Bulls vs Bears: Here's what to expect on Dalal Street today

Benchmark indices ended lower for the third straight day on Tuesday amid weak global markets and continuous foreign funds outflow. Sensex tanked 567.98 points to end at 55,107.34 and Nifty fell 153.20 points to close at 16,416.35.

Titan, Dr Reddy's, Larsen & Toubro, HUL, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, TCS and Nestle were the top Sensex losers, falling up to 4.48 per cent.

NTPC, Maruti, M&M and Bharti Airtel were the top Sensex gainers rising up to 1.35 per cent. Of 30 Sensex stocks, five ended in the green today.

BSE mid cap and small cap indices fell 35 points and lost 143 points, respectively.

Here's a look at what experts said about the direction the market is likely to take today.

Prashanth Tapse, Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities said, "Benchmark indices ended in red for the third straight session on intense selling pressure amid expectations of aggressive global central banks and also the hawkish RBI backdrop. Also, US dollar logging modest strength along with bond yields above 3 per cent were seen denting sentiments. Technically speaking, the downside risk for Nifty is seen at 16,121. Alternatively, if Nifty's make-or-break support at 16,121 holds then expect bulls to re-group with aggressive targets seen at 16,897-17,250 zone with an interweek perspective. Nifty's 200- DMA is seen at 17,269 mark."

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities said, "This was the second day in a row when we saw a recovery in Nifty from intraday lows, suggesting bottom fishing even as the selling pressure at lower levels reduces. 16,352-16,522 could be the band for the Nifty in the near term. We expect a 40bps rate hike in the upcoming policy meet on June 08 and expect the RBI raising policy rates to reach 5.15 per cent by Aug/Oct. The recent measures by the government will aid in keeping the rate hike relatively shallow, though the determination of terminal rate will be much more data-dependent given the flux in global conditions."

Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities said, "Technically, Nifty broke the important support level of 16,450 and closed below the same which is largely negative. In addition, the index has also formed a bearish candle indicating short-term weakness. For traders, as long as the index is trading below 16,500 the short-term texture remains weak, below which the correction wave is likely to continue till 16,300. Any further correction could drag the index up to 16,225. On the other hand, above 16,500, there are chances the index could hit 16,600-16,650."

Kunal Shah-Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at LKP Securities said, "The index is stuck in a broad range between 34,500-36,000 levels and a break on either side will lead to further trending action. The undertone remains weak as long as it stays below the level of 36,000 where the highest open interest is built up on the call side."

Also read: Sensex, Nifty end lower for third straight session; RBI policy in focus