Sensex, Nifty fall as selloff continues; analysts expect volatility to persist

Markets may witness pressure in the next few days as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are likely to book profits from higher levels, say analysts

Equity benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty traded down on March 19 morning on selling across the board. Equity experts expect volatility to swing markets in the near-term, as investors navigate valuations concerns in broader markets and await the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy outcome.

The Sensex and the Nifty slipped 0.4 percent each to 72,397 and 21,953 on opening deals. About 1,530 shares advanced, 1,065 declined, and 118 were unchanged.

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V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services expects a change in global market construct to impact local markets in the near-term. "In the near-term a change in the global market construct will happen if the Fed sends a hawkish message stronger than market expectations. Investors may wait for clarity to emerge on the Fed response on March 20," he added.

On the other hand, Deven Mehata, Research Analyst at Choice Broking, expects markets to remain under pressure over the next few days, as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) may book profits from higher levels. "The Nifty can find support at 21,950 followed by 21,900 and 21,850. On the higher side, 22,100 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 22,150 and 22,200," he said.

Broader markets continued to bleed as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices slipped up to 0.2 percent. Fear gauge India VIX jumped over 2 percent to trade around 14 level.

Sectorally, Nifty IT and Oil & Gas indices were top underperformers as they declined up to 1 percent. On the flipside, Nifty Metal and Nifty Media indices bucked the trend to gain up to 0.7 percent.

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Globally, Asia-Pacific markets largely fell this morning after Bank of Japan hiked interest rates for the first time in 17 years and raised benchmark interest rate to 0-0.1 percent from -0.1 percent. The bank also abolished its yield curve control policy.

Japan's Nikkei 225 reversed initial losses following this development and gained nearly 0.2 percent. However, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the US markets ended on a positive note overnight as investors awaited Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. The Dow Jones, tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite, and the S&P 500 indices surged up to 0.8 percent.

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