BENGALURU, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Indian shares were subdued on Wednesday, with losses in pharma and metal stocks countering gains in auto, energy, and banking sectors.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index was down 0.06% at 17,988.5 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was flat to 60,321 by 0526 GMT.

"We see this as markets adjusting following a strong quarterly earnings season," said Aishvarya Dadheech, fund manager at Ambit Asset Management.

Nifty companies reported a 53.3% growth in second-quarter earnings from a year ago, topping consensus earnings estimates by 16.1%, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Dadheech also said frontline, large-cap stocks were seeing pressure amid continuous selling by FIIs and the focus, going ahead, will be on inflation trends.

Pharma stocks, such as Lupin Ltd and IPCA Laboratories shed 1.8% and 1.5% respectively. The Nifty Pharma Index was down 0.61%.

Among the top performers was Tata Motors, up 2.6%, after analysts at Moody's said a $1 billion investment by TPG Capital in the Indian carmaker's EV unit will halve its EV spending in India through 2026.

The Nifty Auto Index also extended its rally from a day earlier on media reports on the easing of a crippling chip shortage.

The Nifty Bank Index rose 0.25%. IndusInd Bank and State Bank of India — up 1.42% and 1.39% — led the gains on the sub-index.

SpiceJet said on Wednesday U.S. planemaker Boeing had agreed to settle outstanding claims related to the grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft. Its shares, which rose 10% on Tuesday, were down 1.41% early on Wednesday.

In global markets, Wall Street equities were boosted by the dollar reaching a four-and-a-half-year high against the yen after data showed U.S. retail sales rose faster-than-expected in October. Asian shares slipped. (Reporting by Vishwadha Chander in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)