Buy or sell: Gift Nifty signals gap-down opening; Vaishali Parekh recommends three stocks to buy today — 8 May 2026

Buy or sell stocks, 8 May 2026: Driven by a sharp cooling in crude oil prices amid optimism surrounding a potential US–Iran peace agreement, the key benchmark indices of the Indian stock market remained volatile and ended flat on Thursday. The Nifty 50 index ended marginally lower at 24,326. The BSE Sensex shed 114 points and closed at 77,844. The Bank Nifty index added 66 points and closed at 56,047.

Sectorally, the trend remained mixed, with auto, energy, and realty stocks leading the gains, while FMCG and IT traded under pressure. Broader markets continued to outperform, with the midcap index hitting a fresh record high and gaining over 1%, while the smallcap index also advanced nearly 1%, reflecting sustained risk appetite and improving market breadth.

What Gift Nifty live chart signals?

Driven by a fresh US-Iran clash, WTI crude oil prices today opened higher and reached an intraday high of $98.02/bbl. By 6:50 AM IST, WTI crude oil was trading around $96 per barrel, up 1.25% from yesterday's close. This put pressure on the Gift Nifty live chart. The Index opened lower at 24,309 and touched an intraday low of 24,281. By 6:50 AM, the index was oscillating around 24,295, over 100 points lower than yesterday's close.

Stock market today

Vaishali Parekh, Vice President — Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, believes the Indian stock market sentiment is cautiously positive. However, Prabhudas Lilladher predicted a gap-down opening on Dalal Street, as the Gift Nifty index is trading red, down over 100 points in the early morning session.

Speaking on the outlook for the Nifty 50 today, Vaishali Parekh said the 50-stock index witnessed consolidation near the 24,300 zone, with a narrow, range-bound session, closing flat, with bias and sentiment maintained positive, with a slightly cautious approach.

“The Nifty 50 index would need to sustain above the near-term support of the 24,000 level, while the important support zone is positioned near the 23,800 level, which needs to be sustained as of now. On the upside, a breach above the 24,600 level shall trigger the next higher targets of 24,800 and 25,000 levels in the coming days,” said Parekh.

On the outlook for the Bank Nifty today, Parekh said the index ended flat near the important 50-EMA zone at 56,000, with a range-bound session, maintaining the bias and sentiment intact.

“The Bank Nifty index would have the important near-term support at the 54,400 level, while the major and crucial support is positioned near the 53,500 level, which needs to be sustained. On the upside, as mentioned, the 200-period MA at the 57,200 level would be the important hurdle which needs to be breached decisively above to establish conviction further ahead,” said Vaishali Parekh of Prabhudas Lilladher.

Vaishali Parekh's stock recommendations for today

Regarding stocks to buy today, Vaishali Parekh recommended these three buy-or-sell stocks: IEX, KEC International, and Sula Vineyards.

1] IEX: Buy at ₹132, Target ₹138, Stop Loss ₹130;

2] KEC International: Buy at ₹600, Target ₹625, Stop Loss ₹590; and

3] Sula Vineyards: Buy at ₹175, Target ₹185, Stop Loss ₹170.

Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.