New Delhi, Mar 20 (IANS): Siddhartha Khemka, Head Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services on Wednesday said that the markets are expected to remain in consolidation mode and will keenly track the US Fed commentary which would provide direction on its future rate action.

He said that Nifty traded in a range and closed with marginal gains of 22 points at 21839 levels.

“The broader market ended flat, while sector-wise it was a mixed bag. Oil & Gas, Realty, and FMCG were major gainers. Oil & Gas index rose to 1.3 per cent as crude oil price surged to a 5-month high at $87/bbl,” he said.

On the global front, England’s inflation cooled to 3.4 per cent for February, a day ahead of its central bank’s monetary policy meeting. Also, China’s central banks kept their benchmark lending rates unchanged.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities said investors awaited the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's meeting tonight where the central bank is expected to keep borrowing costs unchanged and provide cues on its monetary policy trajectory.

“Asian shares closed mostly higher while European markets opened lower Wednesday as investors awaited the latest signals from the Federal Reserve,” he said.