The Sensex opened with a positive gap of 47 points at 15,358. Fresh buying in morning trades saw the index rally to a fresh high of 15,440.

Profit-taking emerged in mid-noon trades. Aggressive selling in metal and capital goods stocks saw the index tumble to a low of 15,272 - down 168 points from the day's high.

The Sensex finally ended the three-day winning streak with a marginal loss of 21 points at 15,290. The NSE Nifty ended 15 points down at 4,497.