BENGALURU: Indian shares are set to open flat on Monday as concerns over the health of the US economy persist after a weaker-than-expected jobs data, while analysts expect profit-taking for local stocks that are trading near record highs.

The GIFT Nifty was at 24,842.5 points as of 8:10 a.m. IST, indicating the NSE Nifty 50 will open near its previous close of 24,852.15. Asian markets were lower, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index shedding 1.4%.

Wall Street equities fell on Friday after US employment increased less than expected in August. Indian benchmark indexes dropped about 1.5% last week, coming off record high levels hit on Monday, on rising fears that the US has perhaps waited too long to lower rates.

“It’s advisable to maintain caution and avoid aggressive trades for the time being,” said Osho Krishnan, senior analyst at Angel One.

Investors await US inflation data this week for cues on the size of a Federal Reserve rate cut this month.

Indian shares post worst week in three months, key US jobs data on tap

Foreign institutional investors sold Indian shares worth 6.21 billion rupees ($73.95 million) on Friday on a net basis while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth 21.22 billion rupees, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange.