Stock market today: Gift Nifty hints flat-to-positive start; eight day trading stocks to buy on Thursday, 2 July

Indian benchmarks are set for a flat-to-positive start on 2 July, with Gift Nifty trading around 24,180.5, a premium of 88 points over the previous close of 24,092.60. On 1 July, the Sensex rose 443.97 points (0.58%) to 76,922.64 and the Nifty 50 gained 140.10 points (0.59%) to 24,005.85, supported by easing crude prices and progress in indirect US-Iran talks in Qatar. However, weak Asian cues — Nikkei down nearly 2% and Kospi falling over 6% after a sharp US tech sell-off — are expected to keep sentiment cautious, with Brent crude near $71 per barrel and WTI around $68 per barrel marking fresh lows.