Morning News Call - India, August 14
(India Morning Newsletter will not be published on Tuesday, August 15, as markets are closed for Independence Day.) To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 12:00 pm: Government to release July wholesale price inflation data in New Delhi. 3:00 pm: Godrej industries earnings conference call in Mumbai. 5:30 pm: Government to release July consumer price inflation data in New Delhi. LIVECHAT - FX WEEK AHEAD FX Buzz analyst Jeremy Boulton analyses G7 currencies at 3:30 pm IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS • India's July retail inflation seen picking up for first time in 4 months India's consumer inflation is expected to have picked up in July after easing for three straight months, with food prices back on the rise, but is expected to remain well below the central bank's target. • Indian government flags growth risks, pushes for monetary easing India called on Friday for more monetary easing as it flagged risks to economic growth and budget targets, citing a series of disinflationary impulses weighing on Asia's third-largest economy. • State Bank of India Q1 results weighed down by subsidiary bank mergers State Bank of India's first-quarter profit fell short of expectations as the nation's top lender by assets saw a spike in bad loans after merging five subsidiary banks with itself, sending its shares more than 5 percent lower. • Reliance Communications posts third consecutive quarterly loss Reliance Communications posted its third straight quarterly loss on Saturday as its heavy debt load and a price war triggered by an upstart rival continued to weigh on sales and profit. • Sun Pharma reports Q1 loss as generics business suffers India's largest drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd posted a surprise quarterly loss due to one-off legal costs and pressure over prices in its largest market, the United States, casting a shadow over its growth prospects. • India's gold imports to rebound in 2017 on restocking, good monsoon - top refiner India's gold imports are likely to jump by a third in 2017 to 750 tonnes on restocking by jewellers and as good monsoon rainfall is expected to boost demand in rural areas during the upcoming festive season, a leading refiner told Reuters. • Tata Steel gets regulatory approval for UK pension deal Tata Steel Ltd has received regulatory approval for a deal to cut its UK pension scheme liabilities, it said, paving the way for a possible merger between its British and European steel businesses and those of Germany's Thyssenkrupp. • Cipla Q1 profit rises 20 percent, beats estimates Cipla Ltd reported a 20 percent rise in quarterly profit, beating analysts' estimates, as higher sales in Europe and South Africa offset weakness in its key domestic market. GLOBAL TOP NEWS • After criticism, White House says Trump condemns KKK, neo-Nazis U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks condemning violence at a white nationalist rally were meant to include the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups, the White House said on Sunday, a day after he was criticized across the political spectrum for not explicitly denouncing white supremacists. • Japan Q2 GDP blows past expectations on robust domestic demand Japan's economy grew in the second quarter at the fastest pace in more than two years as consumer spending and capital expenditure both rose at the fastest in more than three years, highlighting stronger domestic demand. • China July factory output, retail sales, investment miss forecasts China's factory output slowed more than expected in July while investment and retail sales also disappointed, reinforcing views that the world's second-largest economy is starting to lose some steam as lending costs rise and the property market cools. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) • The SGX Nifty Futures was trading at 9,773.50, trading up 0.5 percent from its previous close. • Indian government bonds are likely to trade steady in early session ahead of the release of July inflation data due later today. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 6.48 percent-6.52 percent band. • The Indian rupee will likely open higher against the dollar, after slower-than-expected U.S. inflation in July raised doubts of another rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year. GLOBAL MARKETS • The three major U.S. stocks indexes ended higher on Friday, snapping three days of losses, as investors bet on slower U.S. rate hikes, but gains were muted by increasingly aggressive exchanges between the United States and North Korea. • Asian stocks bounced after three losing sessions, tracking a firmer Wall Street, while the dollar was weighed down by weak U.S. inflation data which dampened prospects of another Federal Reserve interest rate hike later this year. • U.S. Treasury yields slipped on Friday as softer-than-expected inflation data for July further eroded expectations of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve at its December monetary policy meeting. • Oil prices dipped as a slowdown in Chinese refining activity growth cast doubts over its crude demand outlook, while rising U.S. shale output suggested supplies would likely remain high. • Gold slipped from an over two-month high touched in the previous session, as the dollar edged higher against the yen. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.21/64.24 August 11 -$303.11 mln -$116.01 mln 10-yr bond yield 6.8 pct Month-to-date -$131.96 mln $1.04 bln Year-to-date $8.85 bln $22.18 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 = 64.1350 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Erum Khaled in Bengaluru)