MORNING NEWS CALL

FACTORS TO WATCH

10:00 am: Junior Finance Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan at inauguration of Global Procurement Summit in New Delhi. 10:00 am: Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu and Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete to inaugurate Auto Expo Component 2018 in New Delhi. 10:30 am: Bank of Baroda MD P.S. Jayakumar at launch of the bank’s Cash Management Services in Mumbai. 11:00 am: Law & IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to inaugurate national meet of district informatics officers in New Delhi. 12:00 pm: India Ratings and Research roundtable discussion on Outlook for Banks, NBFCs and Structured Finance for FY19 in Mumbai. LIVECHAT - INVESTMENT OUTLOOK Charles Diebel, Aviva Investors' head of rates, gives an investment outlook. To join the conversation at 1530 IST, click here

INDIA TOP NEWS

RBI, in careful balancing act, keeps key rate unchanged

The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday kept its main repo rate on hold and retained its "neutral" stance, warning that it will closely monitor accelerating inflation but also saying economic growth needs to be "carefully nurtured".

Aurobindo Pharma Q3 profit up about 3 percent, misses estimates

Aurobindo Pharma, India's third largest drugmaker by revenue, posted an about 3 percent rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, but missed analysts' estimates.

India's top court cancels iron ore mining permits in Goa- petitioners India's Supreme Court has quashed all iron ore mining permits in Goa, one of the country's top producing states for the steel making raw material, an environmental group that petitioned the government to halt the mining said on Wednesday.

Cipla Q3 profit rises, but below estimates

Cipla, India's fourth-largest drugmaker by revenue, said third-quarter net profit rose 7 percent on strong domestic sales, but fell short of analysts' estimates.

Adani to help start up 5 million-tonne-a-year LNG terminal in April, May

A 5 million-tonne-per-annum LNG import terminal at Mundra in Gujarat state on the west coast of India, part owned by the Adani Group, will likely be operational in April or May, a senior company official said on Wednesday.

Toyota seeks India sales boost with aspirational, global-spec models

Toyota Motor Corp will bring to India models with global specifications, its local unit head told Reuters, as it seeks to boost sales in the world's fifth largest passenger car market by appealing to buyers' increasingly aspirational tastes.

Air India asks to fly over Saudi Arabia on planned Israel route

Air India said on Wednesday it plans to begin direct flights to Israel and has proposed they pass through Saudi airspace, a route so far off-limits to Israel-bound commercial planes.

REUTERS INDIA EDITION Thursday, February 8, 2018

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MORNING NEWS CALL - INDIA EDITION February 8, 2018

GLOBAL TOP STORIES

U.S. congressional leaders forge budget deal that adds to deficit

U.S. Senate leaders, in a rare display of bipartisanship, reached a two-year budget deal on Wednesday to raise government spending by almost $300 billion, attempting to curb Washington's fiscal policy squabbling but also widening the federal deficit.

Tesla sticks by Model 3 target, warns spending could rise in 2018

Tesla Inc said on Wednesday it was sticking with Chief Executive Elon Musk's revised production targets for its Model 3 electric sedan, but posted its worst-ever quarterly loss, and warned that spending would increase slightly this year.

North Korea says no plans to meet U.S. officials at Olympics; Washington seeks more sanctions North Korea has no intention of meeting U.S officials during the Winter Olympics that start on Friday, the KCNA news agency reported, dampening hopes the Games will help resolve a tense standoff over the North's nuclear weapons programme.

STATE OF THE MARKETS

The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 10,521.00, trading up 0.7 percent from its previous close. -NewsRise

The rupee will likely open flat to lower against the dollar, tracking losses in most Asian peers, following a strong overnight rally in the greenback that helped it post its best one-day gain in over three months. -NewsRise

Indian sovereign bonds are likely to open higher as the nation’s Monetary Policy Committee didn’t hint at any immediate interest rate increase. The yield on the 7.17 percent bond maturing in 2028 is likely to trade in a 7.50 percent-7.56 percent band today. -NewsRise

U.S. stocks ran out of steam on Wednesday after an early surge, in a sign that investors are still spooked by the market's recent retreat and wary more fallout is to come.

Asian shares flirted with six-week lows as U.S. bond yields crept up towards four-year highs as investors fretted that low borrowing costs enjoyed by companies for many years may be endangered by the threat of rising inflation.

The dollar was off recent lows against major rivals, benefiting from the euro's weakness and higher U.S. yields but capped by concerns about recent equity market volatility.

U.S. Treasury prices dropped on Wednesday after the Treasury Department sold new 10-year notes to soft demand and the U.S. Senate reached a budget deal, boosting expectations of stronger economic growth.

Oil prices eased, taking Brent crude to a 2018 low, as soaring U.S. output uncermined OPEC's efforts to tighten markets and prop up prices.

Gold prices held on to losses from the previous session, after the precious metal fell to four-week lows on a firmer dollar amid expectations of more U.S. interest rate hikes.

CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT

PNDF spot 64.13/64.16 February 7 -$159.02 mln -$35.47 mln

10-yr bond yield 7.62 pct Month-to-date -$51.98 mln $659.14 mln

Year-to-date $1.99 bln $2.13 bln

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MORNING NEWS CALL - INDIA EDITION February 8, 2018

PICTURE OF THE DAY

(Compiled by Yoganand KN in Bengaluru) For questions or comments about this report, contact: reuters.marketwatch@thomsonreuters.com For more information about our products: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/products-services.html Or send us a sales enquiry at: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/contact-us.html or call us on North America: +1 800 758 5555 You may instruct us to remove you from Morning News Call by clicking on the link - https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/MorningNewsCall/Unsubscribe/

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A farmer arranges harvested tomatoes in a tractor trolley on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, February 7. REUTERS/Amit Dave