Mirroring a smart recovery in the global markets, the Sensex opened wtih a positive gap of 126 points. All round buying in morning trades saw the index rally to a high of 12,790 -- up 260 points from the previous close.

However, intense selling pressure at higher levels forced the index pare gains and drift into the negative zone towards the end of the day. Financials and select index heavyweights like ACC, Reliance Communications and Tata Motors were the major draggers.

The index slipped to a low of 12,511 -- down 279 points from the day's high. The Sensex rebounded and finally settled with a marginal gain of 14 points at 12,544. The NSE Nifty ended at 3,643, up 3 points.