MORNING NEWS CALL

FACTORS TO WATCH

9:30 am: Natco Pharma post-earnings analyst conference call in Mumbai. 2:30 pm: RBI to release bi-monthly monetary policy statement in Mumbai. 2:45 pm: RBI Governor briefing post release of monetary policy statement in Mumbai. 4:00 pm: Eicher Motors post-earnings analyst conference call in Mumbai. 4:00 pm: BSE MD & CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan and Hindalco Chief Risk Officer Anil Mathew at Commodities Market Outlook in Mumbai. 5:00 pm: RBI monetary policy analyst conference call in Mumbai.

LIVECHAT-FX MONTH AHEAD John Noonan, Head of IFR FX Watch Asia, analyses cues and views for market moves for the month ahead. To join the conversation at 1930 IST, click here

INDIA TOP NEWS

RBI expected to keep rates on hold - for now

The Reserve Bank of India, meeting amid a global market storm, is widely expected to keep its key rate on hold, but toughen its rhetoric as inflation has accelerated sharply, making an increasing number of analysts see a hike this year.

Indian markets down on global weakness - finmin official

The recent slump in Indian stock markets was a result of global weakness and not because of a tax on long term capital

gains that the government had announced in its federal budget last week, the country's finance secretary said on

Tuesday.

Indian govt, RBI to discuss bond yield surge at borrowing meeting - sources

India's finance ministry will raise its concerns about the sharp rise in market bond yields when it holds a meeting this week with the central bank to discuss government borrowing plans for the year, two people familiar with the matter said.

Hero MotoCorp Q3 profit up 4 percent, but misses estimates

Hero MotoCorp, the world's biggest two-wheeler maker, posted a more than 4 percent rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by higher sales particularly in its scooter segment.

Lupin Q3 profit misses estimates on lower sales in North America, forex losses

Lupin, India's second-largest drugmaker by revenue, on Tuesday reported lower-than-expected third-quarter net profit, hurt by lower sales in North America and foreign exchange losses.

India sees no scope for more excise duty cut on petrol, diesel for now - finmin source

India has no immediate plan to further cut factory gate tax on petrol and diesel due to its tight fiscal situation, a finance ministry source said on Tuesday.

Punjab National Bank Q3 net profit rises 11 percent, lags estimates

Punjab National Bank, India's fourth-largest lender by assets, reported third-quarter net profit rose 11 percent as its proportion of bad loans to total loans fell, although the profit increase was smaller than expected.

ArcelorMittal to exit India's Uttam Galva to make way for new steel bids

ArcelorMittal is set to sell its entire stake in India's Uttam Galva Steels to the company's founders at less than the market price of the stock, a member of Uttam Galva's founding Miglani family told Reuters on Tuesday.

REUTERS INDIA EDITION Wednesday, February 7, 2018

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MORNING NEWS CALL - INDIA EDITION Wednesday, February 7, 2018

GLOBAL TOP STORIES

U.S. House passes stopgap spending bill to avert shutdown

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved another stopgap bill to keep the federal government from shutting down, hours after President Donald Trump said he would "love" to see a shutdown if immigration legislation were not included.

Theme parks lift Disney profit, more 'Star Wars' coming

Walt Disney Co on Tuesday reported a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street forecasts as theme park crowds packed a new "Avatar" land, making up for a decline at the ABC broadcasting network.

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket soars in debut test launch from Florida

The world's most powerful rocket, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, roared into space through clear blue skies in its debut test flight on Tuesday from a Florida launch site where moon missions once began, in another milestone for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's private rocket company.

STATE OF THE MARKETS

The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 10,636.00, trading up 1.35 percent from its previous close. -NewsRise

The rupee will likely open higher against the dollar, tracking gains across Asian peers, as global equity markets bounced back following recent massive sell-offs. -NewsRise

Indian sovereign bonds are likely to trade steady ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on interest rates due later in the day.The yield on the 7.17 percent bond maturing in 2028 is likely to trade in a 7.55 percent-7.59 percent band till the policy decision due at 2:30 p.m.-NewsRise

Shaken out of many months of calm, Wall Street braced for a higher level of volatility in the days ahead, after a roughly 2 percent rebound in U.S. stocks on Tuesday followed the biggest one-day selloff in more than six years.

Asian share markets were trying to find their footing as a semblance of calm returned to Wall Street where major indices bounced into the black after days of deep losses. The dollar was firmer against the yen but trimmed gains against the euro when U.S. equities bounced overnight after suffering deep losses earlier in the week. U.S. Treasury debt prices gained on the day on Tuesday as volatile equity markets led some investors to seek out lower risk bonds, though many investors remained nervous after a week long bond rout sent yields on Monday to four-year highs. Oil prices rose amid a share market recovery and supported by a report that U.S. crude inventories fell last week, although analysts warned that soaring U.S. output and a seasonal demand drop could soon weigh on crude. Gold prices edged up as investors resorted to bargain hunting after the yellow metal's sharp decline of over 1 percent to its lowest in more than three weeks in the previous session.

CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT

PNDF spot 64.15/64.18 February 6 -$362.31 mln $66 mln

10-yr bond yield 7.66 pct Month-to-date $215.38 mln $694.61 mln

Year-to-date $2.25 bln $2.17 bln

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MORNING NEWS CALL - INDIA EDITION Wednesday, February 7, 2018

(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 mahout bathes his elephant in the polluted water of river Yamuna in New Delhi, February 6. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

PICTURE OF THE DAY