706.55 and a low of 34,794.93 points.

The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange closed at 10,305.30, lower by 165.70 points or 1.58 per cent from its previous close.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints (up 3.73 per cent), ITC (up 3.17 per cent) and Nestle India (0.98 per cent), while the major losers were IndusInd Bank (down 7.43 per cent), ICICI Bank (7.35 per cent) and Power Grid (down 4.79 per cent).