Indian shares fall 0.8 pct, rate decision awaited

* Weak Asian markets, profit booking weigh

* Central bank rate decision at 11:15 a.m. (0545 GMT)

* Banks, Reliance Industries lead losses
(Updates to mid morning)

MUMBAI, April 21 (Reuters) - Indian shares were trading 0.8
percent lower on Tuesday, tracking weak Asian markets and
uncertainty about interest rates ahead of a central bank policy
review.

Analysts are almost evenly split over whether the central
bank, which has slashed its key lending rate by 400 basis
points since last October to 5 percent, will further lower the
rate. The decision is due at 11:15 a.m. (0545 GMT).
[ID:nBOM461079]

Leading lenders State Bank of India (SBI.BO) and ICICI Bank
(ICBK.BO), and energy giant Reliance Industries (RELI.BO) led
the losses.

By 10:40 a.m. (0510 GMT), the 30-share BSE index .BSESN
was down 0.81 percent at 10,890.61 points, with 19 stocks
declining. The benchmark had fallen as much as 1.96 percent
earlier.

The market had fallen 0.4 percent on Monday after rallying
a third over the previous six weeks.

"Nothing has changed much in the Indian market as such.
Fresh foreign money was coming, so there was a rally, but now
international markets are down," R.K. Gupta, managing director
at Taurus Mutual Fund, said.

Asian stocks fell after a 41 percent quarterly increase in
bad loans at Bank of America (BAC.N) renewed fears of
deteriorating credit, halting a rebound in risk taking.

Government-run State bank of India, the country's top
lender, fell 1.5 percent to 1,276 rupees, while private-sector
rival ICICI Bank dropped 4.4 percent to 408 rupees.

Reliance Industries, which has the biggest weight in the
main indes, shed 0.6 percent to 1,703.80 rupees.

In the broader section, losers led advancers 1,075 to 672
on relatively light volume of 94.3 million shares.

The 50-share NSE index was down 0.7 percent at
3,354.85.

MAIN TOP 3 BY VOLUME

* Satyam Computer (SATY.BO) on 5.2 million shares

* Suzlon Energy (SUZL.BO) on 4.1 million shares

* Unitech (UNTE.BO) on 3.5 million shares

STOCKS THAT MOVED

* Axis Bank (AXBK.BO) fell 4.2 percent to 489 rupees after
Chairman and Chief Executive P.J. Nayak said he would quit as
he disagreed with the board's recommendation to appoint Shikha
Sharma as CEO and managing director.

* GHCL Ltd (GHCH.BO) dropped 10.3 percent to 28.75 rupees
after India's market regulator barred the founders of the
company from dealing in the securities market for incorrect
disclosures. [ID:nBOM378770]

FACTORS TO WATCH
* For technical analysis double click on www.reutersindia.net
* Indian rupee at 2-wk low; stocks, policy watched
[INR/]
* Indian bond yields at 1-½ mth low; policy eyed
[IN/]
* Yen hits 1-mth high vs euro as risk appetite ebbs
[FRX/]
* Oil steadies above $45 after near 9-percent plunge [O/R]
* Credit fears return, hit stocks, help bonds [MKTS/GLOB]
* Wall St sinks on banks' woes; IBM drops late

[.N] * For closing rates of Indian ADRs

INADR (Reporting by Pratish Narayanan; Editing by
Ranjit Gangadharan)