Sensex ends down 363pts at 18,451

Mirroring weakness in the global maretks, the Sensex opened marginally lower at 18,795 - down 19 points. After slipping a bit further, the index rebounded into the positive zone and touched a fresh all-time intra-day high of 18,845 - up 31 points from the previous close.

However, the index was unable to hold gains for long and instead slipped back into red. A fresh round of profit-taking in the last session saw the index tumble to a low of 18,336 - down 509 points from the day's high. The Sensex finally ended (provisional) with a loss of 363 points at 18,451, after having gained 1,323 points in the last three trading days.