Indian shares set for muted start after two sessions of rally

Dec 23 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks are likely to ‍open little changed on Tuesday, following two consecutive sessions of gains, with analysts citing the lack of fresh triggers and potentially thin trading volumes closer to the end of year.

The Gift Nifty futures were trading at 26,260 points, as of 8:04 a.m. IST, indicating that the benchmark Nifty 50 ⁠would open near Monday's close ⁠of 26,172.4.

The 50-stock index has risen 1.4% in two sessions, ⁠while the BSE Sensex is up 1.3% in the same period on prospects of foreign flows and a ‍firmer rupee.

Foreign ‌portfolio investors sold Indian shares worth 4.57 billion rupees ($51.04 million) on a net ​basis on Monday, snapping a three-session buying streak, as per provisional data.

Meanwhile, turnover in the cash market on Monday was 21.5% lower from the previous session at 974.58 billion rupees on the National Stock Exchange of India. It was also down about 7% from average daily turnover in November.

Trading volumes across global markets are usually thin at this ​time ⁠of the year ahead of the holiday season in United States amid Christmas and New ⁠Year.

Asia shares rose alongside precious metals on Tuesday as momentum ‌buying from investors extended ahead of the festive holidays, with an advanced reading on U.S. GDP expected later in the day.

STOCKS TO ​WATCH

** HCLTech says software business division intends to acquire Jaspersoft, an embedded analytics and pixel-perfect reporting platform, from Cloud Software Group ‍for $240 million

** NSE to ‍exclude futures ⁠and options contracts on Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp with effect from February 25

** Antony Waste Handling Cell gets contract worth 3.29 billion rupees from Thane Municipal Corporation ($1 = 89.5300 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Janane ‌Venkatraman)