Updates for market close

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

May 18 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks closed flat on Monday as persistent concerns over the impact of the Iran war offset a partial rebound in IT stocks.

Broader sentiment remained weak amid worries over a weakening rupee, elevated energy prices, rising bond yields and escalating tensions linked to the Iran conflict.

A drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, while Saudi Arabia said it intercepted three drones. U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran must act "fast" after efforts to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran appeared to stall.

The Nifty 50 .NSEI closed 0.03% higher at 23,649.95, and the BSE Sensex .BSESN added 0.1% to 75,315.04. The indexes fell as much as 1.4% during the session.

The rupee hit a record low and closed at 96.35 per dollar.

Eleven of the 16 major sectors fell, while small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 lost 1.3% and 0.2%, respectively.

IT index .NIFTYIT jumped 2.4% as a stronger dollar raised expectations of better profit growth for companies that earn a large share of revenue in the greenback. The index had dropped 5.7% last week.

"The narrow recovery indicates that sentiment remains fragile for countries like India that are dependent on energy imports, as the Iran war has extended to a third month and pushed Brent Crude prices above $110 per barrel," said Dharmesh Kant, head of equity research at Cholamandalam Securities.

Consumer durables .NIFCODU shed 1.8%. Amber Enterprises AMBE.NS tumbled 15.6% on weak quarterly results.

Gland Pharma GLAD.NS jumped 15.4% on a 97% rise in March-quarter profit.

Jana Small Finance Bank JANA.NS fell 5.9% after saying industrialist Venu Srinivasan-led TVS Group will buy a 5.64% stake in the lender through the issuance of warrants worth 3.17 billion rupees, at 5.3% discount to last close.

Separately, TVS Motor TVSM.NS said it will buy 4.9% in Jana Holdings for 1.93 billion rupees. TVS Motors TVSM.NS dropped 5.1%.