Closing Bell: Nifty at 16,600, Sensex drops nearly 700 points ahead of FOMC meeting; metal, oil & gas top laggards

Snapping 5 days winning streak, the Indian markets ended more than 1% lower on Tuesday, a day ahead of FOMC meeting. The benchmarks corrected amid cooling of oil and metal prices amid hopes of easing of tensions between Russia and Ukraine. 

The broader Nifty50 slipped below 16,700 and the Sensex tanked nearly 700 points in Tuesday's closing. The former closed at 16,663, while the latter ended at 55,776.85, declining nearly 1.25% each. 

Midcap and small cap too corrected around 0.85% as VIX hovered around 27-level. 

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The Bank Nifty dropped more than 250 points to end near 35,000. Auto, FMCG saw some buying interest and were only sectors to close in the green as Metal, oil & gas and IT dragged market the most.  

Tata Consumer, Mahindra & Mahindra, Shree Cement, Cipla, UPL, Nestle India, Asian Paints and Titan gained in an otherwise weak market.  

Hindalco, ONGC, Tata Steel, Coal India, JSW Steel, Infosys, RIL and HCL Tech saw maximum correction in a highly volatile market. 

Vijay Dhanotiya, Lead of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited, said the market witnessed profit booking after it failed to sustain above the level of 16,800. Market research suggests that 16600 is an important support level, he said.  

"If the market is unable to sustain above this level, we expect the correction to continue till the level of 16400. The momentum indicators like RSI and MACD indicating positive side momentum in the market. Market research suggests that correction could continue in the first half tomorrow and then we can expect a bounce from the level of 16400," he added. 

(Disclaimer: The views/suggestions/advice expressed here in this article are solely by investment experts. Zee Business suggests its readers to consult with their investment advisers before making any financial decision.)