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India's equity benchmarks are poised to open higher on Monday, likely rebounding after their sharpest weekly fall in nearly seven months, with the focus on the central bank's policy decision amid the impact of U.S. tariffs.

Gift Nifty futures were trading at 24,798 points as of 08:00 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 will open above Friday's close of 24,654.7.

Both benchmarks fell 2.7% last week and logged losses for six straight sessions as a hike in H-1B visas and tariffs on branded drugs delivered a fresh blow to sentiment and worsened foreign selling.

Foreign portfolio investors have remained net sellers for five straight sessions until Friday, offloading about $2 billion of domestic equities in September so far.

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.

"The near-term outlook for Indian markets remains challenging, as global shocks, from U.S. tariffs and visa fee hikes to slowing tech demand, continue to weigh on sentiment," said R Ponmudi, CEO of Enrich Money.

"That said, resilient domestic demand and GST-driven consumption trends are helping absorb some of the pressure, preventing a sharper decline."

Analysts said that markets could see a near-term bounce after the recent decline, but fresh equity supply could cap any upside.

Tata Capital will launch India's largest initial public offering (IPO) so far this year, from October 6-8 to raise up to $1.75 billion at the top of its price band of 310-326 rupees per share.

STOCKS TO WATCH

** Hindustan Unilever flags short-term impact on sales from tax cuts, expects gains for about 40% of its portfolio to benefit from the lower tax rates ** Azad Engineering signs long-term contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for $73.47 million ** Oil India reports natural gas in its exploratory well in Andaman Shallow Offshore Blocks with additional tests underway to assess the potential ** Jindal Steel commissions a 5 MTPA blast furnace at its plant in Odisha, more-than-doubling hot metal capacity to 9 MTPA from 4 MTPA