11:00 am: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presents federal budget for next fiscal year in New Delhi.
3:30 pm: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and top finance ministry officials brief media after release of federal budget in New Delhi.
5:00 pm: Government to release January infrastructure output data in New Delhi.
INDIA TOP NEWS Modi's budget, in policy shift, to focus on rural India - officials Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants the federal budget unveiled on Monday to appeal to India's rural poor, officials familiar with his thinking said, in a strategy shift that could boost his ruling party in coming state elections but disappoint investors.
UltraTech to buy Jaiprakash cement plants for $2.4 billion UltraTech Cement Ltd, part of the Aditya Birla conglomerate, has agreed to buy Jaiprakash Associates Ltd's cement plants for an enterprise value of 165 billion rupees, the companies said on Sunday.
India signals possible deficit revisions in upcoming budget India should review its mid-term fiscal strategy, a government report urged on Friday, in a possible indication that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may have to borrow more to raise pay for government employees and bail out banks.
As Modi euphoria cools, India faces test to keep foreigners invested Nearly two years after Narendra Modi was elected as India's prime minister with an ambitious business-friendly agenda, the feeble pace of reforms is starting to test the patience of one his biggest group of supporters: foreign investors.
Indian government report backs hybrid seeds in boost for GM food India should look to introduce high-yielding hybrid seeds to lift its lagging farm productivity, a finance ministry report urged on Friday, in what is being seen as government support for cultivation of genetically modified food crops now banned.
LIC buys 59 percent of NTPC shares on offer State-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India bought more than half of the shares being sold by the government in power utility NTPC Ltd, the latest instance of the insurer playing a key role in a government sale.
United Spirits to pursue recovery of $195 million UB Holdings loan United Spirits Ltd said it will continue to pursue a claim for the recovery of 13.37 billion rupees of loans to former group company United Breweries Holdings Ltd even after its founder agreed to leave the company.
Vedanta wins gold-hungry India's first mine auction Vedanta Ltd has won India's first-ever auction of a gold mine, a provincial government official said, as the nation opens up the sector to private companies to curb overseas purchases of the metal that cost it $36 billion last year.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS Japan factory output rises fastest in a year, outlook uncertain Japan's industrial output rose the most in a year in January, tentatively signalling a pick up in factory activity, but the outlook remains far from assured given global market jitters and weakening demand both at home and abroad.
New Year hangover: Strains show in China's factory heartland Millions of migrant workers streaming back to China's industrial heartland after the long lunar New Year break are facing an uncertain future, as smaller factories in particular struggle to cope with anaemic orders and rising inventories.
Sharp liabilities list covered worst-case scenarios - source Sharp Corp's list of liabilities that prompted Taiwan's Foxconn to suspend signing a takeover deal was an unverified study of worst-case scenario risks, rather than liabilities requiring disclosure, a source briefed on the matter said.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures was trading at 7,026, down 0.55 pct from its previous close.
The Indian rupee will likely open lower against the dollar, tracking its Asian peers, as better-than-expected U.S. economic data reignited expectations of Federal Reserve rate increases in 2016. However, caution ahead of New Delhi's budget for the next fiscal year is expected to keep the currency in a tight range.
Indian sovereign bonds will likely edge lower, as cautious investors will track next financial year's fiscal deficit target and gross market borrowing when the government unveils the annual budget at 11:00 a.m. today. The yield on the benchmark 7.59 pct bond maturing in 2026 is likely to trade in a 7.75 pct-7.80 pct range today till the announcement of the budget.
GLOBAL MARKETS Wall Street ended lower on Friday in a feeble end to another week of strong gains after concerns about the timing of future interest rate hikes offset gains in materials and energy stocks.
Asian stocks were off to a cautious start after a weekend meeting of the Group of 20 economic policymakers ended with no new coordinated action to spur global growth and as solid U.S. data revived expectation of a U.S. rate hike before year-end.
The dollar took a breather against the yen following a steep climb on upbeat U.S. data, while reaction to a weekend meeting of G20 policymakers was muted as the outcome produced no major surprises.
U.S. Treasury yields rose on Friday after data showed that inflation is rising and the recent U.S. economic slowdown isn't as bad as previously thought.
Crude futures rose after gaining over 15 percent last week, with some indicators pointing to the possibility the market is showing signs of bottoming out.
Gold steadied near $1,220 an ounce, nursing losses from the previous session, but was poised to log its best monthly performance in four years as safe-haven demand from stock market turmoil bolstered the metal.
MARKETS CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 68.72/68.75 February 26 -$101.05 mln -$205.33 mln 10-yr bond yield 8.00 pct Month-to-date -$835.87 mln -$1.23 bln Year-to-date -$2.54 bln -$1.04 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 = 68.62 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru)
