Indian equity benchmarks to open higher after five weeks of losses

India’s equity benchmarks are expected to open higher on Monday, following five straight weeks of losses as investors assess U.S. tariffs and the Federal Reserve’s future policy action after weak labour market data.

Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,678.5 points as of 7:42 a.m. IST, indicating that the Nifty 50 will open above its previous close of 24,565.35.

The Nifty and Sensex indexes fell about 1.1% last week, marking their fifth straight weekly loss as the U.S. hit several trading partners with steep tariffs and imposed a 25% duty on India, stoking global growth worries.

Meanwhile, data showed that U.S. employment growth was weaker than expected in July and the count for the prior two months was revised down significantly, increasing the probability of a September interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Lower U.S. interest rates are associated with lower Treasury yields and a weak dollar, making emerging market equities such as India’s more attractive for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), who have been on a selling spree recently.

FPIs sold Indian shares worth $2.05 billion last month, taking their total selling in Indian equities in 2025 to $11.63 billion.

Market participants will remain focused on tariffs until certainty emerges over a trade deal between the U.S. and India, analysts said.