Buy or sell stocks, 17 July 2026: The key benchmark indices of the Indian stock market are expected to trade with a cautious bias as escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, elevated crude oil prices, and sustained pressure on the Indian rupee continue to weigh on investor sentiment. Gift Nifty is trading around 24,143.50, compared with the Nifty’s previous close of 24,072.75, indicating a flat-to-mildly positive start for domestic equities. However, the market’s ability to build on recent gains and sustain upward momentum is likely to remain fragile amid an uncertain geopolitical backdrop and the risk of profit-booking at higher levels.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) remained net sellers in the previous session, offloading domestic equities worth ₹4,200 crore, reflecting heightened caution among global investors amid prevailing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties.
Investor concerns have intensified after the United States launched a sixth wave of airstrikes on Iran, further escalating the conflict and keeping global financial markets on edge. Any fresh deterioration in the situation could trigger renewed risk aversion and increase volatility across asset classes.
Stock market today
Vaishali Parekh, Vice President — Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, believes the Indian stock market sentiment is cautiously positive. She said the Nifty 50 index needs to break above the 24,400 hurdle for the next round of fresh rally.
Speaking on the outlook of the Nifty 50 today, Vaishali Parekh said, “The 50-stock index would have the important near-term support positioned at the 23,800 level, which needs to be sustained, as we have been mentioning, while on the upside, a decisive move above the resistance hurdle at 24,400 is much needed to trigger a fresh upward move in the coming days.”
On the outlook of the Bank Nifty today, Parekh said the index continues to be gripped between a tight range and with sluggish movement witnessed during the intraday session, closed near the 57,600 zone with overall bias maintained with a cautiously positive approach, sustaining above the important support zone at the 200-period MA of 57,300 level.
“The Bank Nifty index would have the near-term support at the 50-EMA zone at the 56,500 level, which needs to be sustained, whereas on the upside, a decisive breach above the 58,600 zone is necessary to confirm a breakout and trigger for a fresh upward move,” Parekh said.
Vaishali Parekh’s stock recommendations for today
Regarding stocks to buy today, Vaishali Parekh recommended buying these three shares: Kalpataru Projects International, Ramkrishna Forgings, and IEX.
1] Kalpataru Projects International: Buy at ₹1321, Target ₹1380, Stop Loss ₹1300;
2] Ramkrishna Forgings: Buy at ₹586, Target ₹620, Stop Loss ₹565; and
3] IEX: Buy at ₹123, Target ₹130, Stop Loss ₹121.
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.
