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BENGALURU - Indian shares rose to a four-week high on Friday and were set for their third straight weekly gain, propped up by a strong recovery in beaten-down technology stocks.

The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 0.85% at 16,770.1, as of 0402 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.95% to 56,350.21. The indexes are set for weekly advances of 2.5% each, if gains hold.

The Nifty IT index rose as much as 2.4% and was set for a weekly gain of around 6%, after declining for eight consecutive weeks. The index has dropped 23% so far this year.

Shares of UltraTech Cement reversed early gains to fall up to 2.5% after the company said it would spend 128.86 billion rupees ($1.66 billion) to increase its annual capacity as it looks to stave off competition from the sector's newest entrant Adani Group.

Lifting local sentiment, broader Asian markets were supported by the prospect of the U.S. Federal Reserve turning less aggressive on its policy tightening stance following a softer-than-expected employment data. [MKTS/GLOB]