Domestic markets are likely to remain under pressure as selling by foreign portfolio investors continues unabated. Gift Nifty at 21,616 signals a flat to downward opening as Nifty February futures on Tuesday closed at 21,630.50.

With most of the results being out, the focus now shifts to the US Federal Reserve rate (late tonight) and the upcoming interim Budget (February 1).

“Though Investors expect the US Fed to maintain the status quo, the direction concerning rate cuts will hold importance. Overall, we expect the market to remain range-bound till the two large events (the US Fed meeting & India’s Interim Budget) unfold,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Cues from global markets are also negative, with most equities across the Asia-Pacific region in the red.

Ruchit Jain, Lead Research, 5paisa.com, said FIIs have about 75 per cent of the positions on the short side in the index futures segment and call writing was seen on Tuesday at 21700 strikes as the index corrected.

“Also, the technical momentum oscillator RSI has a negative crossover on the hourly charts, while it is already negative on the daily chart for the last couple of weeks. Thus, the data is not positive, and it indicates that until the index surpasses the 21800 mark, we are not out of the woods yet, and the volatility is likely to continue,” he added.

He further warned that traders are advised to stay cautious considering the above data and the technical setups and look to trade with a directional view only on breakout beyond the above-mentioned range.

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