INDIA STOCKS-Cipla lifts Indian shares at the open; Canara Bank rises on MSCI inclusion

(Updates with levels at 09:20 a.m. IST)

BENGALURU, May 15 (Reuters) - Indian shares opened higher on Wednesday, helped by gains in drugmaker Cipla after a report of the promoter group's stake sale plan, while lender Canara Bank jumped on its inclusion into a key MSCI index.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 was up 0.2% at 22,261.70 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.13% to 73,199.06, as of 9:20 a.m. IST.

Cipla jumped about 5% at the open after broadcaster CNBC-TV18 reported on Tuesday that the promoter group of India's third-largest drugmaker is looking to sell a stake worth $316 million via a block deal.

This lifted Nifty Pharma stocks up 0.9%, with Cipla set to be the top percentage gainer on the benchmark.

Meanwhile, telecom operator and Nifty constituent Bharti Airtel rose 1.5% after its results and was among top early gainers on the benchmark.

Canara Bank gained 3% in early trade, after the lender was added to index operator MSCI's Emerging Market index among twelve others, post its quarterly rejig. (Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Sonia Cheema )