Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex were off to a slow start on July 8 amid profit booking, mirroring the previous session's trend as bank stocks weighed on the market. On the other hand, FMCG and Pharma indices traded in the green.

At about 9:25 am, the Sensex was down 0.21 percent at 79,829 and the Nifty fell 0.12 percent at 24,295. About 2,002 shares advanced, 839 shares declined, and 146 shares unchanged.

"I believe the market will now take cues from the quarterly results before we enter the big budget announcements on July 23," said Aishvarya Dadheech, founder and CIO of Fident Asset Management, in a conversation with sources.  He also added that the excitement around budget-related stocks will remain high and foreign institutional investors pumping money into frontline stocks will continue to show momentum.

Among sector trends, FMCG and pharma sectors were the bright sparks with the FMCG index being the frontrunner. Hindustan Unilever, ITC and Marico stocks led the gains. The Nifty bank traded lower, slipping 0.6 percent, official data showed. Major laggards included ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda.

For pharma, forces like lowering pricing erosion, strong pipeline monetization, and improving portfolio mix are key to the rally. Furthermore, other market experts suggest that valuations are attractive as investors are looking for sectors that haven't rallied much in the last year.

IT stocks are going to be in focus this week as TCS, India's largest IT company, kicks off the earnings season on July 11. Analysts suggest that the worst for the sector is over and valuations seem enticing from a long-term perspective. To be sure, the Nifty IT index has rallied over 4 percent in the past week.

Much like the previous weak, the broader market which entails the midcap and smallcap index, showed robustness, outperforming the headline indices. Dadheech predicts that this trend will likely continue as the non-institutional equity investors are 'riding a different wave of bullishness.'

"From India's perspective, things are looking good from a money perspective, economic perspective, and flows perspective and I believe this craziness will see a much more heinous level in the coming times," he added citing the exuberance in the market.

On the technical side, Ajit Mishra, senior vice president of research at Religare Broking said that consolidation is expected in the index after recent gains, with strong support seen around 23,700-24,000. A clear breakout above 24,500 could signal the next bullish phase. "Investors are advised to focus on selective stock picking, favoring sectors like energy, FMCG, and pharma for long positions, and staying selective in the others," he added.

Tata Motors, ONGC, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, and HDFC Life Insurance were the top gainers on the  Nifty. Titan Company, Shriram Finance, Divis Labs, Asian Paints, and Adani Ports were the laggards.