Markets seen volatile; RIL, Future Retail, Kotak Mahindra, Vedanta in focus

Asian shares got off to a subdued start in early trade as surging coronavirus cases in Europe and the United states threatened the global outlook, while China’s leaders meet to ponder the future of the economic giant.

The United States has seen its highest number of new covid-19 cases in the past two days, while France also set unwanted case records and Spain announced a state of emergency.

A Singapore arbitration panel has put on hold Future Group's $3.38 billion asset sale to Reliance Industries Ltd, an interim win for Amazon.com Inc which had alleged the deal between the Indian firms breached existing agreements. Amazon received an emergency order to halt the companies from proceeding with the deal until an arbitration tribunal is formed.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd is exploring a potential takeover of smaller rival IndusInd Bank Ltd. If such a deal is clinched, it could significantly expand Kotak Mahindra’s presence in the Indian banking sector, particularly in the retail segment. Kotak Mahindra Bank is also expected to announce its September quarter results today.

The board of Vedanta, on Saturday, has approved first interim dividend for financial year 2021. The company has declared dividend of ₹9.50 per equity share amounting to ₹3,500 crore. The record date for the purpose of payment of dividend is 31 October.

Private lender Yes Bank Ltd on Friday reported a net profit of ₹129 crore in the quarter ended September against a loss of ₹600 crore a year-ago. Net profit, which rose 2.8 times sequentially, was driven by lower provisioning and operating expenses.

Two years after taking control of bankrupt Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), the Uday Kotak-led board of directors has resolved ₹19,100 crore, or roughly 19%, of the group’s outstanding debt of over ₹1 trillion.

The US 10-year Treasury yields to their highest since early June last week at 0.8720%. They were trading at 0.83% on Monday.

The dollar was flatlining on Monday, having fallen broadly last week. The euro was holding at $1.1840 and just under its recent top of $1.1880, while the dollar was pinned at 104.80 yen and not far from last week’s trough of 104.32.

The dollar index was a fraction firmer at 92.904, after shedding almost 1% last week.

In commodity markets, gold edged down 0.1% to $1,898 an ounce.

Oil prices fell further in anticipation of a surge in Libyan crude supply and demand concerns caused by surging coronavirus cases in the United States and Europe. Brent crude futures lost 65 cents to $41.12 a barrel, while U.S. crude fell 69 cents to $39.16.

(Reuters contributed to the story)