MORNING NEWS CALL REUTERS INDIA EDITION Thursday, January 18, 2018

FACTORS TO WATCH

9:30 am: RBI Deputy Governor N.S. Vishwanathan, Former RBI Deputy Governor H.R. Khan, Edelweiss Group CEO Rashesh Shah, SBI Deputy MD Karnam Sekar and other financial industry officials at Care Ratings Credit Markets Conclave in . 10:00 am: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to hold open house discussion regarding Consultation Paper on Auction of Spectrum in New Delhi. 12:00 pm: India Ratings & Research Chief Economist Devendra Kumar Pant and India Ratings & Research Principal Economist Sunil Kumar Sinha at FY19 Outlook for Macro Economy, State Finances and Rupee & Bond Market event in New Delhi. 12:00 pm: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to chair 25th GST Council meeting in New Delhi. 1:00 pm: National Payments Corporation of India CEO Dilip Asbe, India Digital Marketing Head Archan Banerjee, IT Joint Secretary Sanjay Kumar Rakesh at India Digital Summit in New Delhi. 2:00 pm: Oil Secretary K.D. Tripathi, Director General of Hydrocarbons Atanu Chakraborty at launch of first bidding round under Open Acreage Licensing Policy in New Delhi. 3:00 pm: post-earnings press conference in Mumbai. 3:30 pm: Adani Ports post-earnings analyst conference call in Mumbai.

LIVECHAT- BITCOIN AND FINTECH We discuss Bitcoin, fintech and digital finance with Jerome Peze, CEO of financial market professionals Tinubu Square at 03:30 pm IST. To join the conversation, click here

INDIA TOP NEWS EXCLUSIVE- Japan in driver's seat for Indian bullet train deal Japanese steel and engineering companies are in the driver's seat to bag major supply contracts for a $17 billion Indian bullet train, several sources said, undermining a key component of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policy - a push to 'Make in India'.

India will need at least $125 billion to fund renewables dream: govt official India will need at least $125 billion to fund its ambitious plan to increase the share of renewable power supply in the country’s grid by 2022, a top government official told Reuters, underlining the immense financing challenge ahead.

Indian govt cuts extra borrowing but markets still nervous India has cut its additional market borrowing requirement for the current fiscal year by 60 percent after reviewing trends in revenue receipts and expenditure patterns, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, sending bond yields sharply lower.

Hindustan Unilever Q3 profit surges 28 percent Ltd posted a 28 percent rise in its third-quarter profit on Wednesday, underpinned by higher sales from its personal care business.

Bharti Infratel Q3 profit falls, misses estimates Mobile masts operator Bharti Infratel Ltd said on Wednesday its net profit fell 5.6 percent in the third quarter, missing analysts' estimates, pulled down by higher expenses.

MORNING NEWS CALL - INDIA EDITION January 18, 2018

Israel-India guided missile deal back on track -Netanyahu Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday during a tour of India he had been informed by the Indian government that it had decided to put a major anti-tank missile deal back on track.

India to auction 55 oil and gas exploration blocks India will begin the auction of 55 oil and gas exploration blocks from Thursday under new rules, the country's first licensing round after eight years, as it seeks to unlock its vast hydrocarbon resources, the upstream regulator said.

Ride-hailing firm Grab buys India-based payments startup Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab said it has acquired an India-based payments startup, iKaaz, to help expand its digital payments platform GrabPay.

GLOBAL TOP STORIES

EXCLUSIVE-Trump considers big 'fine' over China intellectual property theft

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States was considering a big "fine" as part of a probe into China's alleged theft of intellectual property, the clearest indication yet that his administration will take retaliatory trade action against China.

Apple plans new U.S. campus, to pay $38 bln in foreign cash taxes Apple will open a new campus as part of a five-year, $30 billion U.S. investment plan and will make about $38 billion in one-time tax payments on its overseas cash, one of the largest corporate spending plans announced since the passage of a tax cut signed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

China's Q4 economic growth likely to slow amid debt, pollution battle China is expected on Thursday to post a modest slowdown in fourth quarter economic growth from the previous three months as the government extended a crackdown on debt risks and factory pollution.

STATE OF THE MARKETS

The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 10,843.00, trading up 0.35 pct from its previous close.

The Indian rupee is likely to trade little changed against the dollar in early session, in-line with most Asian currencies, amid a rebound in the greenback. -NewsRise

Indian government bonds are expected to remain largely unchanged in early trade as investors await a weekly auction of notes tomorrow. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 pct bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 7.4 pct-7.44 pct band today. -NewsRise

U.S. stocks jumped on Wednesday and the Dow closed above 26,000 for the first time as investors' expectations for higher earnings lifted stocks across sectors.

Asian stocks struck record highs, with a rally by Wall Street supporting bullish investor sentiment, while the dollar pulled back from three-year lows as comments by European Central Bank officials tempered the euro's recent rally.

The euro nursed losses, having pulled back from a three-year high as concerns voiced by European Central Bank officials this week dampened the currency's momentum.

2 MORNING NEWS CALL - INDIA EDITION January 18, 2018

The U.S. yield curve flattened to a decade-low spread between 5-year and 30-year yields and two-year Treasury yields hit a nine-year high on Wednesday on expectations the Federal Reserve will continue to tighten monetary policy this year.

Oil prices rose on a reported decline in U.S. crude inventories, and as rebels in Nigeria threatened to attack the country's petroleum infrastructure.

Gold prices extended declines from the day before to hit their lowest in nearly a week, pressured as the U.S. dollar recovered from a 3-year low touched on Wednesday.

CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT

PNDF spot 63.89/63.92 January 17 $97.84mln $11.74mln

10-yr bond yield 7.41pct Month-to-date $395.59mln $551.11mln

Year-to-date $395.59mln $551.11mln

3 MORNING NEWS CALL - INDIA EDITION January 18, 2018

PICTURE OF THE DAY

A man washes his clothes, as another rows a boat in the Yamuna River, on a cold winter morning in New Delhi, January 17. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

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