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Indian shares gain 4.26 percent as oil prices ease

MUMBAI - Indian markets rose 4.26 percent on Thursday as global markets bounced back on a sharp drop in crude oil prices and receding fears of a US financial crisis, dealers said.

The benchmark Mumbai 30-share Sensex index rose 536.05 points to 13,111.85, snapping five straight days of losses.

"The crude oil price fall gave relief. Local political factors and rising inflation are real concerns which could peg the markets back," said Hiten Mehta, a fund manager with Fortune Financial Services.

The government is on Thursday due to announce the latest inflation figure, which currently stands at more than a 13-year high of 11.89 percent for the week ended June 28.

Analysts forecast it will rise to just over 12 percent.

Banking, property and capital goods stocks, battered in previous weeks, rose smartly on fresh fund buying.

The Sensex has now shed more than 35 percent this year, led by overseas funds sell-off in Indian equities worth 6.99 billion dollars.

The markets await a crucial political event next week, as the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is lobbying support for a confidence vote in parliament, sparked by the withdrawal of left-wing parties opposed to a nuclear deal with Washington.