(Reuters) - Indian shares are expected to see a muted opening on Monday, going into the country's inflation data due later in the day, which would provide cues on the central bank's interest rate trajectory.
India's NSE stock futures, listed on the Singapore exchange , were up 0.05% at 0203 GMT. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.8%.
On Friday, the NSE Nifty 50 index closed up 1.78% at an over-one-year high of 18,349.70, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 1.95% to hit a record close at 61,795.04.
A Reuters poll forecast retail price inflation to slow in October to 6.73%, due to weaker food price rises and a strong base year, but to remain stubbornly above the 6% upper limit of the central bank's tolerance band.
With a bulk of Indian earnings in the rear view mirror, hundreds, including low-cost carrier SpiceJet, drugmaker Biocon, tyre manufacturer Apollo Tyres , conglomerates Godrej Industries and Grasim Industries are expected to report results later in the day.
Foreign institutional investors bought net of 39.58 billion Indian rupees ($491.82 million) equities on Friday, while domestic investors bought 6.16 billion rupees of shares, as per provisional data available with the National Stock Exchange.
Stocks to watch:
** Life Insurance Corporation of India posted a more than 11-fold jump in second-quarter profit on moving 142.72 billion Indian rupees to its shareholders' fund to shore up its net worth.
** Pfizer Ltd, the Indian arm of U.S. pharma giant Pfizer Inc, reported a rise in second-quarter profit on price hikes and lower input costs.
** Bharat Heavy Electricals reported a quarterly profit, compared with a loss last year, as a strong performance in its industrial segment helped outweigh weakness in its power division.
** New Delhi Television on Friday put on hold the proposed sale of its 20% stake in Malaysian media firm Astro Awani Network Sdn Bhd after the Central Bureau Of Investigation withheld its approval.
** India's top mining industry federation is seeking higher import taxes on metals such as zinc, copper and aluminium to help halt a tide of cheaper imports, especially from China.