The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex opened 30 points higher at 15,993, and soon slipped into a negative zone in early trades after the government announced the hike in fuel prices.

The index touched a day's low of 15,442 -- down 520 points from its previous close due to heavy selling in metal, realty and power stocks. All the sectoral indices were in red today.

The Sensex finally ended (provisional) with a loss of 448 points at 15,515.

The NSE Nifty ended (provisional) with a loss 134 points at 4,582.

The market breadth was negative - out of 2,719 stocks traded, 1,944 declined, 700 advanced and 75 were unchanged on Wednesday.