BENGALURU: Indian shares closed down on Wednesday as pharma stocks slipped for the second straight session, while investors waited for the outcome of a US Federal Reserve meeting.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index ended down 0.24% at 15,709.40 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was 0.22% lower at 52,462.42.

"The markets slipped below the crucial 15,600 level but was swift to recover, an indication that the market is still range-bound," Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst at Deen Dayal Investments, said in a note.

Indian shares end lower as pharma stocks drag

Shares of India's Bharti Airtel gained as much as 5.9% after the telecom services provider said it was scrapping its entry-level prepaid recharge of 49 rupees ($0.6587).

Private sector lender IndusInd Bank rose as much as 3.5% after it reported on Tuesday June-quarter net profit more than doubled to 9.75 bln rupees and provisions slid 18%.

The bank index, however, ended 0.76% lower, dragged by shares of Canara Bank, Karnataka Bank and Central Bank of India following their quarterly results this week.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki ended down about 1.04%. The country's top carmaker reported a profit for the first quarter just minutes before the markets closed.

Phillips Carbon and Welspun India were the other top gainers.

Autos, finance boost Indian shares as June retail inflation lower than expected

Shares of Tata Coffee tumbled as much as 8.1% - their biggest percentage loss since Dec. 21 - after the coffee and tea producer posted a 20.3% fall in quarterly profit.

Pharma stocks were 0.42% lower, weighed down by a 2.3% fall in Dr Reddy's Lab. The stock fell as much as 11.7% on Tuesday.

Global equities regained some poise on Wednesday as a storm in Chinese stocks showed signs of easing, while the dollar made modest gains as investors awaited a Federal Reserve meeting and any fresh insight into its views on inflation and economic growth.