Morning News Call – India, December 15 – Reuters India

By Reuters Staff
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FACTORS TO WATCH
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to hold pre-budget meetings
with the financial sector and capital markets stakeholders in New Delhi.
The Government is scheduled to release November trade data in New Delhi.
10:00 am: Mrs Bectors Food Specialities IPO opens for subscription in
Mumbai.
11:00 am: Chemicals Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda is expected to participate
in ASSOCHAM’s virtual foundation week.
11:00 am: Defence Ministry Additional Secretary Sanjay Jaju is scheduled to
participate in the PHD Chamber of Commerce webinar on Opportunities for MSMEs
in Defence & Aerospace Manufacturing.
11:30 am: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, DPIIT Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra,
State Bank of India Chairman Dinesh Khara among others are expected to
participate in the CII Partnership summit.
1:15 pm: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal,
Vedanta Chief Executive – Aluminium & Power Ajay Kapur among others are
scheduled to participate in ASSOCHAM’s virtual foundation week.
3:00 pm: PMEAC Part-Time Member Anantha Nageswaran, Union Bank of India
Chief Executive and Managing Director Rajkiran Rai G, Reserve Bank of India
Former Governor D. Subbarao, HDFC Bank Chairperson Shyamala Gopinath, J P Morgan
Chief India Economist Sajjid Chinoy among others are expected to participate in
Almus Rupee Money conference.
4:00 pm: The Health Ministry is scheduled to brief on the Covid-19 situation
in New Delhi.
6:00 pm: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to participate in
ASSOCHAM’s virtual foundation week.
LIVECHAT – REUTERS GLOBAL MARKETS FORUM
Sarbjit Bakhshi, Head of Political Markets at Smarkets, joins the forum to
discuss their contracts on the outcome of Brexit negotiations ahead of the
December 31 deadline.To join the conversation at 4:30 pm IST, click on the link:
refini.tv/2P8N0Wp
INDIA TOP NEWS
India’s November retail inflation eases, RBI seen to hold on rates
India’s retail inflation eased in November after holding above 7% for two
straight months, but remained beyond the upper bound of the 2-6% target, meaning
the central bank is likely to leave policy rates on hold to support the economy,
analysts said.
Indian farmers step up pressure with hunger strike against reforms
Leaders of protesting Indian farmers began a one-day hunger strike on Monday
against agricultural reforms they say threaten their livelihoods, stepping up
pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to withdraw the
legislation.
India receives multiple initial bids for state-run carrier Air India
The Indian government said on Twitter it has received multiple bids for its
stake in state-run carrier Air India, the auction for which ended on Monday
evening.
Apple supplier Wistron puts India plant damage at up to $7 million
The ransacking of an iPhone manufacturing facility in India caused up to
$7.12 million in damage though production facilities were not as badly hit as
reported, its Taiwan-based operator Wistron said.
Reliance Jio makes complaint to regulator about Bharti Airtel, Vodafone
Idea
Reliance Industries’ telecom division has asked the Indian telecoms
regulator to take action against rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea for
allegedly running a false propaganda campaign to attract its subscribers.
Change in India’s monetary policy framework unlikely, says RBI governor –
Economic Times
There is unlikely to be any change in the inflation target band or framework
given to India’s Monetary Policy Committee that is due for a review next year,
Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das told Economic Times in an
interview.
India’s fuel demand climbs for third straight month in November
India’s fuel consumption rose for a third straight month in November, helped
by reviving transportation and business activity, although a year-on-year fall
pointed to a sluggish economic recovery.
Global litigation financiers plan India entry to target company disputes
Some of the world’s top litigation financiers like Australia’s Omni
Bridgeway and a unit of U.S. insurance broker Marsh Inc plan to tap the Indian
market by funding the legal costs of disputes that embroil companies, executives
told Reuters.
SoftBank-backed India’s Ola to invest $326 million in electric-scooter
plant
Ola, backed by Japan’s SoftBank, said on Monday it planned to invest $326
million to set up a factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu to produce
electric scooters.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS
‘Democracy prevailed,’ Biden says after U.S. Electoral College confirms
his win
President-elect Joe Biden delivered a forceful rebuke on Monday to President
Donald Trump’s attacks on the legitimacy of his victory, hours after winning the
state-by-state Electoral College vote that officially determines the U.S.
presidency.
China’s November industrial output steps up as recovery gathers pace
China’s industrial output grew in line with expectations in November,
expanding for the eighth straight month as the economic recovery gathered pace
and global demand picked up.
U.S. FTC seeks data on how Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and others use
personal data
The Federal Trade Commission is seeking information from Facebook, Twitter
and other social media and video streaming companies about how they use the
personal information that they collect on their users, the U.S. agency said on
Monday.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK
(As reported by NewsRise)
SGX Nifty nearest-month futures were trading 0.4% lower at 13,543.50.
The Indian rupee is expected to weaken against the dollar tracking losses
in most regional currencies and equities.
India bond yields are likely to open lower, after domestic retail
inflation rate in November eased for the first time in three months. The yield
on the benchmark 5.77% 2030 bond is likely to trade in a 5.90%-5.95% band.
GLOBAL MARKETS
The S&P 500 ended lower on Monday, weighed down by Walt Disney, while
Alexion Pharmaceuticals jumped on a $39 billion buyout offer from AstraZeneca in
one of the year’s biggest deals.
Asian stocks drifted lower as worries about increasing COVID-19 deaths and
lockdowns overshadowed optimism about the roll-out of coronavirus
vaccinations.
The dollar traded near 2-1/2-year lows against major peers as demand for
the safest assets flagged amid progress toward agreeing U.S. fiscal stimulus and
optimism for a Brexit deal.
The Treasury yield curve steepened modestly on Monday, ahead of this
week’s Federal Reserve meeting, and as select hospitals were set to administer
the first COVID-19 vaccines.
Oil prices dipped, with demand worries due to tighter lockdowns in Europe
outweighing relief from vaccination rollouts and concerns about a flare-up of
tension in the Middle East.
Gold prices were little changed as investors took stock of surging
COVID-19 cases, vaccines inoculations and negotiations over a U.S. coronavirus
fiscal relief package.
CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITI DEBT
ES
PNDF spot 73.53/73.56 December 14 5,037. 2,399.38 crores
42
crores
10-yr bond yield 5.94% Month-to-date 38,420 4,354 crores
crores
Year-to-date 1,46,6 (1,04,598) crores
66
crores
(FII investment numbers are in Indian rupees. Source: National Securities
Depository Limited)
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 = 73.63 Indian rupees)
(Compiled by Priyanka Das)read more