9:30 am: Former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan, Kotak Mahindra Bank MD Uday Kotak, IDFC Bank MD Rajiv Lall, PM Economic Advisory Council Member Ashima Goyal at Future of India conference in Mumbai.
12:45 pm: Nomura 2018 Markets Outlook briefing in Mumbai.
3:00 pm: Small and Medium Industries Minister Giriraj Singh to launch Public Procurement portal in New Delhi.
3:30 pm: Bank of India MD D.B. Mohapatra and Bank of India Executive Director Atanu Das to address media in New Delhi.
5:00 pm: RBI likely to release forex data in Mumbai.
9:30 pm: Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri at Urban Missions’ workshop in New Delhi.
LIVECHAT – QUIZ EAST The first of our Friday quizzes focuses on Asia and the week's top news. Tests your wits and googling speed. To join the conversation, click on the link: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/communities/ INDIA TOP NEWS • India's Union Bank seeks at least $155 mln in share sale - sources State-run Union Bank of India launched a share sale to institutions on Thursday to raise at least 10 billion rupees, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
• ArcelorMittal's $1 bln India joint venture to get green light next week- sources State-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd is set to approve a long-proposed $1 billion joint venture with ArcelorMittal at its board meeting next week, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
• Indian steel firm's mining plans in lush forest may be nixed - sources India's environmental authorities are likely to cancel a plan by a state steel company to dig for more iron ore from a massive reserve located in a lush green forest roamed by elephants, sources said, as the government aims to halt mining in the area.
• India's Jet Airways Q2 profit slumps 91 pct Jet Airways (India) Ltd, the country's second-largest airline, reported a 91 percent slump in quarterly profit on Thursday, hurt by higher fuel expenses.
• Indian hospital operator Shalby's $79 mln IPO subscribed nearly 3 times Indian hospital operator Shalby Ltd's initial public offering to raise 5.1 billion rupees was subscribed 2.8 times on the last day of the sale on Thursday.
• India to fine firms for blackouts, crackdown on electricity theft India plans to fine electricity distributors from April 2019 for power cuts deemed avoidable and to make it mandatory for the companies to install prepaid or smart meters to prevent electricity theft, the power minister said on Thursday.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS • Bitcoin blows past $16,000, alarm bells ring louder Bitcoin rocketed to a lifetime high well above $16,000 on Thursday after climbing some 67 percent over one week, intensifying the debate about whether the cryptocurrency is in a bubble about to burst.
• Congress averts U.S. government shutdown for now The U.S. Congress moved rapidly on Thursday to send President Donald Trump a short-term funding bill to avert a government shutdown this weekend, leaving fights over budget priorities and a range of other controversial issues for the coming weeks.
• Japan's Q3 growth twice as fast as first estimated, outlook brightens Japan's economy grew twice as fast as originally estimated in the third quarter thanks to big gains in capital expenditure, revised data showed on Friday, with expansion seen to continue thanks to buoyant exports.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 10,219.50, up 0.2% from its previous close Indian government bonds are likely to fall in early trade as the market prepares for of a fresh supply of notes later today. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 7.01 percent-7.06 percent band.
The Indian rupee may open little changed against the dollar, as likely strength in local shares tracking regional peers is expected to offset the impact of gains in greenback after the U.S. tax reform bill made progress ahead of the crucial nonfarm payroll data.
GLOBAL MARKETS • Wall Street rose on Thursday, buoyed by popular technology companies including Facebook and Alphabet, while shares of yoga pants seller Lululemon Athletica also worked up a sweat.
• Asian shares rallied for a second session as investors awaited major economic data from China and the United States while marvelling at the meteoric ascent of the market's new crypto-star, bitcoin.
• The dollar inched higher, on track for a weekly gain against a basket of currencies, as the passage of a bill to temporarily extend U.S. government funding raised investors' optimism that a tax reform bill would also pass.
• Longer-dated U.S Treasury yields rose on Thursday as risk appetite increased, diminishing the attractiveness of safe-haven U.S. government debt.
• Oil prices dipped as the U.S. dollar strengthened, although OPEC-led supply cuts are seen supporting markets going into next year.
• Gold edged up, after dropping below its recent trading range to hit a more than four-month low overnight.
CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.54/64.57 December 7 -$166.70 mln $5.11 mln 10-yr bond yields 7.11 pct Month-to-date -$485.62 mln $387.25 mln Year-to-date -$8.21 bln $26.12 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 = 64.5600 Indian rupees)
