Sensex ends down 472pts at 12,630

The Sensex opened almost flat at 13,110 - up eight points, touched a high of 13,114, and soon slipped into the negative zone owing to weakness in banking, realty and technology stocks.

As the day progressed, weakness spread across the board, barring FMCG stocks, and the index tumbled to a new calender year low of 12,403 - down 699 points from the previous close.

However, some buying towards the end helped the index recoup some of its losses, and finally end at 12,630 - down 472 points.