Indian shares rose 1.52 percent on Friday with sentiment boosted by Wall Street's overnight gains and an upbeat tone to European markets, dealers said. The benchmark 30-share Sensex index rose 228.51 points to 15,240.83. Investor sentiment improved as European markets opened positive. Property, auto, telecom and oil stocks were the main gainers.
The weak monsoon rainfall and a drought remained a key investor focus as Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the country will import lentils, edible oil and other staples to cope with any food shortfalls. Of India's 626 districts, 246 have been declared drought-hit.
"The markets rose on positive global trends, but could be choppy in days ahead as concerns over India's drought situation mounts," said Bhaskar Kapadia, partner at brokerage Pyramid Securities. Gainers led losers 1,711 to 958 on turnover of 51.32 billion rupees (1.05 billion dollars).
DLF rose 7.65 rupees or 2.04 percent to 382.2 and Reliance Industries firmed 30.65 rupees or 1.61 percent to 1,928.65. Mahindra and Mahindra climbed 27.7 rupees or 3.58 percent to 801.75 on bargain hunting after the stock slipped nearly 13 percent this month on worries about lower agriculture growth. Bharti Airtel climbed 11.45 rupees or 2.86 percent to 411.5 as media reports said the company hopes to conclude a merger deal next month with South Africa's MTN to create a telecoms giant.