The stock market continued its record-breaking run on Wednesday with the BSE Sensex breaching the 17,000 mark for the first time in its fastest 1,000-point rally as foreign funds stepped up purchases of local shares.

The 30-share index, however, failed to hold on to the early gains and closed at 16,921.39, still higher by 21.85 points from the previous close, as investors booked profit. Profit-booking sparked as the Sensex crossed the 17,000-point level, covering the last 1,000 points in just six trading sessions. It touched an intra-day high of 17,073.87, and a low of 16,887.07 points. The National Stock Exchange’s index Nifty closed higher by 1.65 points at 4,940.50, after touching a record high of 4,980.85 and day’s low of 4,930.35 points.

A steep fall in Reliance Industries, the country’s biggest firm by market value, mainly drove the Sensex down. Major support to the market came from the bank index, followed by IT index by 153.35 points at 4,501.97.