India stock benchmarks set to start flat; Tata Capital listing in focus

India’s equity benchmarks are likely to open little changed on Monday, following last week’s gains, with investor focus firmly on the listing of Tata Capital - India’s largest IPO of 2025 so far.

Gift Nifty futures were trading at 25,308.5 points as of 7:47 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open near Friday’s close of 25,285.35.

The Nifty and BSE Sensex gained 1.6% each last week, marking their strongest performance in more than three months, as buoyant sentiment ahead of the earnings season helped attract foreign inflows.

Foreign investors bought Indian shares worth 23.5 billion rupees ($264.8 million) last week, supported by a narrowing valuation gap with other emerging markets, optimism around a potential India-U.S. trade deal and hopes of earnings revival.

Meanwhile, investors will turn their attention to Tata Capital’s market debut on the day, after the non-bank lender’s IPO raised $1.75 billion last week in a busy primary market.

In contrast, other Asian markets declined on the day, with MSCI’s broadest index for Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan dropping 1.4% as renewed U.S.-China trade tensions spooked markets.

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to sharply hike tariffs on China in a reprisal against its curb on critical mineral exports.

Rising trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies could fuel inflation in the U.S. and force the Federal Reserve to delay interest rate cuts.

High U.S. rates do not bode well for emerging market equities as they make dollar and Treasury yields attractive for global investors.