(Morning News Call - India edition will not be published through the year-end holiday season from December 25, 2017 to January 1, 2018. Normal service will resume from January 2, 2018. Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year.) To access the newsletter, click on the link: http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Indiamorning/MNC_IN_12192017.pdf If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/india-morning/ FACTORS TO WATCH 10:00 am: Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu and Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia at CII Services Conclave in New Delhi.
10:30 am: NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot at International Conference on Electric Vehicles in New Delhi.
11:00 am: Winter session of parliament continues in New Delhi.
11:30 am: Yes Bank press conference on partnership with European Investment Bank for renewable energy projects financing in New Delhi.
2:00 pm: DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek at IVCA Power Meet in New Delhi.
5:00 pm: Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju at International Conference for Women in Aviation & Aerospace in New Delhi.
GMF: LIVECHAT - 2018 INVESTMENT OUTLOOK We get an outlook for markets in the year ahead with David Page, senior economist at AXA Investment Managers at 1530 IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/communities/ INDIA TOP NEWS Dr. Reddy's resolves U.S. probe over child safety of drug packaging Dr. Reddy's Laboratories will pay $5 million to resolve U.S. claims that the Indian company sold prescription drugs in the United States in packaging that was not tested for child safety, according to court papers filed on Monday.
Apple ups iPhone prices in India as tax increase makes imports costlier Apple has increased the prices of most of its iPhone models sold in India after the government last week raised taxes on imported phones in a bid to boost domestic manufacturing.
GAIL renegotiating LNG deals with U.S. companies- minister Indian gas firm GAIL (India) is renegotiating its liquefied natural gas purchase deals with U.S.-based Cheniere Energy and Dominion Cove Point, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told lawmakers on Monday.
India's JSW to buy 49 pct stake in Brahmani River Pellets A unit of India's JSW Group said it will buy a 49 percent stake in iron ore pellets manufacturer Brahmani River Pellets for an undisclosed amount, after Tata Steel, which was a front-runner to acquire the company, dropped out.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS U.S. blames North Korea for 'WannaCry' cyber attack The Trump administration has publicly blamed North Korea for unleashing the so-called WannaCry cyber attack that crippled hospitals, banks and other companies across the globe earlier this year.
World Bank raises China 2017 growth forecast, maintains 2018 outlook The World Bank raised its forecast for China's economic growth in 2017 to 6.8 percent from 6.7 percent it projected in October, as personal consumption and foreign trade supported growth.
Hershey, Campbell bet nearly $6 bln on healthy snacks makers Campbell Soup and Hershey on Monday unveiled deals totaling nearly $6 billion to buy healthy packaged snacks makers, the latest example of big U.S. food companies trying to cater to an increasing American preference for healthy foods.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures was trading at 10,420.50, up 0.2 percent from its previous close.
The Indian rupee will likely edge higher, as the dollar slipped amid doubts over the overall impact of the proposed U.S. tax overhaul on the world’s largest economy.
Indian government bonds will likely open lower as the central bank will auction the benchmark note this week instead of a new 10-year paper. Debt sale from states later today would also put pressure on prices, traders said. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 7.16 percent-7.21 percent band, a dealer with a primary dealership said. The note closed at 97.35 rupees, yielding 7.18 percent yesterday.
GLOBAL MARKETS • Wall Street hit record closing highs on Monday as optimism increased about the likelihood of lower corporate tax rates as the Republican tax bill moved closer to passage.
• Asian stocks advanced after a record-setting session on Wall Street on bets that U.S. lawmakers would pass sweeping tax legislation, while the dollar treaded water as traders were circumspect about the bill's economic impact.
• The dollar remained mired in its recent ranges, as optimism that the U.S. tax reform bill would pass duelled with concerns about what its ultimate effect on growth would be.
• The margin between U.S. shorter-dated and longer-dated Treasury yields widened on Monday from its slimmest in a decade as traders booked profits on curve-flattening positions tied to the view the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates further.
• Oil markets were little changed, with unplanned outages and voluntary production restraint led by OPEC supporting prices, while soaring output in the United States capped crude.
• Gold traded little changed in early Asian trade amid a steady dollar with investors monitoring the progress of the U.S. tax reform bill.
CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.19/64.22 December 15 -$67.29 mln $2.65 mln 10-yr bond yields 7.18 pct Month-to-date -$526.56 mln $346.22 mln Year-to-date $8.17 bln $26.08 bln 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 = 64.2000 Indian rupees)
