Mumbai, July 9 (IANS) A benchmark index for Indian equities Friday rose considerably for the second consecutive session and was ruling 192 points higher than its previous close with telecom major Bharti Airtel leading the pack.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,667.85 points, was ruling at 17,843.78 points, 192.05 points or 1.09 percent up from its previous close at 17,651.73 points.

The major Sensex mover was Bharti Airtel which climbed over 10 percent after global rating agency Credit Suisse raised its appraisal to 'outperform', citing improved environment.

Other telecom scrips like Reliance Communications and Ideal Cellular too zoomed after the agency changed its rating of the two companies to a higher level.

While Reliance Communications scrip, whose rating was raised to 'neutral' rose 3.88 percent to touch an intra-day high of 195.25, Ideal Cellular soared 14.6 percent to Rs.67.65. Idea saw its rating go up to 'outperform'.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,352.8 points, up 1.06 percent from its previous close at 5,296.85 points.

Broader markets also saw healthy buying. The BSE midcap index was ruling 1.06 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index up 0.82 percent.

The market breadth was positive, with 1,799 scrips advancing, compared to 920 declining, and 87 remaining unchanged.

Other major Asian markets rose Friday, after stocks rallied in the US for a third day on Thursday after the number of jobless claims dropped, indicating that the American economy's revival was intact.

Bargain hunting and waning pessimism about a global economic recovery helped the Japanese Nikkei move 0.52 percent higher at 9,585.32 points, while the South Korean Kospi ended 1.43 percent up at 1,723.01 points.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was ruling at 20,341.61 points, up 1.45 percent, while the Chinese Shanghai Composite index was ruling 2.56 percent up at 2,477 points, after two dull days.