i Develop Stocks Advisory

Indian shares seem set to record their ninth straight weekly gain and were trading 0.8% higher on Friday, boosted by earnings optimism and continued fund inflows, with financials leading the gainers.By 10:34am, the 30-share BSE Index was trading up 0.79% at 17,854.87 points, and were up 0.9% so far this week. Twenty-six of its components advanced. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.7% at 5,340.20 points. “The mood is optimistic. We should see good earnings from next week,” said Kunal Sukhani, manager of institutional equities at brokerage Asian Markets Securities.“Also, liquidity flows have been robust. So, there is nothing big to worry the market right now.” Foreign funds have shown steady interest in Indian equities since late-February’s national budget which emphasised on fiscal consolidation and higher consumption power.They have bought more than $5 billion of Indian equities so far this year, after pumping in $17.5 billion in 2009 which saw the index gaining 81%. Financials gained, even as near-term inflation worries weighed. Investors concentrated on long-term prospects which were supported by strong economic growth.Top lender State Bank of India was up 0.2% while leading private lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank gained 0.7% and nearly 1% respectively. Energy giant Reliance Industries, which has the highest weight on the Sensex, climbed 1.3% to Rs1,119.Auto companies gained on expectations of robust March sales numbers, ahead of an announcement by the top industry body. Top vehicles maker Tata Motors rose 2.2% while top carmaker Maruti Suzuki and top utility vehicle and tractor maker Mahindra & Mahindra climbed 0.4% and 0.2% respectively. Leading telecoms firms were mixed ahead of India’s first-ever auction of wireless telecoms spectrum starting Friday. Bharti Airtel fell 0.2% while Reliance Communications rose 0.6%. Metals makers such as Sterlite Industries and Hindalco climbed 0.7% and 0.9% respectively after base metal prices rose in Shanghai and London. Tata Steel, world’s eighth-largest steel maker by output, rose 0.6%. In the broader market, there were nearly three gainers for every share that declined, while 127 million shares changed hands on the Bombay Stock Exchange.