(Updates at 9:23 a.m. IST)

Oct 10 (Reuters) - Indian shares opened higher on

Thursday, tracking Asian peers, after minutes from the Federal

Reserve's latest policy meeting reinforced hopes of more U.S.

rate cuts, which could likely trigger higher foreign inflows to

emerging markets.

The Nifty 50 index was up 0.19% at 25,029.95 points

as of 9:23 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex added

0.2% to 81,629.6.

Other Asian markets advanced on the day, with the MSCI Asia

ex-Japan index rising 1.25%. Wall Street

equities gained overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average

and S&P 500 logging record closing highs.

The upbeat performances came in after minutes of Fed's

September policy meeting hinted at further rate cuts.

Domestically, the Reserve Bank of India eased its policy

stance to "neutral" from a hawkish "withdrawal of accommodation"

on Wednesday, setting the stage for rate cuts.

Analysts said the earnings season starting with India's top

information technology company Tata Consultancy Services

later in the day will influence the near-term

trajectory of domestic equities.

Tata Consultancy Services rose 0.5% ahead of

reporting its quarterly results later in the day.

Twelve of the 13 major sectors logged gains. The broader,

more domestically-focussed small- and mid-caps

gained about 0.6% each.

Among individual stocks, PNC Infratech and G R

Infraprojects gained 5% and 4%, respectively, on order

wins.

Star Health Insurance fell 2.2% after the company

said it was a victim of a cyberattack which resulted in

unauthorised access to certain data.