* BSE index at best close in 6 months, up 2.8 pct on week * Ends above 200-day moving avg for 1st time in nearly a yr * Analysts don't see significant downside to market * Bharti, banks, Reliance lead gains (Updates to close) By Pratish Narayanan MUMBAI, April 24 (Reuters) - Indian shares swept to their seventh straight weekly rise on Friday, their best run in 1-½ years, as cash-flush funds jumped in on growing optimism the world economy was on the mend. The 30-share BSE index rose 1.74 percent, or 194.06 points, to 11,329.05 -- closing above its 200-day moving average for the first time in almost a year, after pressing against the resistance for a week, indicating a stronger outlook. Top telecoms firm Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO), leading financials ICICI Bank (ICBK.BO) and State Bank of India (SBI.BO) and energy giant Reliance Industries (RELI.BO) led the market higher. The index, which climbed to its best close in six months, gained 2.8 percent on the week, its longest winning streak since September 2007, when it rose for eight weeks in a row. "There was a lot of cash sloshing around with both domestic and international funds. Once the market started racing away, they had no option but to catch up," Jayesh Shroff, who helps manage about $1 billion in equity at SBI Mutual Fund, said. Trading could continue in the same vein in the shortened next week when the market is closed on Thursday and Friday for local holidays. Macroeconomic concerns and political uncertainty in the midst of a general election that ends in mid-May will weigh on investor minds, but unless a very unstable coalition comes to power, the market may not be hurt much, traders said. "The evidence appears to suggest that if a stable government were to come to power, markets would be driven by fundamentals and global cues. In that event, leading indicators suggest to us a recovery in economic activity in the second half of fiscal-year 2010," Goldman Sachs analyst said in a note. Analysts said latest quarterly results from companies were mostly priced into the market, and this combined with increased optimism the market has bottomed is fuelling the market rally. The BSE index has soared 41 percent since hitting a 2009 low on March 6, largely boosted by foreign fund buying of almost $1.7 billion since mid-March. Twenty-four of its components rose on Friday while in the broader section, advancers led losers in the ratio of more than 1.5:1 on relatively moderate volume of 472.1 million shares. Reliance Industries, which has the biggest weight in the main index, rose 1.3 percent to 1,784.55 rupees, a day after it reported a 1 percent drop in net profit but fared better than market expectations. The top petrochemical producer and refiner, whose earnings are expected to get big boost from sales of gas it began pumping this month, ended the week up almost 4 percent, taking gains since early March to more than 52 percent. No. 1 telecoms firm Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO) gained 5.5 percent to 747.70 rupees, while rival Reliance Communications rose 3.6 percent to 232.25 rupees. Both the firms are scheduled to release quarterly earnings next week. State Bank of India (SBI.BO), the country's top lender, climbed 3.3 percent to 1,307.80 rupees, while private-sector rival ICICI Bank rose 2.1 percent to 432.50 rupees. The 50-share NSE index rose 1.7 percent to 3,480,75. MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME * Unitech (UNTE.BO) on 30.8 million shares * IFCI Ltd (IFCI.BO) on 20.7 million shares * Reliance Natural Resources (RENR.BO) on 18.5 million shares STOCKS THAT MOVED * J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd (JKIP.BO) rose 7.7 percent to 63.40 rupees after it posted a 13 percent rise in March quarter net profit and said it won orders worth 1.29 billion rupees. * Welspun India Ltd (WLSP.BO) rose nearly 5 percent to 25.55 rupees after an official told Reuters late on Thursday it would list two spun-off entities on the stock exchanges within a month. * AstraZeneca Pharma (ASTR.BO) fell 3.2 percent to 522 rupees after it posted a 35 percent drop in net profit. * LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LICH.BO) gained 8.1 percent to 343.95 rupees after the mortgage lender said it expected new loans to rise 25 percent in 2009/10 and planned to borrow 120 billion rupees during the financial year to meet growth plans.

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