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 Indian shares will likely open lower on Monday, a day ahead of the union budget due on July 23, while reactions to the quarterly earnings of index heavyweights HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries will be in focus.

The GIFT Nifty was at 24,403 points as of 8:14 a.m. IST, suggesting that the NSE Nifty 50 will open below its Friday's close of 24,530.9.

The Nifty has risen for seven straight weeks, but last week's gain was marginal following a 1% slide on Friday due to broad-based profit booking near record-high levels ahead of the budget on Tuesday, July 23.

"Currently, the market isn't anticipating negative surprises in areas like income tax, capital gains tax or securities transaction tax. However, any changes could have a short-term negative impact," said Krishna Appala, senior research analyst at Capitalmind Research.

On the earnings front, HDFC Bank, the country's top private lender and the heaviest stock in the Nifty 50, beat quarterly profit forecasts on Saturday, as loan-loss provisions fell.

Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance reported first-quarter profit below analysts' estimates on Friday, hurt by lower margins on fuel sales.

Also in focus will be Wipro, which missed quarterly revenue estimates on Friday due to weak demand in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Meanwhile, Asian peers fell even after a surprise rate cut by China's central bank, while Wall Street futures firmed in the wake of U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to bow out of the election race. [MKTS/GLOB]

STOCKS TO WATCH:

* JSW Steel reported a first-quarter profit that fell more than expected due to stagnant demand and as higher costs weighed.

* Patanjali Foods reported a threefold jump in quarterly profit on stable edible oil prices and higher demand for its packaged foods.

* PVR Inox reported a first-quarter loss that more than doubled due to fewer big-budget Bollywood releases and weak box office returns.

* Earnings in focus: Mahindra Logistics, Coforge