Stock market today: Gift Nifty hints positive start; US-Iran peace talks, Bitcoins to oil prices - 8 stocks to buy

The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to open on a positive note on Thursday, tracking mixed global cues and a decline in crude oil prices.

Asian markets traded mostly higher, while Wall Street ended on a mixed note overnight. US stock futures advanced after Micron Technology reported stronger-than-expected earnings, boosting sentiment in the technology sector.

Domestic equities extended their rally on Wednesday, supported by broad-based buying across sectors.

The BSE Sensex surged 790.54 points, or 1.04%, to close at 76,991.22, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 197.55 points, or 0.83%, to settle at 24,021.65.

US-Iran Peace Talks

As traffic in the Strait of Hormuz approaches typical levels, President Donald Trump has criticised Republican congressmen during a private meeting for permitting a vote that would hinder his plans for military action against Iran. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced that discussions with Iran are set to take place in Switzerland next week.

Bitcoin Prices

Bitcoin prices have dipped back below $60,000, with the cryptocurrency declining as much as 5.4% to $59,023, marking its lowest level since October 2024. According to CoinGlass data cited by Bloomberg, nearly $800 million in cryptocurrency long positions have been liquidated over the last 24 hours. This decrease occurs ahead of Friday's quarterly expiration of approximately $10 billion in Bitcoin options, as indicated by Deribit data.

What Gift Nifty live chart signals?

The Gift Nifty Live Chart shows a positive start for the Indian stock market today. By 7:47 AM, the Gift Nifty was trading around the 24,107.5 level, a premium of 55.7 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close of 24,051.80.

Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said that Indian equity markets are expected to extend the positive momentum from the previous session, supported by improving global risk appetite and firm cues from international markets. Investor sentiment has strengthened after better-than-expected earnings and optimistic guidance from Micron Technology reinforced confidence in the outlook for artificial intelligence and semiconductor spending, easing concerns that had recently weighed on global technology stocks.

Although Wall Street ended the previous session on a subdued note, Micron's results were released after the market closed, sparking a strong rally in US futures. The positive reaction has since spilt over into Asian markets, with technology shares leading gains and supporting broader risk sentiment.

Crude Oil Prices

Crude oil prices continued to decline as stranded tankers left the Strait of Hormuz following a preliminary peace agreement between the US and Iran, easing supply concerns. Brent crude futures set for August delivery dropped by 0.54% to $73.34 per barrel, whereas US West Texas Intermediate decreased by 0.38% to $70.07 per barrel.

Gold, silver rates today

Gold prices continued to decline, staying close to the more-than-seven-month low reached the previous day, due to a strengthening US dollar and the possibility of an interest rate increase by the US Federal Reserve. The spot price of gold decreased by 0.4% to $3,985.89 per ounce, while US gold futures for August delivery fell 0.2% to $4,001.60. Spot silver prices also fell 0.2%, to $57.33 per ounce.

India VIX today

Aakash Shah, Technical Analyst, Technical Research, at Choice Broking, said that the volatility index, India VIX, declined by 4.0% to close at 13.38, indicating reduced uncertainty and improving risk appetite among market participants.

Stock market today

Speaking on the outlook for the Nifty 50 today, Ajit Mishra, SVP — Research at Religare Broking, said, the Nifty 50 has largely retraced its previous decline, while Bank Nifty has completely engulfed the previous session’s dip. The outperformance of banking stocks and the rebound from a crucial support zone reinforce the strength of the prevailing uptrend. However, the Nifty 50 needs to decisively surpass the 24,150–24,200 zone before resuming its gradual move towards the 24,500–24,600 range. On the downside, support remains intact in the 23,750–23,650 zone.

“Given the current setup, consolidation in the index appears more likely in the near term. Therefore, we continue to advocate a stock-specific approach, favouring relative outperformers and selective buying in rate-sensitive sectors such as banking, financials, realty, along with pharma,” said Mishra.

On the outlook for the Bank Nifty today, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, believes the Bank Nifty continues to exhibit relative strength compared to the broader market and remains comfortably positioned above its key 20, 50, 100, and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), reflecting a strong underlying trend and sustained buying interest in the banking space. From a technical perspective, a sustained move above the 58,500 level would reinforce bullish momentum and could extend the ongoing rally towards the 59,000–59,200 region, which is expected to act as the next major resistance area.

On the downside, the 57,500–57,600 zone, which previously acted as resistance, is now expected to serve as immediate support.

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: R R Kabel Ltd, Welspun Living Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Shriram Finance Ltd, Varun Beverages Ltd, Praj Industries Ltd, Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd, and Vimta Labs Ltd.

Sumeet Bagadia's stock recommendations today

Buy R R Kabel in cash at ₹2,438; SL at ₹2,350; TGT at ₹2,600

Buy Welspun Living in cash at ₹170; SL at ₹164; TGT at ₹182

Ganesh Dongre's buy or sell stocks

Buy Mahindra & Mahindra at ₹3,065; SL at ₹2,780; TGT at ₹3,100

Buy Shriram Finance at ₹1,017; SL at ₹985; TGT at ₹1,055

Buy Varun Beverages at ₹507; SL at ₹498; TGT at ₹535

Shiju Koothupalakkal's intraday stocks for today

Buy Praj Industries cmp: ₹348; Target: ₹370; Stop loss: ₹340

Buy Tourism Finance Corporation of India cmp: ₹79.50 Target: ₹85 Stop loss: ₹77.50

Buy Vimta Labs cmp: ₹591.50 Target: ₹620 Stop loss: ₹578

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.