PremiumMumbai: Indian equity markets are likely to be consolidate on Monday, while trends in SGX Nifty suggest a flat opening for domestic benchmark indices. On Friday, the BSE Sensex closed at 48,732.55, up 41.75 points or 0.09% and the Nifty was at 14,677.80, down 18.70 points or 0.13%.
Asian share markets turned mixed on Monday as data on Chinese retail sales missed expectations though industrial output stayed solid, while more evidence of global inflation pressures helped gold to a three-month peak.
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Premium Premium Chinese retail sales rose 17.7% in April on a year ago, short of forecasts for a jump of 24.8%, while industrial output matched expectations with a rise of 9.8%.
The spread of the coronavirus was also a hindrance with Singapore shutting most schools from Wednesday after reporting the highest number of local infections in months.
Taiwan's government on Monday had to reassure investors it would stabilise stock and foreign exchange markets if needed amid a spike in covid-19 cases. Stocks there were still down 1.1%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eked out a rise of 0.2%, nudging further away from a four-month trough hit last week.
Japan's Nikkei lost 0.7%, having also touched its lowest since early January last week. Data suggested inflation was a global phenomenon with Japan's wholesale prices jumping 3.6% in April from a year earlier as rising energy and commodities costs ate into corporate margins. read more
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both eased 0.1%, following Friday's rally.
Key companies that will announce their March quarter earnings today are Bharti Airtel, Gland Pharma, Colgate Palmolive, Federal Bank and Mangalore Refinery.
The Indian government is confident of winning its appeal against an arbitration award of more than $1.2 billion that British oil major Cairn Energy Plc has secured in an investment dispute and is determined to defend its case in foreign courts against enforcement of the arbitration award, according to a Mint report.
Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) is looking to buy Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp.’s majority stake in solar power producer SB Energy, according to a Mint report.
Cyclone Tauktae has intensified into a “very severe cyclonic storm" and is approaching the Gujarat coast, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The IMD has also issued a yellow alert for the coasts of Gujarat and Diu and Daman. According to the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD, the wind speed is expected to increase to 150-160 kilometres per hour, gusting up to 175 kmph.
The US data calendar is light this week, putting the focus on minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting for any clue when officials there might start to talk about tapering.
So far, most Fed members have been doggedly dovish on policy, arguing a spike in inflation was transitory, though there was a risk it could get baked into expectations.
The inflation scare initially saw 10-year Treasury yields reach a six-week peak just above 1.70%, but the Fed's patience soothed the mood and yields were back to 1.62% on Monday.
The dollar pretty much tracked the move in yields, bouncing to 90.909 on a basket of currencies before steadying at its current 90.397.
The euro was last at $1.2135 , having climbed 0.5% on Friday as yields eased, while the dollar was steady on the yen at 109.35 .
The dip in the dollar combined with inflation concerns on Monday to lift gold to a three-month top at $1,852 an ounce and cracking tough resistance at $1,845.
Oil prices edged higher after see sawing last week as the Colonial Pipeline restarted from a hacker shutdown.
Brent added 16 cents to $68.86 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose 16 cents to $65.53 per barrel.
(Reuters contributed to the story)
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