Brisk selling in financial, auto, and pharma counters ahead of the expiry of futures and options contracts (F&O) for June series, due tomorrow saw the benchmark indices ending over 1.5 per cent lower on Wednesday. Further, weak global cues due to a spike in coronavirus cases, too, added to the investors' woes.

The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 561 points or 1.6 per cent to 34,869 levels, with ICICI Bank (down 7 per cent), IndusInd Bank (down over 6 per cent), and Power Grid (down around 5 per cent) being the top losers. Of 30 constituents, 24 ended in the red and rest 6 in the green.

Asian Paints (up nearly 4 per cent) ended as the top gainer on the index. The stock rallied up to 7.68 per cent to Rs 1,813.10 during the session.

NSE's Nifty50 ended at 10,305, down 166 points or 1.6 per cent. Volatility index, India VIX, gained over 2 per cent to 29.99 levels.

Sectorally, all the indices on the NSE, barring Nifty FMCG, ended in the red. Nifty Bank tumbled 838 points or 3.76 per cent to end at 21,426.80 while Nifty Private Bank index declined 4 per cent to 11,739.45 levels. Nifty FMCG, on the other hand, ended around 0.5 per cent higher at 29,487.40 levels.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index fell 1 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index slipped 1.24 per cent.