INDIA STOCKS-IT, pharma drag Indian shares ahead of RBI policy decision

April 9 (Reuters) - Indian shares opened lower on Wednesday, tracking a global equity sell-off driven by escalating trade tensions, while investors eyed the Reserve Bank of India's policy decision for an interest rate cut and growth support.

The Nifty 50 .NSEI fell 0.37% to 22,452.1 while the BSE Sensex .BSESN lost 0.3% to 74,010.03, respectively, as of 09:18 a.m. IST.

Eleven of the 13 major sectors declined, while the broader smallcaps .NIFSMCP100 and midcaps .NIFMDCP100 lost 0.6% each.

IT companies .NIFTYIT, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S., lost 2.3%.

The pharma index .NIPHARM also dropped 2.3%, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would be announcing "major tariffs" on pharmaceutical imports soon.

Other Asian markets tanked, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dropping 1.9%. Japan's Nikkei 225 .N225 shed 3.1%.

Overnight, Wall Street equities plunged on "stagflation" concerns after the U.S. said it would impose 104% duties on Chinese imports, due to take effect shortly. MKTS/GLOB .N

In the RBI's last policy meeting on February 7, it cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% to spur growth. Since then, economic uncertainty has risen due to the punishing U.S. trade tariffs, heightening expectations for supportive measures from the central bank.

The decision is expected at 10:00 a.m. IST.