BENGALURU: Indian shares rose on Friday, helped by a rebound in financial stocks, as investors awaited quarterly earnings results from State Bank of India, the country's largest lender by assets.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index climbed 0.55% to 14,987.85 by 0355 GMT, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.57% to 49,845.78.

Investor sentiment was also helped by a rise in broader Asian markets, following overnight gains on Wall Street as fears receded about inflation and an early tapering of stimulus by the US Federal Reserve.

In Mumbai trading, the Nifty Bank Index rose 1.13% after a more than 1% drop on Thursday. Private-sector lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the top boosts to the Nifty 50.

State Bank of India rose 1.3% ahead of its March-quarter results. The lender is expected to report a jump in net profit.

State-run refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd rose 7.2% after posting higher March-quarter net profit on Thursday.

Fellow refiners and Nifty 50 components Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd gained 1.8% and 1.3%, respectively.

Meanwhile, India's new coronavirus infections stayed below the 300,000 mark for the fifth straight day.