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Indian stocks slip after Trump's visa executive order

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Dollar steady as traders look for monetary policy cues

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BOJ hawkish hold keeps rate hike chances alive

(Updates with European open, adds quote in paragraph 14)

By Nell Mackenzie and Ankur Banerjee

LONDON/SINGAPORE, Sept 22 (Reuters) - European markets

ticked lower on Monday, dragged by automakers' profit warnings,

while the dollar steadied as markets waited to see if optimism

over the Federal Reserve's easing monetary policy might be

offset by geopolitical concerns.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was little changed, with

Spanish and German stocks down 0.6% and 0.5%,

respectively.

Luxury carmaker Porsche its parent Volkswagen

both cut their profit forecasts after delaying the

rollout of EV models due to weak demand.

Meanwhile, MSCI's broadest index of world stocks

was little changed while India's benchmark index

slipped 0.2% after the Trump administration

said it would ask companies to pay $100,000 for new H-1B worker

visas, a blow to the tech sector that relies on skilled workers

from India and China.

In China, stocks were choppy even as U.S. President Donald

Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had made progress

on a TikTok agreement.

The Shanghai Composite index .SSEC was up 0.2% while the

blue-chip CSI300 index also rose 0.5%.

India's $283 billion information technology sector, which

gets more than half its revenue from the U.S., will likely feel

the pain in the near term.

Trump last month doubled tariffs on imports from India to as

much as 50%, partly due to New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil.

"It's a risk to operating costs and margins first of all.

Obviously it could raise wages and labour costs a bit," said

Kyle Rodda, senior financial analyst at Capital.com

"Tech companies may also find themselves in a bind where

they confront punitive measures if they look to offshore labour

because they can't find enough workers in the U.S."

FED POLICY OUTLOOK

On the macroeconomic front, investors remain keen to gauge

the U.S. monetary policy path after the Fed indicated a gradual

easing phase in the future, with traders pricing in 44 basis

points of easing in the two policy meetings left for the year.

A host of policymakers is expected to speak in the week

including John Williams, Thomas Barkin and Stephen Miran on

Monday, and Raphael Bostic and Michelle Bowman on Tuesday along

with Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

"Now it's time for central bankers to come out and explain

everything," said James Rossiter, head of global macro strategy

at TD Securities, who hoped that over the next two days these

remarks will help markets shape expectations more precisely.

Data on the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation is due on

Friday that will also help set the tone for the near-term rate

outlook.

The expectation is for the core PCE price index to rise by

0.2% on a monthly basis, which would keep the annual rate steady

at 2.9%, the same as in July, and above the 2.6% low it reached

in April, according to Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG.

"Although even a shallower rate-cutting cycle should, in

theory, weigh on the U.S. dollar, the U.S. dollar short trade

has become crowded," Sycamore said, adding the dollar index has

lost downside momentum in recent months after a torrid start.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency

against six other units, was down 0.2% at 97.54.

U.S. stock futures eased with the S&P and Nasdaq futures

both down 0.2%.

The Japanese yen steadied at 147.87 per U.S.

dollar after strengthening on Friday following the Bank of

Japan's hawkish hold where two board members voted against

keeping interest rates steady.

Oil prices climbed amid heightened geopolitical tensions in

Europe and the Middle East, with Brent crude futures 34

cents higher at $67.02 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate

futures rose 36 cents to $63.04.

Gold prices climbed, and were last up roughly 1% and at one

point at a fresh record high of $3,719.65 per ounce.