Indian shares set to open lower as investors eye RBI decision, US inflation

BENGALURU, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Indian shares are set to open lower on Tuesday on caution ahead of inflation data from major economies and the Reserve Bank of Indias monetary policy decision later this week, while foreign inflows into domestic equities also showed signs of moderation.

Indias GIFT Nifty on the NSE International Exchange was down 0.18% at 19,646.50, as of 8:19 a.m. IST.

Wider Asian equities were also subdued, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) losing 0.89%, as investors awaited inflation readings from China and the United States. Wall Street equities closed higher overnight, recovering from the slide on Friday supported by corporate earnings.

The RBI will announce its policy decision on Thursday. The central bank kept rates unchanged in April and June, after hiking them by 250 basis points in the fiscal 2023.

Analysts expect consolidation in the benchmark indexes and earnings-driven, stock-specific action to continue over the next few sessions ahead of the U.S. inflation data and RBI policy.

Both the Nifty 50 (.NSEI) and Sensex (.BSESN) advanced on Monday, helped by pharma and information technology (IT) stocks, while the more domestically-focused midcaps (.NIFMDCP100) and small-caps (.NIFSMCP100) mirrored their larger peers.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers in Indian equities for the seventh session in a row on Monday, offloading shares worth 18.93 billion rupees ($228.52 million).

Over the last seven sessions, FIIs have sold shares worth 97.4 billion rupees, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

In contrast, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers in six of the past seven sessions and added 10.81 billion rupees of shares on Monday. The Nifty 50 has fallen 0.32% over the last seven sessions.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

** Godrej Consumer Products (GOCP.NS): Co misses June quarter profit view on higher costs.

** Torrent Pharmaceuticals (TORP.NS): Co reports rise in consolidated net profit in June quarter.

** Gland Pharma (GLAD.NS): Co posts 41% rise in June quarter revenue on Cenexi acquisition.

** Key earnings today: Hindalco Industries (HALC.NS), Coal India (COAL.NS), Adani Ports (APSE.NS).

($1 = 82.8380 Indian rupees)

Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Anisha Ajith in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng

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