Banking, energy stocks power Sensex to new heights; Nifty settles at 26K for first time

Domestic benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed at fresh record highs on Wednesday, driven by gains in banking and energy stocks. Sensex rose 256 points to settle at 85,169, while Nifty added 64 points to end at 26,004. Despite the highs, market capitalization of all listed companies on the BSE declined by Rs 83,219 crore.