* BSE index up 0.6 pct; NSE index gains 0.5 pct
* Ranbaxy hits all-time high
MUMBAI, April 1 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose on Wednesday, on track to snap a three-week losing streak, led by gains in pharmaceutical stocks such as Sun Pharmaceutical Industries SUN.NS and Ranbaxy Laboratories RANB.NS ahead of the latter's amalgamation with the former.
The benchmark indexes have so far gained 2.3 percent each for the week, also heading towards their biggest weekly gains since week ended Jan. 23, 2015.
Unwinding of short positions due to a holiday-shortened week also supported the market, traders said.
Upcoming Jan-March earnings and central bank's policy review on April 7 would be the next key trigger for the market.
"The RBI may want to give at least a dovish stance, which is key, while earnings season might be a mixed bag due to weak auto numbers," said Deven Choksey, managing director at K R Choksey Securities.
The NSE index gained 0.5 percent, while the benchmark BSE index .BSESN rose 0.6 percent.
Pharmaceutical shares outperformed, with Sun Pharma gaining 4.3 percent and Ranbaxy Laboratories rising as much as 5.1 percent to hit an all-time high ahead of its trading suspension from April 6 due to amalgamation with Sun Pharma. ID:nL3N0WY360
Lupin LUPN.NS rose 1.2 percent after the company said it had launched generic exforge tablets in the United States. ID:nWNAS00LE6
Dr Reddy's Laboratories REDY.NS rose 0.6 percent after it said it would buy some established brands of Belgian drugmaker UCB SA UCB.BR in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives for 8 billion rupees ($128.4 million). ID:nL3N0WY2RP
Bank shares also gained ahead of central bank's policy review on April 7 where it is widely expected to keep benchmark rate unchanged after two surprise rate cuts since January.
ICICI Bank ICBK.NS rose 1.6 percent, while Indusind Bank INBK.NS gained 3.7 percent.
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