10:30 am: FSSAI Chairperson Ashish Bahuguna, Drugs Controller General of India S. Eswara Reddy, Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani and other officials at ‘Global Logistics Summit’ in New Delhi.
11:00 am: Budget session of Parliament continues in New Delhi.
11:00 am: Apollo Hospitals Vice Chairperson Shobana Kamineni, Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, Edelweiss Financial Services Chairman Rashesh Shah at India-Nepal Business Forum in New Delhi.
12:00 pm: MSME Minister Giriraj Singh to brief media on khadi and village industries in New Delhi.
1:00 pm: Nestle India CMD Suresh Narayanan at Gems and Jewellery Conclave in Mumbai.
GMF: LIVECHAT - WEEKAHEAD Reuters EMEA markets editor Mike Dolan discusses the upcoming week's main market inflection points at 3:30 pm IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/communities/ INDIA TOP NEWS • India cbank holds rates; cheers markets by trimming inflation view The Reserve Bank of India kept its policy rates on hold on Thursday and retained its "neutral" stance but lowered its inflation call, reducing the odds of a near-term rate rise and spurring a rally in stocks and bonds.
• Indian services firms return to growth as demand picks up -PMI India's services industry returned to growth in March as new business picked up on improved demand, a private survey showed on Thursday, encouraging firms to hire at the fastest pace in nearly seven years.
• IndiGo says to opt out of race to acquire Air India Top Indian carrier Interglobe Aviation Ltd, which operates under the IndiGo brand, said on Thursday it was opting out of a race to acquire state-run Air India as the terms set by the government would not suit it.
• RCom says confident of speedy asset sale after top court relief Debt-laden Reliance Communications (RCom) said on Thursday Supreme Court had lifted a high court stay on sale of some of its assets and allowed its secured lenders to proceed with the sale process.
• India defers new accounting rules for banks cheering investors The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday deferred until next year a new accounting standard for the country's banks that would have led to higher bad-loan provisioning requirements.
• Central bank officials called on by police to aid in PNB fraud probe Four senior Indian central bank officials have been called on by investigators to help explain banking processes as police probe deeper into the $2 billion fraud at Punjab National Bank, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
• MakeMyTrip partners Flipkart for travel bookings Indian online travel portal MakeMyTrip has formed a partnership with Flipkart to allow customers to book domestic flight tickets and other travel services directly through the e-commerce firm's portal.
• India's finance minister being treated for kidney ailment, infections Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said he was undergoing treatment for kidney related problems and infections, after he cancelled a visit to London next week for annual economic talks.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS • Trade fight mounts as Trump threatens $100 billion more in China tariffs President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had instructed U.S. trade officials to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs against China, upping the ante in an already high-stakes trade confrontation between the world's two biggest economies.
• Samsung Elec tips record Q1 profit as chip boom winds down Samsung Electronics tipped a surprise record first-quarter profit but market reaction was muted due to growing concerns that the semiconductor boom that has driven the South Korean tech giant's earnings is about to end.
• Japan household spending posts biggest drop in nearly a year as wages fall Japan's household spending suffered the biggest annual decline in nearly a year in February as inflation-adjusted wages continued to fall, data showed on Friday, suggesting the economy's longest run of growth since the 1980s asset bubble has peaked.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty nearest-month futures were trading at 10,337.00, down 0.2 percent from its previous close.
The Indian rupee is likely to open higher against the dollar as expectations of debt-related flows eclipse renewed concerns on U.S. trade policies.
Indian government bonds are likely to gain in early session as investor sentiment was boosted following the Monetary Policy Committee's lowering of its inflation projection for this fiscal year, a move that soothed concerns of monetary tightening in the near term. The yield on the benchmark 7.17 percent bond maturing in 2028 is likely to trade in a 7.08 percent-7.16 percent band.
GLOBAL MARKETS • U.S. stock futures fell more than 1 percent late on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had instructed U.S. trade officials to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs on China.
• Japanese stocks were choppy as the perceived safe-haven yen rose after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of further tariffs on China as the simmering trade dispute between the two nations kept investors on edge.
• The dollar fell against the yen on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had instructed U.S. trade officials to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs on China.
• U.S. Treasury yields rose to one-week highs on Thursday as investors piled back into equities as reduced fears of a trade war drove up the appetite for risk, and ahead of Friday’s closely watched employment report for March.
• Oil prices fell on Friday along with equities as U.S. President Trump's threat of new tariffs on China reignited fears of a trade war between the world's two biggest economies.
• Gold prices rose as investors sought safer assets after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed $100 billion in new tariffs on China, raising concerns about an escalating trade spat between the United States and China.
CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.96/64.99 April 5 -$16.65 mln $89.43 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.30 pct Month-to-date -$67.88 mln $166.29 mln Year-to-date $2.10 bln $886.92 mln For additional data: India govt bond market volumes Stock market reports Non-deliverable forwards data Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD] Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT] Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN] ($1 = 64.88 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Pathikrit Bandyopadhyay in Bengaluru)
