BENGALURU: Indian shares closed lower for the first time in four sessions on Tuesday, as private banks and technology stocks dropped, with default risks surrounding China Evergrande Group denting sentiment further.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index ended 0.6% lower at 17,748.6, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.68% at 59,667.6.

The Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap also mirrored their larger peers, slipping about 0.6% each.

Trading through the session was volatile, as shares recovered from a more than 1% drop and flitted between positive and negative territories. The Nifty volatility index was up 2.7%.

Indian shares end flat as auto, energy offset tech losses; cinema chains surge

Concerns around China Evergrande's debt crisis, and higher US bond yields and crude prices were acting as "key headwinds" in global sentiment, said ?Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

Technology stocks slid more than 2%, with Tech Mahindra declining over 3% to be among the biggest losers on the Nifty 50.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel was the biggest loser on the benchmark index, down 3.7%.

Private banks snapped three straight sessions of losses, with IndusInd Bank shedding 1.6%.

Energy stocks, however, rose more 1.9% to hit a record high. Power Grid Corp climbed over 4% to be the top gainer on the Nifty 50.

State-run power utility NTPC also surged 4% after it confirmed winning 1.9 GW of solar projects under the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) scheme.

Real estate stocks fell after five straight sessions and were down over 3%, with Oberoi Realty sliding over 6.6% to lead losses on the sub-index.