Indian shares muted as realty offsets IT, metal gains

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 S&P 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 basis-point 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 India's central bank hiked benchmark rate in a surprise move.

The 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.

Nifty's IT and metal sub-indexes 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.

Two-wheeler 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 fast-moving consumer goods maker reported a 22% decline in consolidated net profit for the March quarter.

Adani Power was 4.4% higher. The company's net profit for the March-quarter surged to 46.45 billion rupees ($609.16 million) from 131.3 million rupees last year.

Meanwhile, state-run insurer Life Insurance Corporation's $2.7 billion initial public offering, India's biggest, was subscribed 95% on the second day of bidding as of 1039 GMT.