BENGALURU: Indian shares closed slightly lower on Thursday after a volatile session, as investors weighed a downbeat growth outlook from the International Monetary Fund and a surge in Covid-19 cases, while gains in consumer and pharma stocks capped losses. The NSE Nifty 50 index ended down 0.16% to 10,288.90 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.1% to 34,842.10.

The Nifty fast moving consumer goods index rose 2.12%, while the pharma index gained 0.8%. The FMCG and pharma indexes have gained 4.9% and 1.9% so far this week, respectively, compared with a 0.8% gain in the heavy weight Nifty Bank index.