5:00 pm: RBI to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai.
LIVECHAT - GLOBAL ASSETS ALLOCATION SHIFTS Reuters correspondent Claire Milhench details the findings of the latest Reuters polling of global asset managers at 6:30 pm IST. To join the conversation, click here: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/communities/ INDIA TOP NEWS • India may look to lock in oil futures to stem rupee slide India's government is planning to ask state oil firms to lock in their crude futures purchase prices, a government source said on Thursday, anticipating a spike when U.S. sanctions on Iran snap back again in November.
• As petrol prices sky-rocket, Indians look for ways to ease the pain Many Indians are switching off air conditioners in cars and going to gas pumps across state borders in a bid to save money, as petrol prices across the country hover at record-high levels.
• EXCLUSIVE-India considers raising import duty on steel to support rupee-document India's steel ministry has proposed increasing the effective import duty on some steel products to 15 percent from current rates ranging from 5 percent to 12.5 percent, according to two sources and a government document reviewed by Reuters, as the country looks to support the rupee.
• India engages with U.S. to ensure energy security amid Iran sanctions India is engaged with the United States and other stakeholders to ensure its energy security and national interest, the foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday, as Washington is set to tighten sanctions on Iran's oil and banking sector.
• Amazon buys stake in owner of Indian supermarket chain More Amazon and Indian private equity firm Samara Capital are making a joint investment that will give the online retail giant a stake in Indian supermarket chain More, the U.S. company said on Thursday.
• Blackstone sole bidder to offer all-cash deal for PNB Housing Finance U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group is the sole bidder to offer an all-cash deal to buy India-based housing finance company PNB Housing Finance, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday.
• Thyssenkrupp to keep on implementing steel JV with Tata-CEO Thyssenkrupp's interim chief executive dismissed speculation that it would pull out of its steel joint venture with India's Tata Steel in the wake of management upheaval at the German industrial conglomerate.
• Global tech firms gear up to fight India's planned data law Global tech companies plan to oppose new legislation in India that would require Facebook, PayPal and others to store user data in the country, arguing it will hurt investment and the business models of foreign and domestic firms.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS • Japan inflation ticks up but BOJ's target still out of reach Japan's annual core consumer inflation ticked up slightly in August but remained distant from the central bank's 2 percent target, suggesting that monetary policy will stay ultra-loose for the time being.
• U.S. sanctions China for buying Russia war planes, missiles The Trump administration imposed sanctions on the Chinese military on Thursday for buying fighter jets and missile systems from Russia, in breach of a sweeping U.S. sanctions law punishing Moscow for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
• N.Korea's Kim wants another Trump summit to speed denuclearisation -S.Korea's Moon North Korea's Kim Jong Un wants a second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump soon to hasten denuclearisation, but a key goal is declaring an end this year to the 1950-53 Korean War, the South's President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) • SGX Nifty nearest-month futures were trading up 0.4 percent at 11,357.50, from its previous close.
• The Indian rupee is expected to open higher against the U.S. currency after upbeat risk appetite prompted the biggest drop in the dollar index in a month.
• Indian government bonds will likely open higher as the local currency is expected to appreciate against the dollar, even as market awaits fresh supply of papers later today. The yield on the benchmark 7.17 percent bond maturing in 2028 may trade in a band of 8.03 percent-8.08 percent today, a dealer with a private bank said.
GLOBAL MARKETS • Trade-sensitive industrial stocks led the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record closing high on Thursday, the last of Wall Street's main indexes to fully regain ground since a correction that began in January.
• Asian stocks extended gains after Wall Street's S&P 500 set a new all-time high, while the dollar slipped as investors viewed Beijing's and Washington's fresh exchange of import tariffs as less harmful than initially feared.
• The dollar struggled near two-month lows, while the yen also sagged on reduced safe haven demand amid a switch in investors' view that the Sino-U.S. trade conflict would be less damaging to global growth than initially feared.
• U.S. long-dated Treasury yields fell on Thursday, as persistent U.S.-China trade tensions and uncertainty over Brexit spurred investors to seek the safety of government bonds.
• Oil prices dipped after falling in the previous session as U.S. President Donald Trump urged OPEC to lower crude prices ahead of its meeting in Algeria this weekend.
• Gold prices edged up to a one-week high as the dollar weakened on receding fears of a full-blown Sino-U.S. trade war, keeping the yellow metal on track for its first weekly gain in four.
CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 72.77/72.80 September 19 -$303.43 mln -$296.04 mln 10-yr bond yield 8.10 pct Month-to-date -$232.27 mln -$1.14 bln Year-to-date -$1.09 bln -$6.29 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 = 72.01 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Siddharth Athreya V in Bengaluru)
