Buy or sell: Gift Nifty signals gap-up opening, Vaishali Parekh recommends three stocks to buy today — 21 April 2026

Buy or sell stocks, 21 April 2026: Amid weakness in IT, telecom and banking stocks, the Indian stock market witnessed a sharp sell-off ahead of the market close on Monday. The Nifty 50 index finished 11 points higher at 24,364. The BSE Sensex ended 26 points higher at 78,520. The Bank Nifty index ended marginally higher at 56,582.

Early strength was driven by robust Q4 earnings from HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, which reinforced confidence in the financial sector's resilience. Alongside this, YES Bank’s strong profit growth added to the positive sentiment within banking stocks. PSU banks and financials outperformed during the initial phase, providing a strong cushion to the broader indices. However, the positive momentum faded as the session progressed. A sharp sell-off post 3:00 PM weighed on the indices, triggered by a combination of global and domestic factors.

What Gift Nifty signals?

The Gift Nifty index today opened upside at 24,443, but failed to sustain at higher levels and retraced from the intraday high. By 8:50 AM, the index is trading 60 points higher at 24,400.

Stock market today

Vaishali Parekh, Vice President — Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, believes the Indian stock market bias is cautiously positive. The Prabhudas Lilladher expert said the Nifty 50 index is facing a hurdle near 24,470. She said the 50-stock index is precariously placed, with the 24,300 zone as the key band to sustain for now. However, she predicted a gap-up opening on Tuesday as the Gift Nifty is trading above 24,400, logging over 75 points intraday gain.

Speaking on the outlook of the Nifty 50 today, Vaishali Parekh said, the index witnessed a volatile session finding resistance near the 24,470 zone and is precariously placed with the 24,300-zone positioned as the important band which needs to be sustained as of now, failing which the index can slide further with profit booking anticipated having the important supports at 23,600 and 23,100 level in the coming days.

“On the upside, the 200-period MA at the 25,000 zone shall be positioned as the major resistance level which needs to be breached to establish strength,” said Vaishali Parekh of Prabhudas Lilladher.

On the outlook for the Bank Nifty today, Parekh said, the index managed to just move past the 57,000 zone during the intraday session but, amid fluctuations, slipped in the later half to end near the 56,600 level, maintaining a cautious positive bias as of now.

“The 200 period MA at 57,250 zone shall be the major resistance zone which needs to be breached decisively to establish conviction and strength whereas the 55,800 zone shall be the crucial support which needs to be sustained to maintain the overall bias intact failing which one can anticipate for further slide in the coming days having the 53,500 level as the important support,” said Parekh.

Vaishali Parekh's stock recommendations for today

Regarding stocks to buy today, Vaishali Parekh recommended these three intraday stocks to buy or sell: Shoppers Stop, Confidence Petroleum India, and Eicher Motors.

1] Shoppers Stop: Buy at ₹310, Target ₹316, Stop Loss ₹307;

2] Confidence Petroleum India: Buy at ₹54, Target ₹58, Stop Loss ₹52; and

3] Eicher Motors: Buy at ₹7220, Target ₹7300, Stop Loss ₹7180.

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.