Indian shares post best weekly rise in 11wks

Main index gains 0.9pc on day, up 4.5pc on week MUMBAI: Indian shares climbed 0.9 per cent on Friday led by banks and outsourcers and propelled the main index to its best weekly gain in 11 weeks, supported by rising foreign portfolio investment.
The 30-share BSE index rose 4.5 per cent on the week, taking gains this month to 6 per cent after sliding 7.2 per cent in October, which was its worst performance in a year.

Foreign funds have moved $14.8 billion into Indian stocks this year, lifting the BSE index nearly 75 per cent. In 2008, they had pulled out more than $13 billion and the benchmark fell over half.

Private lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were among the gainers on hopes rising industrial activity will boost demand for loans and the long-term outlook.
"We expect bank credit growth to rise to 16 per cent year-on-year by March 2010," Morgan Stanley said, adding it will accelerate to 22 per cent by end-2010 as capital expenditure also begins to recover next year. The BSE index closed up 0.92 per cent, or 152.80 points, at 16,848.83. Twenty-five of its components advanced. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank rose 1.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively while SBI gained 0.1 per cent.