Stock market today: Experts believe volatility remains a key variable to watch when trading resumes on Tuesday.(An AI-generated news)Stock market today: Following weak global markets, the Indian stock market received a heavy beating on Monday. Amid a bloodbath on Dalal Street, the Nifty 50 and the BSE Sensex crashed around 2.50%. The Bank Nifty index tanked 1,989 points or 3.72% and closed at 51,437.
Sectoral participation was broadly negative, reflecting widespread weakness across the market. All major sectors ended in the red, with realty, metals and banking among the key laggards. The selling pressure was more intense in the broader markets, where both midcap and smallcap indices declined sharply by nearly 4%, indicating strong risk aversion among participants.
The Gift Nifty has opened nearly 500 points higher than its Monday close. Experts believe this rise in the Gift Nifty index can be attributed to the sign of de-escalation in the US-Iran war.
Expecting a huge gap-up opening for the Indian stock market today, Hariprasad K, SEBI-registered Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth, said the Indian equities are poised for a strong gap-up opening, with early signals from Gift Nifty indicating a sharp rebound of over 500 points from the previous close. The positive momentum appears largely driven by a sudden shift in global sentiment following signs of potential de-escalation in the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Global markets reacted positively after Donald Trump indicated that the United States had engaged in discussions with Iran and announced a temporary halt to strikes targeting Iranian energy infrastructure. This development has raised expectations that the conflict—which had significantly elevated crude oil prices and triggered recessionary fears—may be approaching a phase of de-escalation.
However, the situation remains fluid. Iranian leadership, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has denied the existence of any such negotiations, calling the claims misleading. This divergence in narratives suggests that while markets are reacting to optimism, underlying geopolitical uncertainty has not fully dissipated.
Asian markets have opened on a strong footing, supported by a pullback in crude oil prices. The cooling in oil has eased immediate inflation concerns and improved risk appetite across global equities. A sustained decline in crude is particularly supportive for emerging markets like India, given its heavy import dependence, and could offer near-term relief to sectors sensitive to input cost pressures.
Following the recovery in WTI crude oil and the US dollar, gold and silver opened with downside pressure in early morning trading on Tuesday. The COMEX gold rate today opened with a downside gap and touched an intraday low of $4,362.61/oz, losing over one per cent against its previous day's close. Likewise, the COMEX silver rate today opened lower and touched an intraday low of $66.953/oz, logging more than 2.50% loss against its previous day's close.
On the domestic front, volatility remains a key variable to watch. India VIX, which surged to 26.7 in the previous session, is expected to moderate if the current risk-on sentiment sustains. A cooling in volatility towards the 22 zone could lead to a compression in option premiums. However, with Nifty expiry today, traders should remain cautious of accelerated time decay, as high implied volatility unwinds.
Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) flows remain a critical variable to watch. Persistent selling has been a key overhang on the market, and any moderation or reversal in FII outflows could act as a strong catalyst for sustained upside.
The FIIs remained net sellers on Monday by offloading Indian shares worth ₹10,414.23 crore. In the Index Futures segment, FIIs sold shares worth ₹1,420.13 crore, while in the Index Options segment, FIIs sold shares worth ₹631.48 crore. However, DIIs ended up as net buyers, adding shares worth ₹12,033.97 crore to their portfolios.
Speaking on the outlook of the Nifty 50 index, Ajit Mishra, SVP — Research at Religare Broking, said the 50-stock index is showing little respect for support levels despite being in an oversold zone. The next major support to watch lies in the 21,900–22,000 zone, which coincides with the 200 WEMA, followed by 21,700 (the April 2025 low).
“In case of a recovery, the 22,800–23,000 zone is likely to act as a strong resistance band,” the Religare Broking expert said.
On the outlook of the Bank Nifty today, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said the index is expected to open on a positive note, in line with the broader market, supported by improving sentiment and the likelihood of a relief bounce after recent declines. From a technical standpoint, the index needs to reclaim and sustain above the 54,000 level to signal meaningful short-term strength. This zone remains a crucial resistance and a decisive hurdle for further upside. The immediate trading range for today is likely between 52,300 and 52,700 in early moves.
“On the downside, 52,000–51,800 is expected to act as a strong support zone, where buying interest could emerge,” Ponmudi added.
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 six buy-or-sell stocks for intraday trading: HCL Technologies, ACI, BEL, Coforge, Archean Chemical Industries, and Power Grid Corporation of India.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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).