Friday, April 25, 2008

Indian Shares Rise 1 Pct In Early Deals

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares rose as much as 1 percent in early deals on Friday morning, led by top mobile operator Bharti Airtel Ltd, but high inflation kept investors wary ahead of a central bank policy review next week.

Shares in Bharti Airtel rose more than 6 percent to their highest since Feb. 7 after it beat expectations with a 37 percent rise in March quarter net profit, as it added more users in the world's fastest growing mobile market.

Data due around noon (0630 GMT) is expected to show annual inflation at 7.38 percent as at April 12, up from the previous week's 7.14 percent. In late March, inflation hit a three-year high of 7.41 percent.

"Traders should watch out for the inflation numbers today, which is a major cause of concern coupled with RBI policy meet on 29th April," brokerage IndiaInfoline said in a client note.

"Till then, investors should remain on the fringes and do selective buying in large-cap scrips," it said.

Analysts are divided on whether the Reserve Bank of India will raise interest rates at its monetary policy review on April 29 to fight inflation.

Last week, the central bank announced a 50 basis point rise in the proportion of deposits that banks must keep with it.

At 10:15 a.m., the benchmark BSE 30-share index was up 0.73 percent or 121.93 points at 16,843.01, with 18 components gaining. It is still down 17 percent in 2008.

In the broader market 982 gainers beat 624 losers on volume of more than 42 million shares.

No. 2 lender ICICI Bank rose 1.6 percent to 890 rupees ahead of its quarterly results on Saturday which analysts expect will show a 10 percent rise in net profit, its slowest growth in four quarters.

Shares in top private firm Reliance Industries Ltd rose 0.6 percent to 2,596.05 rupees after it said the government had approved a plan to produce oil and gas from a field in its block off the east coast of India.

Key companies reporting results next week include Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Reliance Energy Ltd and top lender State Bank of India.

The 50-share NSE index was up 0.85 percent at 5,042.55.

Elsewhere in the region, Karachi's 100-Share index was down 0.11 percent at 15,287.83 points, while Colombo's All-Share index had gained 0.2 percent to 2,682.98.

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