11:00 am: Budget session of Parliament continues in New Delhi.
11:00 am: Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia, Transport Secretary Yudhvir Singh Malik and other government officials at Global Logistics Summit in New Delhi.
11:00 am: TRAI Chairman R.S. Sharma to present WiFi Services report to Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha in New Delhi.
12:00 pm: Federation of Indian Export Organisations and PayPal to brief media on a strategic announcement in New Delhi.
2:30 pm: Monetary Policy Committee to announce interest rate decision in Mumbai.
2:45 pm: RBI Governor Urjit Patel briefs media post release of monetary policy statement in Mumbai.
3:00 pm: Sanjay Sudhir, joint secretary at Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, to brief media on International Energy Forum 2018 in New Delhi.
5:00 pm: RBI analyst conference call post MPC decision in Mumbai.
GMF: LIVECHAT - COMMODITIES TECHNICALS Wang Tao, Reuters Market Analyst for Commodities Technicals, joins us to discuss his 2018 Q2 outlook for commodities on the charts at 11:00 am IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/communities/ INDIA TOP NEWS • PREVIEW-India cenbank to keep rates on hold, sound cautious despite easing inflation The Reserve Bank of India is expected to keep interest rates on hold for the fourth straight meeting but maintain a cautious tone despite a sharper-than-expected pullback in inflation in the last few months.
• Amazon may offer to buy Flipkart -report Amazon.com may make a rival offer to buy Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart, which is in tie-up talks with Walmart, local media reported, as the two U.S. retail giants jostle for dominance in India's booming online industry.
• India to offer $3-4 billion development plan for giant Iran gas field - sources India is set to offer a $3-4 billion development plan for the Farzad B gas field to Iran next week after Tehran reduced the scope of the project, two sources familiar with the matter said.
• ICICI Securities makes tepid debut after $541 million IPO Shares in India's largest equity broker, ICICI Securities, fell on their market debut on Wednesday, reflecting weak sentiment around the firm's initial public offering (IPO) last week that raised a lower-than-target $541 million.
• Vedanta, others can transport royalty-paid iron ore from Goa -Court Vedanta Resources, controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal, and other miners can transport already mined iron ore from Goa on which royalties have been paid, India's top court ruled on Wednesday, providing relief to the state's miners.
• Nepal PM to press India for banned currency swap Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli will press India to exchange millions of dollars held in Nepal in banned high-value Indian bank notes during a visit this week to improve ties with its large southern neighbour.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS • U.S. expects talks with China as trade fight escalates The United States voiced willingness on Wednesday to negotiate a resolution to an escalating trade fight with China after Beijing retaliated against proposed U.S. tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods by targeting key American imports, but the Chinese ambassador to Washington said it "takes two to tango." • Facebook says data leak hits 87 million users, widening privacy scandal Facebook said on Wednesday that the personal information of up to 87 million users, mostly in the United States, may have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, up from a previous news media estimate of more than 50 million.
• U.S. plans to sanction Russian oligarchs this week -sources The United States plans to sanction Russian oligarchs this week under a law targeting Moscow for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in what could be the most aggressive move so far against Russia's business elite.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty nearest-month futures at 10,298.50, up 1.7 percent from its previous close.
The Indian rupee is likely to open higher as risk assets rebounded after comments from a U.S. Economic Advisor raised hopes a trade war will be averted.
Indian government bonds may trade little changed ahead of the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee’s meeting today even as investors await a likely increase in limit on foreign investment in India’s debt. The yield on the benchmark 7.17 percent bond maturing in 2028 is likely to trade in a 7.26 percent-7.32 percent band until the rate decision at 2:30 p.m. in Mumbai, a trader with a state-run bank said.
GLOBAL MARKETS • Wall Street's three major indexes staged a comeback to close around 1 percent higher on Wednesday as investors turned their focus to earnings and away from a trade conflict between the United States and China that wreaked havoc in earlier trading.
• Asian shares bounced from two-month lows as world equities recovered from a selloff triggered by escalating Sino-U.S. trade tensions, with investors hoping a full-blown trade war between the world's two biggest economies can be averted.
• The dollar held steady against the yen after recovering against the safe-haven Japanese currency as stocks bounced back from a sell-off triggered by an escalating U.S.-China trade spat.
• U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday and stocks recovered much of their earlier losses, after China retaliated against the Trump administration’s plan to impose tariffs on Chinese goods.
• Oil prices rose, holding onto a late-session rally the previous day, buoyed by the U.S. government data showing a surprise drawdown in crude stockpiles.
• Gold prices fell, after hitting a one-week high in the previous session, as the dollar steadied and equities recovered on the United States's willingness to negotiate on tariffs with China, easing fears of a full-blown trade war.
CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 65.06/65.09 April 4 $51.51 mln $271.99 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.45 pct Month-to-date -$112.74 mln $126.90 mln Year-to-date $2.05 bln $847.53 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 = 65.04 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Pathkirit Bandyopadhyay in Bengaluru)
