Benchmark indices opened nearly flat on Monday, August 10, with the Nifty 50 trading at 24,566.70, down 3.95 points or 0.02 per cent, against its previous close of 24,570.65. The Sensex opened at 78,501.59 and was trading at 78,466.72, shedding 32.45 points or 0.04 per cent from its previous close of 78,499.17, as of 9.29 am.The muted opening came on the back of a broadly constructive global backdrop, with Asian markets trading higher after weaker-than-expected US jobs data last Friday reduced fears of further Federal Reserve tightening. Gift Nifty had indicated a cautious but positive start. Nonfarm payrolls contracted by 23,000 in July against expectations of a gain of roughly 90,000, sending rate-hike probabilities lower. Rate futures now imply roughly a 42 per cent probability of a Fed rate hike in September, down from about 67 per cent a week earlier.Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50 in early trade, Titan Company led with a 1.60 per cent rise to ₹5,020.20, opening at ₹4,932.00 and touching a high of ₹5,037.20 during the session. Tech Mahindra advanced 1.33 per cent to ₹1,656.80, while Tata Motors rose 1.07 per cent to ₹350.70. Tata Steel gained 0.92 per cent to ₹189.28, and ICICI Bank added 0.91 per cent to trade at ₹1,434.00.On the losing side, HDFC Life Insurance was the top decliner, falling 0.85 per cent to ₹535.40 from its previous close of ₹540.00. Adani Ports shed 0.84 per cent to ₹1,679.20, while UltraTech Cement dropped 0.78 per cent to ₹12,011.00. Bharti Airtel fell 0.77 per cent to ₹1,944.90, and Eternal declined 0.75 per cent to ₹312.65.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, noted, "...the better-than-expected Q1 results...the resilient domestic demand will continue to support revenue and earnings growth in Q2, too." He added that sectors including banking and financial services, autos, pharmaceuticals, metals, and digital platform companies were expected to deliver, noting that "...FIIs turning buyers in July and continuing their buying in most of the days in August, so far, is another positive factor."The previous week saw the Nifty gain 0.77 per cent and the Sensex add approximately 400 points. PSU Banks were the top sectoral performers, surging over 5 per cent, followed by Defence at 4.3 per cent, Metals at 3.7 per cent, Auto at 3.1 per cent, and IT at 2.7 per cent. Media was the worst performer, losing 3.9 per cent, followed by Capital Markets at minus 1.9 per cent and Realty at minus 1.7 per cent.Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, said, "...a fresh uptrend rally is possible only after the dismissal of 24,800/79,400. Above this level, the market could move up to 25,000/80,200." He cautioned that below 24,450, "...selling pressure could accelerate and the index could slip further to 24,200/77,200."The RBI held its repo rate steady at 5.25 per cent last week, upgrading its FY27 GDP growth forecast to 6.7 per cent and revising inflation lower to 5.0 per cent, which lent support particularly to public sector banking stocks. Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder and CEO of HST Wealth, pointed out that "...the return of foreign institutional investors, sustained buying by domestic institutions and another healthy quarter of corporate earnings have reinforced confidence in the durability of India's growth story."Geopolitical risks remain in focus. Brent crude is hovering around $85 per barrel, and the US Senate has passed a bill authorising tariffs of up to 100 per cent on Indian imports over continued Russian oil purchases, though the bill is yet to clear the House, expected to take it up after August 31.Hitesh Tailor, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Broking, noted that "...with benchmark indices still facing supply at higher levels, consolidation may continue before a clear directional move emerges." Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, observed that the Nifty has remained in a consolidation range between 24,400 and 24,700, forming lower highs and higher lows, while the primary trend remains bullish with the index trading above all key moving averages.Markets this week will watch closely for US CPI data on Wednesday and PPI on Thursday, which are expected to set the tone for global risk assets. The ongoing domestic earnings season, particularly mid- and small-cap results, will also be closely tracked for management guidance on demand and margins.Published on August 10, 2026