SynopsisOn Monday, Indian stock markets witnessed a flat start, bolstered by robust first-quarter earnings. While the Sensex remained mostly unchanged, the Nifty crossed the crucial 24,580 mark. Leading the gains were Titan and ICICI Bank, whereas NTPC and Bajaj Finance showed some declines. Analysts express cautious optimism, attributing this to strong domestic demand and foreign institutional investor activity. Market trends indicate a potential consolidation within a defined trading range.AgenciesOver the five trading sessions ending August 7, the Sensex advanced 0.52%, or 405 points, to close at 78,499, posting gains in three of the five sessions. During the modest rise in the benchmark, 18 stocks in the BSE 500 index advanced in each of the five consecutive sessions from August 3 to August 7. Among them, 15 stocks delivered cumulative returns ranging from 5% to 15% over the period. (Data Source: ACE Equity)The Indian stock market opened in the green, with Sensex trading flat and Nifty rising above 24,580 on Monday despite rising oil prices and escalating Middle East worries, as strong Q1 earnings boosted investor sentiment.Sensex opened nearly unchanged at 78,502, while Nifty 50 opened 11 points higher at 24,581 on Monday. This came even as India VIX, which measures volatility in the market, jumped over 5% to 12.82.Titan, ICICI Bank, Trent and HCL Tech shares were the top gainers on Sensex, rising 0.5-2%. On the other hand, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, NTPC and Bajaj Finance shares fell nearly 1% each to lead losses.Among the sectors, Nifty PSU Bank rose nearly 1% to lead gains, while Nifty Consumer Durables fell around 0.5%. The overall market breadth was positive, with NSE seeing 1,454 advances against 1,174 declines, while 139 stocks remained unchanged.What lies ahead for Dalal Street?Despite the latest worries around US-Iran tensions, the undertone of the market is mildly bullish, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. He noted that the principal bullish factor is the better-than-expected Q1 results. With the earnings season coming to an end this week, the vast majority of companies have reported earnings growth that has beaten expectations, he said.“The resilient domestic demand will continue to support revenue and earnings growth in Q2, too. Particularly, the performance of banking and financial services, autos, pharmaceuticals, metals and digital platform companies will continue to be good despite the headwinds like deficient monsoons,” he added.Deficiency in monsoon has been partly compensated by the good July rains, the analyst noted, adding that FIIs turning buyers in July and continuing their buying in most of the days in August, so far, is another positive factor. These positive factors have the potential to keep the market resilient, according to Vijayakumar.Technical view on NiftyWhile the fundamental view remains slightly bullish, the technical charts warrant caution. Friday’s failure to attract enough bearish momentum, has reduced Nifty’s chances of an outright fall to 24,400 or to confirm a bearish trend reversal, said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments.He however noted that the oscillators continue to paint a consolidation picture within the 24,400-24,775 band with 24,570-24,500 emerging as a support band while 24,650-24,690-24,730 pose as upside challenge points.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)Read More News on(What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today. Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price...moreless(You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)Read More News on(What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today. Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price...moreless