INDIA STOCKS-Reliance earnings, Asian cues to push Indian benchmarks higher at open

April 28 (Reuters) - India's benchmark indexes are likely to open higher on Monday following better-than-expected earnings from heavyweight Reliance Industries and positive cues from Asian markets, with investors closely tracking tensions between India and Pakistan.

Gift Nifty futures GIFc1 were trading at 24,258.5 as of 7:59 a.m. IST, indicating the Nifty 50 .NSEI will open higher from Friday's close of 24,039.35.

Asian markets edged higher on the day in a cautious start amid continued uncertainty over U.S. trade policy.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday asserted that tariff negotiations were underway with China, which Beijing denied, marking the latest in a series of conflicting signals over the progress of de-escalation of a trade war threatening to sap global growth.

Investors will also closely watch for geopolitical cues amid tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Kashmir attack. The anxiety over India's next steps pulled the Nifty and Sensex .BSESN lower on Friday.

However, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained buyers in India for an eighth consecutive session on the back of a weakening U.S. dollar and the prospect of India's economy doing better than most major nations, as per analysts.

On the day, Reliance Industries RELI.NS will be in focus after it posted a fourth-quarter profit that beat estimates on the back of strong performance in its retail and digital businesses.

Mahindra & Mahindra's MAHM.NS stock will be in the limelight as it announced plans to buy a majority stake in truck and bus maker SML Isuzu SMLI.NS for 5.55 billion rupees ($65.00 million).

Investors will also watch Tata Technologies TATE.NS, which missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates due to slowing global demand for electric vehicles.

($1 = 85.4040 Indian rupees)