The Sensex opened with a significant negative gap of 335 points at 13,666 on the back of negative news flow from the overseas markets. The US subprime crisis brought Lehman Brothers on the verge of bankruptcy as it was unable to find a buyer, while Bank of America bought another ailing firm - Merrill Lynch.
The selling bias was so intense that the index collapsed to a low of 13,151 - down 850 points from the previous close. The index, however, recovered partially towrads the close on the back of selective buying in auto, banking and FMCG stocks.
The Sensex finally ended (provisional) with a loss of 517 points at 13,483.