India's stock benchmarks open flat after steep weekly drop

India's equity benchmarks opened little changed on Monday after their sharpest weekly fall in nearly seven months, while investor focus shifts to the central bank's policy decision.

The Nifty 50 NIFTY was up 0.08% at 24,675.3, while the BSE Sensex SENSEX added 0.06% to 80,461.08, as of 9:20 a.m. IST.

Both indexes fell 2.7% last week. They have logged losses in each of the last six sessions as a hike in H-1B visas and steep tariffs on branded drugs delivered a fresh blow to sentiment and worsened foreign selling.

Ten of the 16 major sectors logged gains at the open, but they were marginal. The broader small-caps CNXSMALLCAP and mid-caps CNXMIDCAP rose 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively.

The Reserve Bank of India is set to announce its policy decision on Wednesday, with investors closely watching for commentary on growth, inflation, and interest rates.

A Reuters poll showed nearly three-quarters of economists expect a pause, but major banks, including Citi, Barclays, Capital Economics and SBI have flagged the possibility of a cut, citing downside risks to growth and a benign inflation outlook.