Telecom stocks rose after a government commission said it wants more spectrum to be auctioned.
The commission wants at least 10 mega hertz (MHz) of airwaves to be auctioned in each telecom zone, which is higher than 5 MHz suggested by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
Bharti Airtel gained 0.8%, extending Thursday's 5.6% gain after it signed a pact to buy a 49% stake in Qualcomm Inc's fourth-generation (4G) broadband venture in the country for $165 million.
"The stake helps Bharti get a much needed footprint in the lucrative Mumbai/Delhi circles as it looks to compete against RIL," Citi said in a note, referring to Reliance Industries.
Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications shares added 1.3 and 1.9% respectively.
Investors await the outcome of another round of discussion by the commission on Saturday, which will likely discuss the auction base price.
