Indian shares rose for a second consecutive session on Friday as lenders rallied after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government would soon announce new measures to tackle bad debt, but indexes posted their first weekly loss in three. The broader NSE index ended 0.2 percent higher at 9,108.00 but dropped 0.6 percent for the week. The benchmark BSE index closed 0.3 percent higher at 29,421.40, but slid 0.8 percent for the week.
The government and the Reserve Bank of India would announce the measures in "a couple of days", Jaitley said at a CNBC-TV18 event.
Lenders also got a boost from expectation of good demand for Yes Bank's up to $750 million share sale announced on Thursday. But broader sentiment remained cautious, with the NSE index poised to record its first weekly loss in three, retreating from a record high hit last week.
"Yes Bank's Qualified Institutional Placement yesterday was subscribed at almost 1,500 rupees per share and this has improved the sentiment in the sector, resulting in a rally in bank stocks. The finance minister's statement on the NPAs issue too was a positive," said Rakesh Tarway, head of research at Reliance Securities Ltd. Yes Bank rose as much as 1.72 percent. Bharat Petroleum Corp was the top loser as oil retailers fell after CLSA analysts forecast a weak January-March quarter for major oil marketing companies.
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