The market extended its gains to the sixth consecutive week, with the Nifty 50 ascending to a new peak, surpassing the 24,600 mark for the first time on July 15. The 30-stock Sensex too was inching closer to its all-time high as it stood firm above the 80,800 level. Along with growing anticipation around the Union Budget, due on July 23, positivity around technology stocks following industry major Tata Consultancy Services' better-than-expected Q1 show boosted sentiment.

Around noon, the Sensex was up 238.98 points or 0.30 percent at 80,758.32, and the Nifty was up 99.70 points or 0.41 percent at 24,601.90. The market breadth also tilted in favor of gainers as 1,832 stocks rose, 1,572 fell and 112 remained unchanged.

Technology stocks, including Infosys, HCLTech, and Tata Consultancy Services were among the major contributors to the Nifty 50's UPp-move. Alongside these, Bajaj Auto shares also rose in anticipation of its Q1 earnings, due for release on July 16.

All sectoral indices, barring capital goods, also glimmered in the green. The bullish sentiment was seen across the broader market, as the BSE Smallcap and BSE Midcap indices gained 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

Sectoral Trend

Automobiles, pharma, and PSU banks emerged as the top sectoral gainers, each gaining around a percent. Aside from these, energy stocks also posted strong gains. Most of these sectors are gaining attraction from investors in hopes of a strong quarterly performance as the Q1 earnings season gathers pace.

Fundamental View

"The global support for the market rally in India continues. It is important to understand that the US is leading this rally with 18.4 percent returns year-to-date in the S&P 500 compared with 12.7 percent returns in the Nifty. Latest inflation data in the US also hints at a rate cut by the Fed in September. This is likely to keep the US market buoyant with positive impact in India, too," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

However, Vijayakumar also warned about the stock valuations in India that are moving to elevated levels. :"Investors have to be cautious about the excessive valuations in the momentum stocks which are moving to frothy levels," he added.

"IT results from TCS and HCL Tech indicate improving prospects which the market is discounting now. But the growth projections of IT companies remain low and, therefore, a sharp restart from the present levels is unlikely. Financials remain the fairly valued segment of the market. The decline in US 10-year bond yield is positive for FII inflows," Vijayakumar said.

Technical View

"On the daily chart, prices are gradually inching higher with a series of small body candles observed within a range. Moving forward, despite the markets appearing overbought by various measures, there are no signs of weakness, and bulls remain in control, supported by sector rotation," said Sameet Chavan, Head of Research, Technical and Derivative - Angel One.

"The ideal strategy would be a stock-centric approach, focusing on the theme of the day for better trading opportunities. For the Nifty, close attention needs to be paid to the 24,200 - 24,150 zone. If this level is breached, it could signal the first sign of weakness, possibly reaching 24,000 and below ahead of the budget. On the flip side, there is no clear resistance as prices are trading in uncharted territory," he added.

While the TCS results triggered fresh buying on Friday, Chavan believes that with many more key results being in-line, those outcomes will likely influence the market.

Key Nifty gainers

NTPC, ONGC, Bajaj Auto, Shriram Finance, SBI

Key Nifty losers

Grasim, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, LTIMindtree, Divi's Labs

Key Sensex gainers

NTPCL, SBI, Maruti Suzuki

Key Sensex losers

Asian Paints, Tata Steel, JSW Steel

Stock Moves

IREDA: Shares zoomed over 9 percent to touch a fresh record high of Rs 310 after the PSU said its profit after tax (PAT) climbed 30 percent on-year to Rs 384 crore in the fiscal first quarter (Q1FY25) compared with Rs 295 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. The state-run company's revenue from operations grew 32 percent YoY to Rs 1,510 crore from Rs 1,143 crore in the same quarter last year.

Tanla Platforms: Shares skyrocketed over 10 percent after the company said it had signed a commercial agreement with a global tech major on wisely ATP to combat scams on their messaging platform by identifying fraudulent phone numbers.