MUMBAI: Indian share markets are likely to be steady on Monday while trends in SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for domestic benchmark indices. On Friday, the BSE Sensex ended at 60,686.69, up 767 points or 1.28% and the Nifty was at 18,102.75, up 229.15 points or 1.28%.

Asian shares edged cautiously higher on Monday as US stock futures made early gains, though investors were wary of bearish surprises in a batch of Chinese economic data due out later.

Annual growth in retail sales, industrial output and urban investment are all expected to slow further in October partly due to pandemic restrictions and strains in the housing market.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1%, after popping higher late last week. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.7% as data showing economic activity shrank by more than expected in the third quarter only reinforced the case for aggressive fiscal stimulus.

Wall Street eased last week to break a string of gains, though the major indices were only a shade off all-time highs. S&P 500 futures firmed 0.2% in early trade on Monday, while Nasdaq futures added 0.3%.

A key release this week will be US retail sales on Tuesday for any impact from the drop in consumer sentiment to a decade low reported for November as people fretted over higher prices, particularly for petrol. There are also doubts about whether firms have the pricing power to maintain margins in the face of rising costs.

Meanwhile, back home, independent directors of Future Retail Ltd (FRL) have again asked the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to revoke its approval of a 2019 deal between a group company and Amazon.com Inc., alleging that the US retail giant hid facts from the regulator. The directors have alleged that Amazon obtained CCI's approval for its Rs1,431 crore investment in Future Coupons Pvt. Ltd (FCPL), for a 49% stake by making “deliberate misrepresentations" and “actively misleading" the antitrust watchdog.

FSN E-Commerce Ventures, which operates Nykaa, on Sunday said its net profit stood at Rs1.2 crore for the September quarter. The company, which listed on the stock exchanges on 10 November, had logged a net profit of Rs27 crore in the July-September 2020 quarter, FSN said. Its revenue from operations, on the other hand, grew 47% to Rs885 crore in the quarter under review from Rs604 crore in the September 2020 quarter.

There are three stock markets listing today. PB Fintech (Policybazaar), SJS Enterprises and Sigachi Industries will be listed. The IPOs of all the three companies were open for subscription between 1-3 November.

Higher US yields have combined with general risk aversion to benefit the dollar, which boasted its best week in almost three months. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was firm at 95.120 and just off its highest since July 2020.

It was holding at 113.99 yen , preparing for another challenge of the October top at 114.69.

Inflation concerns kept gold in demand at $1,865 an ounce , after notching its biggest weekly gain since May.

Oil prices had a tougher week, hit by a strengthening dollar and speculation that President Joe Biden's administration might release oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Early Monday, Brent had bounced 21 cents to $82.38 a barrel, while U.S. crude added 28 cents to $81.07.