(Reuters) - Indian shares are set for a positive start on Monday on strong earnings report from India's largest private lender HDFC Bank and a positive U.S. inflation outlook, while speculation that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) may alter its ultra-loose monetary policy could cap gains.
India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange were up 0.21% at 18,076, as of 7:45 a.m. IST on Monday.
The third-quarter earnings beat of HDFC Bank, which reported an 18.5% rise in net profit and a 24.6% jump in net interest income on Saturday, could lift the sentiment in domestic equities.
Wall Street stocks extended gains for the sixth session on Friday on data that showed that U.S. consumers see inflation easing over the next 12 months.
Asian equities recovered from a mixed start earlier in the day ahead of BOJ's decision about tightening its monetary policy. The BOJ has been an outlier in clinging to stimulus while most central banks globally are in rate-hike cycles. If BOJ changes its stance on monetary stimulus, it would put upward pressure on yields across global markets.
The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.93%.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors extended their selling streak for the sixteenth day in a row, offloading 24.22 billion rupees ($297.98 million) worth of equities on a net basis on Friday.
Domestic investors bought 19.53 billion rupees of shares, as per provisional NSE data.
STOCKS TO WATCH
** HDFC Bank: Lender reported 18.5% rise in net profit and 24.6% rise in net interest income for the third quarter.
** Wipro: Co flagged possibility of a decline in revenue this quarter, after reporting a better-than-expected earnings in third quarter.
** Dr. Reddy's: Co acquired trademark rights of breast cancer drug PRIMCYV from Pfizer India.
** Avenue Supermarts: Co reported 6.6% rise in consolidated net profit for third quarter ($1 = 81.2800 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru;Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)