Monday August 31, 10:00 AM

BSE Sensex to fall after 7-day rally

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex (^BSESN : 16632.01 -222.92) should open lower on Monday as investors look to take profits after the market's 7.5 percent rally over the past 1-½ weeks, with weak Asian peers also weighing on sentiment.

Leading vehicle maker Tata Motors Ltd (TATAMOTORS.BO : 634.85 -8.85) will be watched ahead of its consolidated results, which will include the performance of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands.

Investors will also be awaiting April-June GDP growth, which is forecast to be up 6 percent from a year earlier. The data is expected at about 11 a.m. (0530 GMT).

India may have seen accelerating growth in the June quarter thanks to stimulus measures, but drought in nearly half of the country's districts and the global slump could hinder faster recovery.

The country's fiscal deficit data is due at 4 p.m. (1030 GMT).

Non-ferrous metals producer Sterlite Industries will be on the radar as copper prices in Shanghai fell more than 2 percent on Monday, after hitting a fresh 11-month high in early trade, with investors becoming cautious about the outlook for economic recovery and sluggish demand.

State-run explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp will be in focus after it said late on Friday it had discovered gas at a block in of Tripura.

Asian markets were lower, with Japan's Nikkei down 0.8 percent by 0350 GMT, while MSCI's measure of other Asian markets fell 1.4 percent.

Nifty (^NSEI : 4941.75 -63.8) India stock index futures traded in Singapore were down 1.4 percent, pointing to a lower opening in India.

On Friday, the 30-share BSE index ended up 0.9 percent at 15,922.34, gaining for a seventh day in a row for the first time in 4-½ months.

The benchmark extended gains to 4.5 percent for the week as it posted its strongest finish since Aug. 3, when it had closed at a 14-month high.

STOCKS TO WATCH

* Infrastructure company Maytas Infra Ltd, linked to scam-hit outsourcer Satyam (SATYAM.BO : 90.55 -2.2) Computer, after it announced a net loss of 4.9 billion rupees in the year ended March 2009, against a net profit of 996.4 million rupees a year ago.

* Ansal Properties & Infrastructure Ltd after it said it plans to issue shares and warrants to foreign investors and founders for about 2.03 billion rupees.

* Bank of Baroda after the Financial Express newspaper reported the state-run lender aims to acquire banks in Malaysia and Thailand to help it expand in the region, citing an unnamed bank official.

(For more news on Reuters Money click http://in.reuters.com/money)