To access the newsletter, click on the link: http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Indiamorning/MNC_IN_04012016.pdf FACTORS TO WATCH Debt and FX markets shut as banks closed for FY accounts closing.

5:00 pm: RBI to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai.

INDIA TOP NEWS  UltraTech buys Jaiprakash cement plants in new $2.4 billion deal UltraTech Cement Ltd will buy Jaiprakash Associates Ltd's cement plants for 159 billion rupees including debt, the companies said in a revised deal unveiled on Thursday.

 Reserve Bank of India intervenes via state-run banks to curb rupee's rise - traders India's central bank bought as much as $1 billion over Wednesday and Thursday to prevent the rupee from strengthening too much after the currency hit three-month highs as investors poured funds into emerging markets, two traders said.

 Britain says state takeover not the answer in steel crisis Prime Minister David Cameron said there was no guarantee a buyer could be found for Britain's biggest steel producer after Tata Steel announced it was pulling out, and a state takeover was not the answer.

 SBI sets lending rates under new rules State Bank of India,the nation's top lender by assets, on Thursday set lending rates under new rules that are aimed at improving tranmission of policy rate cuts and also making bank loans more competitive.

 Death toll in India flyover collapse rises to 23, with 90 rescued The death toll in the collapse of a flyover under construction in the Indian city of Kolkata rose to 23 on Friday, after rescuers worked throughthe night with cranes and jackhammers to clear huge slabs of steel and concrete.

GLOBAL TOP NEWS  China March factory activity unexpectedly expands for 1st time in 9 months-official PMI Activity in China's manufacturing activity unexpectedly expanded in March for the first time in nine months, an official survey showed on Friday, adding to hopes that downward pressure on the world's second-largest economy is easing.

 EXCLUSIVE-Anbang partner says Starwood bid was dropped to avoid long battle China's Anbang Insurance Group Co walked away from its planned $14 billion offer for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc to avoid a protracted bidding war, one of the Chinese insurer's consortium partners said.

 Japan March manufacturing activity contracts most in over 3 years-PMI Japan's manufacturing activity contracted in March at the fastest pace in more than three years as new export orders shrank sharply, a business survey showed on Friday, adding to fears the world's third-largest economy is sliding back into recession.

GLOBAL MARKETS  Wall Street ended the first quarter with a whimper on Thursday after a seven-week rally that rescued the S&P 500 from its worst start to a year since 2009.

 Asian shares and the dollar both lost more ground as investors began the new quarter in a cautious mood, with glimmers of life in China's economy offset by a darkening mood in Japan.

 The dollar licked its wounds after taking steep quarterly losses against major rivals, as investors awaited the nonfarm payrolls report for the latest reading on U.S. labour conditions and potential clues to the monetary policy outlook.

 U.S. Treasuries closed out their best quarter in 4-1/2 years on Thursday, with prices rising on the day as fund managers added longer-dated debt maturities to match expected month-end changes of benchmark indexes tracked by their portfolios.

 Oil futures eased in early Asian trade as oversupply and a strengthening dollar weighed on sentiment, although data showing another fall in U.S. oil output in January offered support.

 Gold held steady above $1,230 an ounce, after posting its biggest quarterly rise in nearly 30 years on waning expectations of U.S. rate hikes, with investors waiting for U.S. non-farm payrolls data for more cues.

MARKETS CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 66.26/66.29 March 31 $612.4 mln $264 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.73 pct Month-to-date $3.41 bln $333.26 mln Year-to-date $534.01 mln -$759.92 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 = 66.25 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Nishit Kunal in Bengaluru)