BENGALURU: Indian shares were flat on the final trading day of 2020 as losses in IT stocks were offset by gains in Reliance Industries, while the benchmark Nifty index was set to finish the year 15% higher.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.03% at 13,984.95 by 0353 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 0.04% higher at 47,763.48.

The Nifty has risen 14.90% so far this year, while the Sensex has gained 15.74%. Both indexes have hit record highs after plunging to multi-year lows in March as businesses were shuttered due to the pandemic.

News on vaccine development and measures from global central banks to cushion the economic fallout from the crisis have helped the indexes log annual gains.

The Nifty IT which has rallied more than 55% this year, was down 0.53% in early trade.

Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company, rose 0.6% and was the top boost to the Nifty.

Meanwhile, US stocks finished higher overnight and Asian shares hovered near record highs on Thursday as investors bet on a speedy economic recovery in 2021 amid COVID-19 vaccine rollouts.