India's GIFT Nifty was trading at 21,641.00 points as of 8:10 a.m. IST, suggesting the NSE Nifty 50 will open above its Thursday close of 21,352.60.
The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was up 0.5% on Monday, a day after China's markets regulator said it will fully suspend the lending of restricted shares, in an attempt to stabilise the country's stock markets.
Meanwhile U.S. Federal Reserve's favoured inflation reading showed moderating prices in December, bolstering hopes of early rate cuts. [MKTS/GLOB]
The odds of a 25 basis points rate cut in March have risen to 47.7% from 46.2% a week ago, according to the CME's FedWatch tool.
The Nifty and the BSE Sensex logged their worst week since late October on Thursday, dragged by financials and information technology stocks, along with sustained selling by foreign institutional investors.
FIIs net sold shares worth about 21.44 billion rupees (around $258 million) on Thursday, extending their selling streak to a seventh session, exchange data showed.
Domestic institutional investors remained net buyers, adding shares worth 34.75 billion rupees.
"Going ahead, Indian markets are likely to see further consolidation ahead of the Fed rate decision on Wednesday where the Fed is expected to maintain status quo and give some hint with regards to rate cut timeline," said Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
STOCKS TO WATCH:
** Tata Technologies: Company posted 14.7% year-on-year rise in consolidated profit in December quarter, helped by strong demand from the automobile sector.
** Adani Power: Thermal power producer reported sharp rise in December quarter profit, aided by strong industrial demand.
** HDFC Bank: Reserve Bank of India gave its approval to Life Insurance Corporation of India to buy up to 9.99% stake in the private bank.
** Key results on Monday: Bajaj Finance, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, ITC, NTPC.
($1 = 83.1400 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
