Indian shares rise

Indian shares snapped a three-day fall and firmed 0.8 percent on Tuesday, supported by a rebound in Japan and gains in other markets but investors were sceptical if the rise would hold in the near term as developments unfolded in the Middle East.
Energy major Reliance Industries , which has the heaviest weight in the main index, led the gains, rising 1.1 percent after falling 5.4 percent over the past three days. State-run Coal India , the world's biggest coal miner, rallied 3.9 percent after DNA newspaper reported the company may report a 12 percent rise in profit after tax for the fiscal year ending March 31.
The 30-share BSE index rose 0.84 percent or 149.25 points to 17,988.30, with 25 components closing in the green. The 50-share NSE index closed up 0.92 percent at 5,413.85 points.
Foreign funds have pulled out around $1.9 billion from Indian equities since the start of the year, and the benchmark is down 13 percent in 2011, making it one of the worst performing major markets in 2011. Brent eased by as much as 0.5 percent on Tuesday to stay below $115, but it was still high for comfort. State-run oil marketing companies, which sell fuel at government-set low prices, fell. Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp dropped between 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent.
Auto shares rose after Maruti Suzuki Chairman R.C. Bhargava said in a television interview that he does not see a long-term disruption for auto parts due to the Japan situation. Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra rose between 1.2 and 3.6 percent. Gainers outnumbered losers in the ratio 1.2:1 on volume of about 264.5 million shares, lower than the 30-day average volume of 277 million.