BENGALURU, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose on Monday, boosted by banking, auto, and pharmaceutical stocks, with sentiment aided by upbeat Asian markets following strong Chinese economic data.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.18% to 18,135.5 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.21% to 60,811.7 by 0459 GMT.

The Nifty Pharma Index was up about 1.13%, led by Laurus Labs and Biocon Ltd that rose 6.5% and 2.3% respectively.

Apollo Hospitals climbed 9% after the company's net profit and revenue rose in the September quarter.

Top gainers on the indexes included government-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, up as much as 4.91%, after reporting a near seven-fold jump in second-quarter net profit.

Indian cosmetics-to-fashion platform FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, which owns the Nykaa brand, fell as much as 7.4% on Monday.

In its first earnings report following a blockbuster market debut last week, the Falguni Nayar-led Nykaa on Sunday reported a 96% slump in quarterly net profit, hurt by higher marketing and advertisement expenses.

Among market debutants, SoftBank-backed PolicyBazaar's parent PB Fintech opened at a premium 17% to the IPO price. Refined wood pulp maker Sigachi Industries listed at a 250% premium over its IPO price of 163 rupees.

"The domestic market looks comfortable, with a lot of IPOs and an overall good quarterly performance by Indian companies," said Sumit Pokharna, VP Research at Kotak Securities.

He also said that the market was upbeat about the listing of new digital companies, and that the only concerns that remain are global factors such as inflation and a strengthening dollar.

In broader Asian markets, shares edged higher as Chinese economic data surprised on the high side, with annual growth in retail sales and industrial output both handily beating forecasts.

($1 = 74.3620 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Vishwadha Chander in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)