BENGALURU: Indian shares closed marginally higher on Thursday in a volatile session with gains held in check by weakened global markets after central bankers suggested that the inflation outlook was not improving.

The NSE Nifty 50 index closed 0.07% higher at 17,956.5 while the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.06% at 60,298.

Pharma and IT stocks weighed over sentiment, but losses were offset by gains in banking and realty stocks.

Kotak Mahindra Bank and Larsen & Toubro were the top gainers on the NSE index, up 3.5% and 2.1% respectively.

Nifty Realty index ended 1.5% higher while the Nifty Bank index closed up 0.5%.

Indian shares rise, NSE index at over four-month high

Sentiment took a hit after European stocks fell on Thursday, tracking Wall Street, as policy minutes by Federal Reserve officials and comments from a European Central Bank official pointed to persisting inflation pressures.

While not explicitly hinting at a particular pace of coming rate increases, beginning with the Sept. 20-21 meeting, the Fed minutes showed U.S. central bank policymakers committed to raising rates as high as necessary to tame inflation.

ECB board member Isabel Schnabel told Reuters in an interview that the euro zone inflation outlook had not improved since a July rate hike, suggesting she favoured another large interest rate increase next month even as recession risks harden.

Meanwhile, India’s Nifty Pharma index fell as much as 1.4% to its lowest in two weeks. The index pared losses to end 0.3% down.

Dr.Reddy’s Laboratories was the top loser with its 2.1% fall.

Nifty IT index ended down 0.8%.