Buy or sell: Gift Nifty hints at a strong start! Vaishali Parekh recommends three stocks to buy today — 20 August 2026 | Stock Market News

Buy or sell indicator: Following strong global cues from easing US Treasury yields, the key benchmark indices of the Indian stock market are expected to open with a big gap-up on Thursday. After the improvement in the risk sentiment, the Gift Nifty live price is oscillating around 24,275, signalling a strong start during the Opening Bell today.

The Gift Nifty live chart is oscillating around 24,275, which is about 200 points above yesterday's spot Nifty 50 close. Vaishali Parekh, Vice President — Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, believes the Indian stock market may have a strong start at the Opening Bell today.

Speaking on the outlook for the Nifty 50 today, Vaishali Parekh said, the 50-stock index continues to slide further with bias and sentiment weakening, slipping below the important 50EMA at the 24,190 level and is currently precariously placed with the 23,800 zone positioned as the next important support, which needs to be sustained to maintain the overall trend intact.

“The Nifty 50 index would need to move past the crucial hurdle of the 24,400 level to establish conviction and thereafter, expect a further rise in the coming day,” said Parekh.

On the outlook of the Bank Nifty today, the Prabhudas Lilladher expert said, the key benchmark index continues to move within a narrow range, hovering near the 50EMA zone at the 57,200 level and with bias maintained with a cautious approach as of now, would need a decisive move on either side to confirm a directional move.

“The Bank Nifty index would have the tough resistance hurdle at the 58,600 zone, whereas the important and major support would be positioned near the 100-period MA at the 56,000 level, which needs to be sustained to maintain the trend intact,” she said.

Regarding stocks to buy today, Vaishali Parekh recommended three stocks: JSW Steel, Policy Bazaar, and Avalon Technologies.

1] JSW Steel: Buy at ₹1285, Target ₹1350, Stop Loss ₹1260;

2] Policy Bazaar: Buy at ₹1782, Target ₹1845, Stop Loss ₹1745; and

3] Avalon Technologies: Buy at ₹2245, Target ₹2320, Stop Loss ₹2200.

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. <br><br> 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. <br><br> 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. <br><br> 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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