Fresh buying in FMCG stocks saw the index touch a high of 16,506.
Intra-day profit taking in noon deals saw the index pare gains and drop to a low of 16,238. Banking and PSU stocks were hit the most.
The Sensex finally ended (provisional) with a loss of 84 points at 16,265.
The market breadth was negative - out of 2,758 stocks traded, 946 advanced, 1,734 declined and 78 were unchanged today.
The NSE Nifty was down 15 points at a close (provisional) of 4,860.
