BENGALURU: Indian shares struggled for direction on Tuesday before closing lower, as markets see-sawed between optimism that the Reserve Bank of India will pause rate hikes after Wednesday, and worries that the Fed was likely to keep upping rates for longer.

The Nifty 50 index closed 0.24% lower at 17,721.50, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.37% to 60,286.04. Both the benchmarks swung between 0.3% gains and 0.75% losses during the session.

FMCG stocks fell over 1.1%, dragged by heavyweight ITC, which has taken a breather after rallying to fresh record highs over the last three sessions.

High weightage financials rose 0.13% and capped losses.

The RBI is expected to pause after Wednesday’s expected 25 basis points rate hike as it tries to support economic growth and tame inflation.

Meanwhile, Wall Street equities extended their fall overnight after data on Friday showed resilient US jobs markets that heightened concerns that the US Federal Reserve will keep rates higher for longer.

Investors await a speech by Fed chair Jerome Powell due later in the day, for potential cues on the Fed’s rate hike trajectory.