India's blue-chip equities are expected to closely track the crucial quarterly corporate earning reports, to be unveiled in the week ahead, before pouring more money into the trading ring.

Market analysts and traders say shares of select heavyweight companies may continue to be in the corrective mode in coming sessions after rising sharply higher in the last few weeks.

The stock market barometer 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index or Sensex closed on Friday at 6,420.46, a loss of 182.23 points or 2.8 percent from its previous week's close.

The market closed for the week in the negative zone, after posting gains in three previous weeks, as investors adopt a cautious approach after investing heavily in old as well as new economy shares.

Analysts say a bull-run in the market in the coming week would be greatly influenced by the financial earnings numbers of blue chip new as well as old economy companies.

A host of heavyweight companies such as Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Associated Cement Companies Ltd. and Wipro will start unveiling their financial results for the October-December quarter from the week ahead.

"Investors are betting on improved earnings performance of heavyweight new as well as old economy companies in the last quarter," said Neeraj Deewan, an equity market analyst with Quantum Securities.

"The feeling in the trading ring is if the companies' financial performance manages to live up to the street expectations then flow of funds, especially foreign funds, would increase sharply in the days ahead," Deewan told.

A section of dealers, however, say that the market may continue to see correction, which set in last week, at the prevailing levels giving bulk investors an opportunity to consolidate their portfolio.

"Some of the new as well as old economy stock had risen too high too soon and some amount of profit taking on those counters would be perfectly in order," said a broker with a domestic brokerage firm.

"The overall market mood continues to be positive with both liquidity and valuations looking quite attractive."

Massive foreign investment inflows in Asia's fourth-largest economy on hopes of sustained higher economic growth and corporate earnings had taken the benchmark share market index to a level not seen before in recent weeks.

Foreign funds collectively put in a record over $8.5 billion in 2004 in the Indian capital market, up from $6.5 billion worth of inflows in the previous year.

The stock market index had staged a smart rally after the massive fall in May last year and had soared by over 50 percent. It touched a new all-time high of 6,679.20 last Monday.

In the intra-week trade ended Friday, the stock market opened for the day with gains of over one percent on the first trading day of 2005 Monday, touching a new all-time high, as flow of overseas funds continued unabated.

The market index finished nearly half-a-percentage lower Tuesday as institutional investors pocketed gains in heavyweight equities after massive gains in last few sessions.

The profit taking intensified Wednesday with the index falling as much as three percent, pulling the barometer below the crucial 6,500 mark, as investors dumped heavyweight equities after sharp recent gains.

This was one of the sharpest falls in the recent market history after a 17 percent crash on the bourses on May 17 last year in the wake of the shock defeat of the ruling National Democratic Alliance in the parliamentary elections.

After losing as much as 1.4 percent Thursday on sustained institutional profit taking, the market closed for the week Friday with moderate gains as investors picked up shares of cements and select heavyweight firms at lower levels.