Indian share prices rose 0.81 percent on Wednesday in volatile trade led by banks which benefited from strong interest in an share offer by ICICI that opened this week, dealers said. They said funds bought into automobile and telecom stocks too.
The 30-share Sensex index rose 116.45 points to 14,411.95. The local portion of ICICI Bank's 4.3 billion-dollar share sale was oversubscribed by three times by the second day, bankers to the issue said, indicating strong demand from funds.
In India, the bank plans to raise up to 2.15 billion dollars through the offer and an equal amount through American Depository Receipts for a total of 4.3 billion dollars. The offer in both countries closes Friday.
"The markets are close to record highs on fund flows. This comes even while money is moving towards mega-IPOs, indicating strength for the markets," said Naresh Garg, chief investment officer with private sector Sahara Mutual fund.