Mumbai, Mar 20 (IANS): The Nifty remained volatile on Wednesday ahead of the US Fed's policy meeting. The overall sentiment remains negative as the index closed below the previous consolidation low, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.

While the Nifty 50 was up 21.65 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 21,839.10, the Sensex closed at 72,101.69, up 89.64 points, or 0.12 per cent on Wednesday.

The Nifty ended the session below the critical moving average. However, a further fall is anticipated below the recent swing low on the hourly chart, which is positioned around 21,700. On the higher end, resistance is placed at 21,900-22,000, he said.

Lifted by favourable global sentiment and solid direct tax collection, Indian markets rebounded, closing with modest gains, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Robust FII and DII inflows sustained the market. As per the latest market consensus, the odds of a rate cut in June by the US Fed have reduced. The US Fed is likely to delay the rate cut to the latter part of the year due to a resilient economy, Nair said.

Domestic mid and smallcaps are likely to lag largecaps driven by premium valuations in the short-term, he added.

Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio, said that Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty Energy were among the top gaining sectors on Wednesday, up by 1.29 per cent and 1.07 per cent, respectively.

Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid Corporation, Nestle India, and ONGC were among the top Nifty gainers, while Tata Steel, Tata Consumer Products, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, and Cipla were among the losers.