April 10 (Reuters) - Indian shares advanced on Friday in a broad rally led by financials, with the blue-chips on course for their best week in more than five years, as investors sought comfort from a fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
Washington accused Tehran of breaching promises on the Strait of Hormuz and Israel struck Lebanon with attacks that Iran has claimed violate the truce. The two sides are set to negotiate in Pakistan on Saturday.
The Nifty 50 climbed 1.02% to 24,019.35 and the Sensex added 1.07% to 77,446.44 as of 10:25 a.m. IST.
The indexes have gained about 5.7% so far this week, setting them up to break a six-week losing streak.
Crude prices are down about 11.5% this week to $96 a barrel while the rupee is up 0.5%, helped by central bank curbs and the truce. India imports the bulk of its crude and gas needs.
"The ceasefire has reduced near-term geopolitical uncertainty, while the drop in crude prices is a key positive for sentiment, as it eases India's inflationary pressures," said Ajay Menon, managing director and chief executive of wealth management at Motilal Oswal.
"However, the sustainability of the rally will depend on progress in Iran-U.S. negotiations," Menon said.
The small-cap and mid-cap indexes rose about 1.6% and 0.9%, respectively, while 13 of the 16 major sectors advanced on Friday.
Among stocks, index-heavyweights HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank gained 1.7% and 3.2% while oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries advanced 1.5%.
Shares of India's largest IT company, Tata Consultancy Services, declined 3% after a fall in full-year dollar revenue, dragging the IT index down 2.5%.
Wipro rose 2% after the IT firm said it would consider a proposal for a share buyback.
Financials, which carry the heaviest weight on the benchmarks, have risen 8.8% this week, on course to snap a six-week losing streak triggered by record foreign outflows.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
By Bharath Rajeswaran
