The stock market continued its record run for a second consecutive session on Wednesday, dominated by the media, oil and gas, and banking stocks.

Sensex ended higher by 620.73 points or 0.80% at 78,674.25 level, while the Nifty 50 closed at 23,868.80 level, up 147.50 points or 0.62%.

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After a muted start, the market remained flat for the first couple of hours; however, it gathered strength in the afternoon trade.

Sensex opened at a record high of 77,543.22 and created a fresh all-time high of 77,851.63. The index also touched a low of 76,954.87 as traders booked profits at record-high levels.

Nifty 50 opened at a record high of 23,629.85 and touched another record high at 23,664.00.

On the Sensex, Titan, Maruti Suzuki India, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, and NTPC were the top drags for the day, while Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICIC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top gainers.

While on the Nifty 50, Titan, Maruti Suzuki India, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, and BPCL were the top drags, while Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top gainers for the day.

Across sectors, the bank and financial services index surged ahead led by a rally in private sector banking stocks, while the IT index also closed higher.

Consumer durables, oil & gas, pharma, healthcare, metal, FMCG, auto, and media were among the top sectoral losers for the day.

Shares of Sanghi Industries slumped around 6% in opening trade after the company announced that its promoters Ambuja Cements and Ravi Sanghi will sell up to 3.52% stake in the company through an offer for sale (OFS).

IT player Coforge’s shares gained in trade after the Competition Commission of India approved the firm’s acquisition of stake in Cigniti Technologies.

The company will acquire at least 50.21% and up to 54% of Cigniti Technologies on a fully diluted basis, the CCI said in a statement.

With the indices trading near all-time highs being supported by strong buying by domestic funds, Foreign Portfolio Inventors turning buyers is further supporting the markets.

FPIs have remained net sellers worth Rs 8,536 crore in equities during the calendar year till date; however, they have net bought Rs 14,828 crore worth of equities in June till 25th, as per NSDL data.

In Europe and Asia, equities gained ground following Nvidia’s recovery, offsetting Wall Street’s decline.

The Paris CAC 40 was up 0.1% at 7,672.76, whereas Germany’s DAX jumped 0.8% to 18,482.00. The FTSE 100 in London increased by 0.5% to 8,291.45.

In Asian trade, Japan’s Nikkei gained 1.3% to 39,667.07.