Mumbai, Feb 7 (IANS): Nifty opened positive on Wednesday but soon lost some sheen to close flat at 21,931 levels. Barring IT, all other sectors ended in green, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Buying was seen in the PSU Bank and Realty sectors. The Realty sector was in momentum amid healthy Q3 numbers from the real-estate companies, while IT saw some profit booking after an up-move in the last few sessions, he said.

Overall, the market remained on the side-lines ahead of the RBI policy meeting outcome on Thursday, he added.

On the economic front, US retail sales data and China’s CPI data will be released later on Wednesday.

Investors would continue to take cues from the earnings season. Insurance giant LIC will announce results on Thursday, where new business premium growth is expected to remain healthy, Khemka said.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said the domestic market exhibited cautious range-bound movement on Wednesday, despite robust PMI data and favourable global cues ahead of the RBI policy meet.

While no change in stance is anticipated, RBI's commentary on any hints regarding potential rate cuts and improvements in liquidity will be closely monitored.