BENGALURU, May 5 Reuters Indian shares closed on a flat note on Thursday, giving up gains from earlier in the session, as the rise in information technology and metal stocks was offset by losses in realty and banks.
The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.03 at 16,682.65, while the SP BSE Sensex rose 0.06 to 55,702.23, with the indexes snapping three consecutive sessions of losses.
The benchmark indexes rose over 1 earlier in the day, tracking gains in the broader market after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it was not actively considering a 75 basispoint rate hike, tempering some market expectations for an aggressive tightening path.
The indexes closed over 2 lower on Wednesday, having posted their biggest intraday percentage loss since March 7 earlier in the session, after India39;s central bank hiked benchmark rate in a surprise move.
The Indian rupee strengthened as much as 0.58 at 75.97 against the dollar earlier in the session, its highest level since April 12. It settled at 76.25.
Nifty39;s IT and metal subindexes were up 2.07 and 0.62, respectively. IT services firm Tech Mahindra was the top percentage gainer on the Nifty 50.
Countering some of the gains were Nifty Realty index and public sector bank index, which fell 1.6 and 0.7, respectively.
Twowheeler maker Hero MotoCorp rose 3.8 and was among the top gainers on the Nifty 50, lifting the auto index 0.4.
Dabur India closed 1.7 lower after the fastmoving consumer goods maker reported a 22 decline in consolidated…