Equity benchmarks traded at their highest levels in 11 weeks on Tuesday, supported by upbeat corporate business updates, lower crude oil prices, progress in monsoon rains and a return of foreign inflows. Gains in information technology stocks helped lift the frontline indices even as broader markets remained under pressure and most sectoral indices traded lower.The Sensex touched an intraday high of 78,664.92, nearly 380 points above its previous close, while the Nifty 50 climbed nearly 100 points to 24,530.90 during the session.At 12.31 pm, the Sensex was up 183.83 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 78,468.90, while the Nifty 50 gained 45.25 points, or 0.19 per cent, to trade at 24,475.60.Broader markets underperform despite IT strengthBroader markets underperformed the benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 falling 0.4 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 declining 0.59 per cent.Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT surged nearly 3 per cent, while consumer durables and banking stocks also showed resilience. All other sectoral indices traded in the red. Realty and metal stocks emerged as the biggest losers, while the defence index witnessed profit-booking during the session.IT stocks lead NIfty 50 gainers, Titan & Trent in actionAmong the Nifty 50 constituents, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Titan and TCS led the gains. Trent was the biggest laggard, followed by Coal India, Adani Enterprises, Hindalco and Larsen & Toubro.Within the midcap pack, Kalyan Jewellers and MCX were the biggest drags, while Info Edge, Swiggy, Persistent Systems, Mphasis and Jubilant FoodWorks rallied between 3 per cent and 11 per cent.In the smallcap segment, Data Patterns, Brigade Enterprises, Angel One and Netweb Technologies declined 3-4 per cent, while Natco Pharma, Tata Technologies, PG Electroplast, Urban Company and PWL gained between 3 per cent and 5 per cent.Market breadth remained weak despite gains in the headline indices. Of the 3,225 stocks traded on the NSE, 1,142 advanced, 1,978 declined and 105 remained unchanged. A total of 90 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 24 touched 52-week lows. Sixty-seven stocks were locked in the upper circuit, while 60 hit the lower circuit.On the BSE, Trent, Premier Explosives, Kalyan Jewellers and Apollo saw significant selling, while Info Edge, NIIT Learning, RITES and Ganesh Housing attracted significant buying.Global cues remain mixedAsian markets were weaker during the session. South Korea’s Kospi fell 7.6 per cent despite a rebound in artificial intelligence-related stocks that had lifted Wall Street overnight. Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped 8.7 per cent each, even after Samsung reported a 19-fold rise in operating income to 89.4 trillion won ($58.7 billion) in the latest quarter, while revenue more than doubled. Oil prices edged higher and US index futures traded mixed.Sudeep Shah, Head of Fundamental & Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, said the frontline indices extended Monday’s gains as India VIX remained below the 12 mark for the third consecutive session.According to Shah, the Nifty has immediate support in the 24,380-24,400 zone, while resistance is placed at 24,630-24,650. If the index slips below 24,380, the next support is seen at 24,230-24,250. A move above 24,650 could extend the rally towards 24,850.On the derivatives front, Shah said meaningful call writing was visible at the 24,600 and 24,700 strikes, while the 24,500 strike held substantial put open interest, followed by the 24,400 strike. He added that the Nifty’s advance-decline ratio stood at 30:20. For the Sensex, he pegged support at 78,200 and resistance at 79,000.Published on July 7, 2026