Sensex ends up 266pts at 17,615

The Sensex opened with a huge positive gap of 175 points at 17,524. The index, however, could not hold gains and dropped to a low of 17,138 - down 386 points from the open - in late morning deals.

Buying at lower levels helped the index recoup the loss by mid-noon trades. The buying gained momentum in late noon trades, and the index rallied to a high of 17,674 - up 536 points from the day's low.

The Sensex finally ended (provisional) with a gain of 266 points at 17,615.

The NSE Nifty surged 81 points to close (provisional) at 5,192.