May 19 (Reuters) - Indian shares ended little changed on Tuesday, as gains in information technology stocks driven by a stronger dollar were offset by losses in banks, while investors awaited clarity over the prospects of a deal between the U.S. and Iran.
The Nifty 50 edged down 0.14% to 23,618, and the BSE Sensex slipped 0.15% to 75,200.85.
Nine of 16 major sectors rose. The broader small-caps and mid-caps gained 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he had paused a planned attack against Iran after Tehran sent a peace proposal.
"We are seeing some support for Nifty 50 index around current levels. But investors need a little more certainty about where the Iran war is headed for a clear directional trend," said Anita Gandhi, head of institutional business at Arihant Capital Markets.
The IT sector, which has the third heaviest weight in the benchmark Nifty 50, rose 3.2% to take its three-session gains to 7.1%.
Analysts attributed the rise in IT stocks to bottom fishing after a recent sharp decline and a stronger dollar, with the industry earning the bulk of its revenue from the U.S., as investors await the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting.
The IT index is still down 22.6% so far in 2026. It is the biggest underperformer among 16 major sectors in India.
Meanwhile, the rupee slid to a record low for a sixth consecutive day against dollar, weighed down by mounting external pressures due to the prolonged U.S.-Iran conflict.
Among individual stocks, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank shed 0.8% each, pulling the private banks index down 0.7%.
Oil marketing companies rose 2% to 3.4% after India raised prices of petrol and diesel by roughly one rupee in the second hike in a week.
Adani group stocks ended mixed after the U.S. administration moved to dismiss criminal fraud charges against the conglomerate's billionaire owner Gautam Adani, while also settling alleged Iran sanctions violations involving one of his companies.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair, Rashmi Aich, Mrigank Dhaniwala an Ronojoy Mazumdar)
By Vivek Kumar M
