Buy or sell stocks, 24 July 2026: Amid rising tension in the US-Iran war, the key benchmark indices of the Indian stock market extended their decline for the fourth straight session on Thursday. The Nifty 50 index crashed below 23,900 and finished at 23,869. The BSE Sensex nosedived 363 points and closed at 76,391. The Bank Nifty index lost 534 points and ended at 56,592. Besides escalating tension in the Middle East, a sharp rise in crude oil prices and renewed concerns over global AI spending weighed on investor sentiment.
Sectoral performance was broadly negative. Real estate stocks led the declines, falling nearly 1.8%, followed by capital markets, which lost around 1.2%, while banking and financial stocks also remained under pressure. Media and automobile stocks were among the few pockets of resilience, outperforming the broader market amid the prevailing risk-off sentiment.
Latest US-Iran war news
On the global front, the conflict between the U.S. and Iran continued to intensify, with the Middle East remaining the dominant source of market uncertainty and keeping investors firmly in a risk-averse stance.
Gift Nifty Live Chart signals a gap-down start
Following weak global cues, the Gift Nifty Live Chart is trading red in the early morning session on Friday. By 7:10 AM on Friday, the index is trading around 175 below Thursday’s spot Nifty close.
Stock market today
Vaishali Parekh, Vice President — Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, believes the Indian stock market may open gap-down on Friday, as the Gift Nifty Live Chart is trading around 175 points below Thursday’s spot Nifty close of 23,869. She said Indian stock market sentiment may turn weak if the 50-stock index breaks below 23,800, and it may then try to test 23,000 in the near term.
Speaking on the outlook of the Nifty 50 index, Vaishali Parekh said the 50-stock index continued its slide for another session, with bias turning weak and taking support near the important zone around 23,800, which showed some resilience and closed in the red near 23,850.
“As we have mentioned earlier, with the sentiment getting into a cautious approach, the index would need to sustain the important support near the 23,800-level, failing which the overall bias would turn weak and can slide further, having the next major support positioned near the 23,000 zone in the coming days,” she added.
On the outlook for the Bank Nifty today, Vaishali Parekh of Prabhudas Lilladher said the key benchmark index witnessed further heavy profit booking to open with a gap-down and slip below the important 50-EMA zone at the 56,800 level, with bias weakening and expecting a further slide in the coming days.
“The Bank Nifty index as of now is precariously placed and would have the near-term support zone of the 100-period MA at the 55,900 level, which needs to be sustained, failing which the overall trend would slightly turn weak, having the next major and crucial support positioned near the 53,500 zone,” said Parekh.
Vaishali Parekh’s stock recommendations today
Regarding stocks to buy today, Vaishali Parekh recommended buying these three buy-or-sell stocks for intraday trading: Man Industries (India), Ester Industries, and Orient Electric.
1] Man Industries (India): Buy at ₹533, Target ₹560, Stop Loss ₹520;
2] Ester Industries: Buy at ₹89, Target ₹93, Stop Loss ₹87.50; and
3] Orient Electric: Buy at ₹174, Target ₹182, Stop Loss ₹171.
US-Iran war latest news
US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) said that damage to ships and cargo would be paid for using frozen Iranian funds after new strikes by Houthi rebels in Yemen further strained global energy flows. In a social media post, he said, “From this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession and controls.”
He added, “These damages may be very substantial, but this is the fair and equitable thing to do.” In the last few days, the US President has been escalating threats against Iran after the two sides clashed numerous times over the past two weeks. However, the conflict has been further escalated after the Iran-backed Houthis struck two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea.
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.
