The Sensex opened 70 points higher at 9,639. Fresh buying in early trades helped the index move up to a high of 9,706. The index, however, could not hold gains and slipped into red.
The selling intensified in late noon deals amid talks of a possibility of war with Pakistan. The index tumbled to a low of 9,295 - down 411 points from the day's high.
The Sensex finally (provisional) ended with a loss of 235 points at 9,334.
The NSE Nifty, meanwhile, slipped by 60 points to 2,857.