REUTERS - Shares may look to extend gains in the first half of next week as Narendra Modi is set to be sworn in as the country's prime minister on Monday.
The first task for Modi will be to pick a new cabinet, with the finance ministry expected to go to former commerce minister Arun Jaitley.
Comments on the fiscal deficit, inflation, and the relationship with central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan will be of prime importance to investors.
That could help sustain gains for the BSE Sensex, which on Friday became the best performing equity index in Asia-Pacific for 2014.
However, the second half of the week could be volatile given the expiry of May derivatives contracts, and a slew of key earnings such as Tata Motors Ltd, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Coal India Ltd.
(By Abhishek Vishnoi)