Indian shares set for muted open over US interest rate worries

BENGALURU, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Indian shares are set for a subdued opening on Friday, tracking weakness in Asian peers and overnight losses on Wall Street after U.S. jobless claims data renewed worries about interest rates staying higher.

Indias GIFT Nifty on the NSE International Exchange was up 0.1% at 19,789.50 at 7:48 a.m. IST.

Asian markets were down on Friday, while Wall Street indexes slipped after a drop in weekly U.S. jobless claims suggested interest rates may remain higher for longer.

Indias blue-chips, the Nifty 50 (.NSEI) and the Sensex (.BSESN), extended gains for the fifth straight session on Thursday, recovering nearly 2.5% from the near two-month lows hit late August.

If the trend holds, the benchmarks are on track for their second straight weekly gain.

Foreign institutional investors sold 7.59 billion rupees of shares on a net basis on Thursday, while their domestic counterparts bought 281.1 million rupees of stocks, exchange data showed.

Investors will now focus on domestic inflation data due on Tuesday. Inflation likely eased in August from a 15-month high in July, helped by cooling vegetable prices, but was still above the upper end of the Reserve Bank of Indias 2%-6% target for a second month, a Reuters poll found.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

** Shemaroo Entertainment (SHEM.NS): Co says tax officials carried out search operations on its premises on Sept. 5; joint MD, CEO, CFO were detained and subsequently granted bail

** Landmark Cars (LANM.NS): Co says it signed a Letter of Intent with Mahindra and Mahindra for opening dealership in Howrah in the state of West Bengal.