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Stock market today: Despite trimming significant intraday gains, the key benchmark indices of the Indian stock market, the Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex, finished higher on Friday. The Nifty 50 index added 112 points and closed at 23,114, whereas the Bank Nifty index ended 325 points higher at 74,532. The Bank Nifty index ended marginally lower at 53,427.

Sectorally, Dalal Street breadth remained positive with most indices ending in the green. Telecom, IT, metals, pharma, and PSU Bank stocks led the gains, rising 1–2%, while media, private bank, and realty were the only sectors that ended in the red. The Nifty mid-cap index rose 0.6%, indicating continued participation in the broader market, while the small-cap index ended flat, reflecting relatively muted activity.

The Gift Nifty today opened with a downside gap and lost over 300 points within a few minutes of the Asian market's opening. Asian markets have opened deep in the red, with Japan’s Nikkei declining nearly 4.6% and South Korea’s Kospi falling over 6%, underscoring a broad-based risk-off move.

Decoding the Gift Nifty's live chart signal, Hariprasad K, SEBI-registered Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said, “Indian equities are set for a sharply lower opening, with early indications from Gift Nifty pointing to a gap-down of over 300 points from Friday’s close. The weakness reflects a significant deterioration in global risk sentiment, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate.”

The escalation in rhetoric between the United States and Iran, particularly around the strategic Strait of Hormuz, has heightened fears of potential supply disruptions in global energy markets. Any threat to this critical oil transit route has immediate implications for inflation and global growth expectations.

Asian markets today opened deep in the red, with Japan’s Nikkei declining nearly 4.6% and South Korea’s Kospi falling over 6%, underscoring a broad-based risk-off move.

After logging the worst weekly loss since 1983, the COMEX gold rate today opened downside and touched an intraday low of $4,355.60/oz within a few minutes of the Opening Bell. The COMEX gold rate today is oscillating around $4,465 per troy ounce, which is over 3% below its Friday close. Likewise, the COMEX silver rate today opened with a downside gap and touched an intraday low of $64.965 per ounce. The COMEX silver rate today is oscillating around $67.50/oz, down around 2.75%.

Speaking on the outlook of the gold and silver rates today, Anuj Gupta, a SEBI-registered market expert, said, “In the international market, the gold rate today has immediate support placed at $4,250 to $4,200 per ounce, while the MCX gold rate today has immediate support placed at ₹1,38,000 per 10 gm.”

The SEBI-registered expert said the COMEX silver rate today has support placed at $62.50. Breaking below this level would mean the precious white metal is heading for the next downside target of $55 per ounce. He said the MCX silver rate today has crucial support placed at ₹2,20,000 to ₹2,18,000 per kg range.

Volatility remains elevated, with India VIX hovering around 22, indicating sustained uncertainty and heightened risk perception. With derivatives' expiry approaching, the possibility of sharp volatility swings cannot be ruled out. Any sudden cooling in VIX could trigger accelerated time decay in option premiums, increasing the risk for traders holding long options.

Crude oil remains at the centre of market concerns. Although prices have shown some intraday moderation, Brent remains near $110 per barrel, up sharply since the onset of the conflict. For an import-dependent economy like India, sustained high oil prices translate directly into inflationary pressures, currency weakness and margin compression across sectors.

Foreign institutional investors continue to remain aggressive sellers, with substantial outflows exerting additional pressure on both equities and the currency. The interplay between rupee weakness and FII selling is creating a reinforcing negative cycle, limiting the scope for any meaningful recovery in the near term.

Speaking on the outlook of the Nifty 50 today, Nilesh Jain, VP — Head of Technical and Derivative Research at Centrum Finverse, said the Nifty 50 index witnessed a minor pullback following the recent sharp decline and formed a small-bodied bullish candle with a long upper shadow, indicating selling pressure at higher levels. The broader trend remains weak, with the index continuing to form lower highs and lower lows, although intermittent pullbacks cannot be ruled out.

“Immediate support is placed at 22,900, and a breach below this level could trigger further downside towards 22,600. On the upside, resistance is seen near the gap zone around 23,500. The RSI is hovering near the oversold zone at 32, suggesting the possibility of a near-term pullback,” said Centrum Finverse expert.

On the outlook for the Bank Nifty today, Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking, believes the index's technical chart suggests profit booking at higher levels and continued weakness, with a lack of strong follow-through buying. From a technical standpoint, the 53,700–53,800 zone is now acting as immediate resistance, while the 53,000–53,100 range remains a crucial support base for the index.

“The daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 28.71, indicating oversold conditions, which may lead to a short-term pullback but still reflects underlying bearish sentiment. Traders are advised to remain cautious near support levels and avoid aggressive positioning until the index delivers a decisive breakout above the resistance zone,” Bagadia said.

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: GPIL, NTPC, Jio Financial Services, Eternal, ICICI Bank, Eicher Motors, Delhivery, and NTPC Green.

1] GPIL: Buy at ₹262, Target ₹277, Stop Loss ₹252; and

2] NTPC: Buy at ₹381, Target ₹410, Stop Loss ₹365.

3] Jio Financial Services: Buy at ₹238, Target ₹260, Stop Loss ₹225;

4] Eternal: Buy at ₹232, Target ₹265, Stop Loss ₹220; and

5] ICICI Bank: Buy at ₹1245, Target ₹1275, Stop Loss ₹1225.

6] Eicher Motors: Buy at ₹6909, Target ₹7220, Stop Loss ₹6800;

7] Delhivery: Buy at ₹422.85, Target ₹450, Stop Loss ₹410;

8] NTPC Green: Buy at ₹101, Target ₹108, Stop Loss ₹98.

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.Asit Manohar has nearly two decades of experience in the mainstream media. In this period, he has served esteemed media organisations like NDTV Profit, The Economic Times, and Zee Business. He has been working at LiveMint Digital since April 2021. During these two decades of journey in mainstream media, Asit has mainly covered external affairs, markets and personal finance. However, his earliest beats include railways, SME, MSME, and politics (Congress beat). Some of his features on political, economic, and foreign policy are documented in the parliamentary records.

While pursuing his MA (Mass Communication, Session 2004-06), Asit began his media career as a stringer at All India Radio in Varanasi. At AIR Varanasi, Asit worked with the Gyanvani, Yuvvani and Vividh Bharti teams. After working for nearly one year at AIR Varanasi, he shifted to print journalism and started working as a stringer for the HT Media Ltd, Varanasi. At HT Media Ltd in Varanasi, he covered the BHU beat.

Asit has also worked with some brokerage houses. He has worked with Religare Broking and India Infoline, where he assisted the research team in developing and executing trade strategies for intraday cash, F&O, and commodities.

Asit is a Gold Medalist in MA (Mass Communication) from BHU, Varanasi. He did his BSc. (Hons) in Mathematics from Magadh University, Bodh Gaya. Asit was a National Talent Scholarship holder during his senior secondary studies (1988-91).

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