Stock market today: Gift Nifty hints gap-down start; US-Iran news, oil to gold, silver rates — 8 stocks to buy or sell

Stock market today, 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 7:30 AM, the index was oscillating around 24,295, over 100 points lower than yesterday's close.

Expecting a cautious start for the Indian stock market today, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said, “Indian equity markets are expected to remain cautious and highly sensitive to news flow, as escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to weigh heavily on investor sentiment despite periodic relief rallies.”

US-Iran news

The latest exchange of fire between the U.S. and Iran near the Strait of Hormuz has further heightened uncertainty, even as Donald Trump called on Tehran to accept the U.S. proposal and reiterated that Washington doe$90 earlier, have once again moved higher and are currently trading in the $95–99 per barrel range, reflecting persistent concerns about “not seeking escalation”. The contrast between military confrontation and diplomatic messaging has kept investors on edge, curbing risk appetite and reinforcing a defensive undertone across global financial markets.

Crude oil price in focus

Crude oil prices, after cooling sharply toward the $90 level earlier, have once again moved higher and are currently trading in the $95–99 per barrel range, reflecting persistent concerns around supply disruptions and geopolitical instability. Elevated oil prices continue to remain a key macro concern for emerging markets, including India.

Gold, silver rates today

Following a rebound in WTI crude oil prices, gold and silver are trading cautiously in the early morning session. The COMEX gold rate today is around 0.50% higher at $4,735 per ounce, whereas the COMEX silver rate today is around 0.50% higher at $80.55/oz.

Stock market today

Speaking on the outlook of the Nifty 50 and Sensex today, Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak Securities, said, “For day traders, 24,300/77,700 and the 20-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) or 24,150/77,200 would act as key support zones. As long as the market trades above these levels, the bullish sentiment is likely to continue. On the higher side, 24,480-24,575/78,400-78,600 would be the immediate resistance for the bulls. On the flip side, if the market falls below the 20-day SMA or 24,150/77,200, the uptrend could become vulnerable. Below these levels, traders may prefer to exit their long positions.”

On the outlook for the Bank Nifty today, Ponmudi R of Enrich Money said that, from a technical perspective, the 56,300–56,400 zone remains an important near-term resistance area, and a sustained move above this band could strengthen momentum toward the broader hurdle at the 56,800–57,000 levels. On the downside, the 55,400–55,200 range continues to act as immediate support, and maintaining above this region will be important to preserve the ongoing recovery structure.

“Overall, the broader setup remains mildly constructive with a cautious bias, while stronger momentum is likely to emerge only after a decisive breakout above the immediate resistance zone,” Ponmudi R said.

Stocks to buy today

Regarding stocks to buy today, market experts — Sumeet Bagadia of Choice Broking, Ganesh Dongre, Senior Manager — Technical Research at Anand Rathi, and Shiju Koothupalakkal, Senior Manager — Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, recommended these eight buy-or-sell stocks for intraday trading: BSE, CG Power, Emcure Pharma, KFin Tech, IRFC, GE Vernova, DFCX Systems, and NELCO.

Sumeet Bagadia's stock recommendations today

1] BSE: Buy at ₹3964, Target ₹4242, Stop Loss ₹3825; and

2] CG Power: Buy at ₹859, Target ₹920, Stop Loss ₹829.

Ganesh Dongre's buy or sell stocks

3] Emcure Pharma: Buy at ₹1665, Target ₹1730, Stop Loss ₹1615;

4] KFin Tech: Buy at ₹926, Target ₹975, Stop Loss ₹900; and

5] IRFC: Buy at ₹106, Target ₹112, Stop Loss ₹102.

Shiju Koothupalakkal's intraday stocks for today

6] GE Vernova: Buy at ₹4768, Target ₹5000, Stop Loss ₹4660;

7] DFCX Systems: Buy at ₹220.90, Target ₹237, Stop Loss ₹215; and

8] NELCO: Buy at ₹732, Target ₹775, Stop Loss ₹715.

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.