2:30 pm: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Chairman Hemant Contractor speaks at an event in New Delhi.
3:00 pm: Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to release report of expert committee on formulation of natural rubber policy in New Delhi.
6:30 pm: India government's council of ministers meet in New Delhi.
LIVECHAT EMEA - EQUITY MARKETS-- Join Reuters equity correspondent Alistair Smout at 1600 IST for a round up of the themes driving equity markets. To join the Global Markets Forum, click on the link: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/communities/ INDIA TOP NEWS Indian tax office tells Vodafone to pay $2 bln in tax dispute India's tax office has sent Vodafone Group a reminder to pay $2 billion in taxes and threatened the British telecoms group with seizure of local assets if it fails to do so, despite the long-running dispute being the subject of an international arbitration process.
SBI looks to woo Japanese business State Bank of India, the country's largest lender launched an initiative on Tuesday to help strengthen business ties between Asia's third-largest economy and Japan, where investors eyeing Indian markets need support in navigating the country's notoriously complex bureaucracy.
Delta Electronics plans to quadruple revenue from India Taiwan-based Delta Electronics Inc expects to quadruple annual revenue from India over the next three years as it makes more power components in the country, in tune with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to develop industry.
Amazon acquires Indian payments processor Emvantage Amazon.com Inc said it has acquired Indian payments processor Emvantage Payments Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed sum.
Steel-makers urge government to extend relief package India's largest steel-makers' association has urged the government to extend a relief package to the iron and steel sector, as most companies are likely to default on their loans.
India's top court asks c.bank to submit names of loan defaulters India's top court has asked the central bank to provide the names of corporate loan defaulters with outstanding debt of at least 5 billion rupees, as well as details of restructured assets.
ANALYSIS-Motor racing-Sahara's Force India stake looks a hard sell India's embattled Sahara conglomerate said it wants to sell its 42.5 percent stake in the Force India Formula One team to help release founder Subrata Roy from jail, but some motor racing insiders are sceptical about how easy it will be to find a buyer.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS Iran could decide fate of first global oil deal for 15 years The fate of the first global oil deal in 15 years could be decided on Wednesday when OPEC members travel to Iran to persuade the country to participate in a deal to freeze output levels, possibly by offering Tehran special terms.
Obama, ASEAN discuss South China Sea tensions, but no joint mention of China U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he and leaders of Southeast Asian countries discussed the need to ease tensions in the South China Sea, and agreed that any territorial disputes there should be resolved peacefully and through legal means.
Canada's Brookfield to raise Asciano bid - sources Canada's Brookfield Asset Management Inc plans to launch a A$9.05 billion counter-offer for Australian port and rail giant Asciano Ltd as soon as Thursday, two sources told Reuters.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures was trading at 7,086.00, up 0.54 pct from its previous close.
The Indian rupee will likely open lower against the U.S. dollar, tracking its Asian peers, as easing risk aversion continued to lift the greenback against most major currencies. However, expected gains in the local shares may limit losses for the rupee, dealers said.
Indian government bonds will likely edge lower in opening trade amid absence of any fresh positive triggers and speculations of further losses in the rupee. However, the decline may be capped on consistent purchases by state-run banks, traders said. The yield on the benchmark 7.59 pct bond maturing in 2026 is likely to trade in a 7.76 pct-7.81 pct range.
GLOBAL MARKETS Wall Street minted its second straight session of solid gains on Tuesday, as investors snatched up beaten-down consumer discretionary, industrial and tech shares.
Asian shares extended gains as a combination of stabilising Chinese markets, rebounding oil prices and solid U.S. consumption data prompted investors to look for bargains after last week's rout.
The yen retook some ground against the dollar as a recent rebound in crude oil prices fizzled and revived demand for the safe-haven Japanese currency.
U.S. Treasury debt prices fell on Tuesday as a rally in Wall Street stocks and competing corporate bond supply led by Apple trimmed safe-haven demand for bonds, lifting benchmark yields further from their near 3-1/2-year lows set last week.
Crude oil futures rebounded on investor hopes that a deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia to freeze oil output at January levels would lead to a wider pact among producers that could eventually see production cuts to support prices.
Gold extended losses to a fourth session as calm in the global stock markets curbed demand for the safe-haven asset that had rallied last week to its highest in a year.
MARKETS CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 68.50/68.53 February 16 -$140.90 mln $48.71 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.93 pct Month-to-date -$614.38 mln -$80.67 mln Year-to-date -$2.32 bln $107.74 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 = 68.37 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Samarendra Sahoo in Bengaluru)
