The Sensex opened a tad (five points) higher at 12,792, but soon slipped into the negative zone to a low of 12,712 owing to mixed signals from the global markets.
Fresh buying at lower levels saw the index rebound into the positive zone in late morning trades. Steady buying in cement and metal stocks coupled with a sudden bout of buying in banking stocks saw the index rally to a high of 12,899 - up 187 points from the day's low.
Some profit taking towards the end of the day saw the index pare gains and finally settle with a gain of 69 points at 12,856. However, the Sensex ended the week with a loss of 216 points, owing to Monday's steep fall.