New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS): Domestic equities traded on a tepid note on account of ease in India’s manufacturing data and mixed set of earning reports, says Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Nifty opened higher but soon gave up its initial gains to close flat at 19734 levels. Action was seen in Nifty small cap 100 – up +0.7 per cent.

Among sectors, IT, Metals, Pharma, and Private Banks ended in the green. Metal stocks saw a smart move on the back of expectations of more stimulus from China and metal prices touching a 3-month high on LME, he said.

"Overall, we expect the market to consolidate in a range with a positive bias as we move further into the earning season," he said.

BOE interest rate decision along with a slew of economic data points including US Manufacturing PMI and monthly Non-Farm Payroll data during the week would provide direction to the markets.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said the domestic indices traded with a negative bias below the flattish trend, impacted by global peers. Despite this, mid- and small-cap stocks continued to outperform the benchmark index. IT stocks rallied on hopes of a soft landing for the US economy.

India's manufacturing activity remained robust, although marginally it moderated for the second consecutive month in July. The market direction in the upcoming days will be influenced by key data points, including auto sales figures, US PMI, and US job data, he added.