Indian stock market, Jan. 4 -- Indian benchmarks posted solid gains on Friday, January 2, supported 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. The Nifty 50 scaled a fresh all-time intraday high of 26,340 before trimming gains to end at a record closing level of 26,328.55, up 182 points, or 0.70%. Meanwhile, the BSE Midcap index gained 0.97%, and the Smallcap index rose 0.79%.

* Equity benchmark kick-started the new year on a strong footing as Nifty regained the momentum and scaled back to life highs. Nifty gained more than 1% for the week to settle at 26328. Sectorally, Auto, Metal, PSU Banks remained in limelight while FMCG, ...