Mumbai, Mar 19 (IANS): The Nifty opened the gap down and remained under pressure throughout the session on Tuesday to close with a loss of 238 points, or 1 per cent, at 21,817 levels.

After consolidating in a narrow range for the last few days, the Nifty has fallen below its key support levels, indicating that the weakness could continue over the next few days, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Selling pressure was seen across the market including mid and smallcaps. The defensive names witnessed profit booking with IT, FMCG, and pharma being the top laggards, he said.

The investors remained on the edge as the key central banks globally are scheduled for a meeting starting with the Bank of Japan, which has hiked its interest rate for the first time in 17 years, ending its negative rate policy, Khemka said.

"We expect the market to remain in consolidation mode as cautiousness persists with the commencement of the US Fed meeting on Tuesday. While the US Fed is likely to maintain its stance and keep the rate unchanged, its commentary will hold importance as it would provide insights into the central bank’s future rate action," he said.