Morning News Call – India, January 7 – Reuters India

By Reuters Staff
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FACTORS TO WATCH
11:00 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate Rewari – Madar
section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor via video conference.
11:00 am: Department of Telecommunications meets multiple stakeholders for
consultations to frame spectrum policy in New Delhi.
3:00 pm: Federation of Indian Export Organisations Director General and
Chief Executive Ajay Sahai at webinar on Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export
Products scheme.
3:30 pm: DPIIT Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra, Additional Secretary Sumita
Dawra, Civil Aviation Ministry Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola, Joint Secretary
Usha Padhee and Amber Dubey at FICCI webinar on aerospace manufacturing.
5:30 pm: Government to release first advance estimate of FY21 GDP.
RBI to conduct purchase and sale of up to 100 billion rupees of federal
government bonds under a special open market operation.
INDIA TOP NEWS
Criticism mounts of India’s ‘abrupt’ approval of local vaccine
Criticism of India’s approval of a local COVID-19 vaccine without proof of
its efficacy grew on Wednesday after news that a regulatory panel approved the
shot just one day after asking the vaccine maker for more evidence it would
work.
Services sector loses more steam in Dec, job cuts resume
Growth in India’s dominant services industry continued to lose momentum in
December as a resurgence in coronavirus infections weighed on new business and
employment, a private survey showed on Wednesday.
USTR slams India, Italy, Turkey on digital taxes but holds off on tariffs
Digital services taxes adopted by India, Italy and Turkey discriminate
against U.S. companies and are inconsistent with international tax principles,
the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said on Wednesday, paving the way for
potential retaliatory tariffs.
Honda offers early retirement in India amid slowing motorcycle sales
Honda Motor is offering voluntary retirement to some permanent employees at
its motorcycles and scooters unit in India amid slowing demand there following
the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said on Wednesday.
India’s proposed changes to anti-smoking law face objections from tobacco
industry
India’s tobacco industry will object to a proposal to ban smoking zones in
hotels and prohibit advertising at cigarette kiosks as the government steps up
anti-smoking efforts, two executives said on Wednesday.
TPG-backed cosmetics startup Nykaa plans IPO, eyes $3 bln in valuation –
Mint
App-based Indian cosmetics retailing startup Nykaa plans to go public by
early 2022 at a valuation of more than $3 billion, Mint reported on Wednesday,
citing a person aware of the matter.
E-commerce startup Udaan raises $280 million from Tencent, others
Indian business-to-business e-commerce startup Udaan has raised $280
million, it said Wednesday, as it seeks to serve more mom-and-pop businesses
that are buying products online in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In blow to Vedanta, Zambian court rules KCM liquidator to stay in post
A Zambian court has ruled the state-appointed liquidator of Vedanta’s
Konkola Copper Mines will not be discharged despite a November ruling ordering a
halt to proceedings to allow Vedanta and minority KCM shareholder ZCCM-IH to
pursue arbitration.
Four dead at India steel plant after suspected gas leak
Four contract workers at the Steel Authority of India Limited’s Rourkela
steel plant in eastern India died on Wednesday after a suspected gas leak, the
state-owned company said in a statement.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS
Congress debates certification of Biden’s win after Trump supporters storm
U.S. Capitol
Hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on
Wednesday in a bid to overturn his election defeat, occupying the symbol of
American democracy and forcing Congress to suspend a session to certify
President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Georgia delivers U.S. Senate to Democrats with double win
Democrats on Wednesday completed a sweep of the two U.S. Senate seats up for
grabs in runoff elections in Georgia, giving the party control of the chamber
and boosting the prospects for President-elect Joe Biden’s legislative agenda.
U.S. considering adding Alibaba, Tencent to China stock ban -sources
The Trump administration is considering adding Alibaba Group and Tencent
Holdings to a blacklist of Chinese companies that are allegedly owned or
controlled by the Chinese military, two people familiar with the matter told
Reuters.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK
(As reported by NewsRise)
SGX Nifty nearest-month futures were trading 0.5% higher at 14,251.50.
The Indian rupee is expected to edge lower against the dollar as long-term
Treasury yields climbed to their highest in more than nine months on likelihood
of additional U.S. fiscal stimulus.
Indian federal government bond yields will likely open little changed
ahead of the central banks so-called open market operation. The yield on the
benchmark 5.77% 2030 bond is likely to trade in a 5.88%-5.93% band.
GLOBAL MARKETS
The Dow and the S&P 500 ended higher, soaring to all-time highs on
Wednesday, as investors piled into financial and industrial stocks on bets a
Democratic sweep in Georgia would lead to more fiscal stimulus and
infrastructure spending.
Bonds nursed losses and Asian stock markets rose in anticipation of a big
borrowing and big spending Democrat administration driving growth, following
runoff elections that gave the party control of both houses of U.S. Congress.
The dollar languished near its lowest level in nearly three years after
Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate, clearing the way for a larger fiscal
stimulus under President-elect Joe Biden.
Runoff elections in Georgia that eventually gave Democrats control of the
U.S. Senate hoisted the 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield on Wednesday over the
1% level for the first time since March before the rise was tempered by the
swarming of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump protesters.
Oil prices were steady after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed
the U.S. Capitol, with investors focusing on the likelihood of tighter supplies
after Saudi Arabia unilaterally agreed to cut output.
Gold prices edged higher, recovering from a sharp decline in the previous
session, as investors cheered a Democratic win in the U.S. Senate race that is
expected to unleash more fiscal stimulus.
CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT
PNDF spot 73.11/73.14 January 6 (193.25) crores 188.77 crores
10-yr bond yield 5.89% Month-to-date 4,362 crores 2,128 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 = 73.13 Indian rupees)
(Compiled by Sourav Bose)read more