Sensex, Nifty head for biggest weekly gain in nearly five months

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares rose in thin trade on Friday, heading for their biggest weekly gain in nearly five months, as market heavyweight Reliance Industries surged for a sixth straight session on optimism it would begin 4G phone services in December.

Cash share volumes were well below their 10-day average at 11:10 am IST on the BSE and the NSE exchanges, Thomson Reuters Eikon data shows, as trading was disrupted by heavy rains in the nation's financial capital Mumbai.

Stocks also rose on value-buying and were on their way to snap the streak of three straight weekly losses, as the broader NSE index remains nearly 10 percent below its record high hit in March.

Asian shares, which rose for a third consecutive day, also helped sentiment as investors bet U.S. interest rates will not as rise quickly as expected.

"Good rains are good news for most. But it will be great if the government can make more headway on reforms in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament in August," said G. Chokkalingam, founder of Equinomics, a Mumbai-based research and fund advisory firm.

The Sensex gained 0.8 percent and the NSE index rose 0.7 percent, heading for their sixth consecutive session of gains.

The 30-share Sensex has risen 3.5 percent so far this week, while the Nifty is headed for a weekly rise of 3.1 percent, their biggest weekly gains since January 2015.

Progress on monsoon, passage of key land and tax reforms in the monsoon session, upcoming GDP data and June-quarter results are key triggers ahead, according to investors and traders.

Reliance Industries rose 1.1 percent, extending gains to nearly 13 percent in the last six sessions, after Chairman Mukesh Ambani said last Friday that the company could be ready to begin 4G phone services in December.

Among other blue-chips, Housing Development Finance Corp rose 2 percent, while Larsen & Toubro gained 0.9 percent

Mahindra and Mahindra advanced 3 percent after Magellan Aerospace Corp said on Thursday it would partner Mahindra's aerospace unit for structural assemblies, machined components and fabrications.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)