Buy or sell, Jan. 4 -- The Indian stock market posted solid gains on Friday, January 2, driven by broad-based buying across sectors and rising optimism ahead of the Q3 earnings season. The Sensex advanced 573 points, or 0.67%, to close at 85,762.01.

Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 touched an all-time high of 26,340 during intraday trade before easing slightly to end at a record closing level of 26,328.55, up 182 points or 0.70%. The broader markets also performed well, with the BSE Midcap index gaining 0.97% and the Smallcap index rising 0.79%.

"The Nifty 50 ended the week on a strong note, gaining 1.10% to close at 26,328, supported by positive global cues and broad-based buying across sectors. Broader markets outperformed the benchmark, with ...