India's GIFT Nifty on the NSE International Exchange was up 0.01% at 19,600 at 7:55 a.m. IST.

Asian markets declined, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index falling 0.84% ahead of key macro data from several countries including China. U.S. markets were closed on Monday due to a local holiday.[MKTS/GLOB]

The benchmark Nifty 50 has risen 1.43% in the last two sessions after first-quarter GDP grew at 7.8%, the fastest in a year, data showed last Thursday. Several brokerages raised India's economic growth forecasts for fiscal 2024 after the strong growth data.

Data also showed that factory growth accelerated at the fastest pace in three months in August, driven by a rise in new orders and output.

Indian shares gained on Monday, led by metals on fresh stimulus support by China for its property sector and information technology (IT) stocks on hopes that the Fed will pause its monetary tightening cycle.

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth 33.68 billion rupees ($407 million) on a net basis on Monday, while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth 25.63 billion rupees, according to stock exchange data.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

** Cipla: Co's unit in South Africa signs binding sheet to buy 100% stake in Actor Pharma for $48.6 million.

** Hero Motocorp: Two-wheeler maker gets board approval for investment of up to 5.50 billion rupees in rights issue of Ather Energy.

** Indian Energy Exchange: Co achieves total electricity volume of 8469 million units in August, up 21% year-on-year.

** Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services: Co reports 15% year-on-year growth in disbursements at 44 billion rupees in August; collection efficiency was at 96%.

($1 = 82.7530 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)