MORNING NEWS CALL

FACTORS TO WATCH

9:30 am: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to address the 4th South Asian Regional Procurement Conference in New Delhi. 10:00 am: Finance & Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, CBDT Chairman and CBEC Chairperson to interact with CII members post Budget in New Delhi. 4:00 pm: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Finance & Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian and other senior government officials at FICCI event in New Delhi. LIVECHAT - FX WEEK AHEAD FX Buzz analyst Jeremy Boulton analyses G7 currencies. To join the conversation at 1630 IST, click here

INDIA TOP NEWS

India's 'Modicare' to cost about $1.7 billion a year: sources

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to provide health insurance for about half the country would require an estimated 110 billion rupees in federal and state funding each year, sources familiar with the matter said.

Union Bank posts $195 million Q3 loss

State-run Union Bank of India on Saturday posted a net loss of 12.5 billion rupees for the third quarter, weighed down by provisions made for borrowers undergoing bankruptcy proceedings.

Bajaj Auto Q3 profit rises 3 percent, but misses estimates

Bajaj Auto on Friday reported a 3 percent rise in quarterly profit, but missed estimates, as higher exports during the period were partially offset by increased raw materials costs.

RBI not in talks with govt on debt purchases -source

The Reserve Bank of India is not in talks with the government to conduct open market purchases of government bonds, a source familiar with the central bank's thinking said, denying a media report that the central bank might consider such steps to boost the debt market.

Australian official confirms no federal financing for Adani mine

There will be no Australian federal financing of a loan facility for Indian conglomerate Adani Enterprises to build a rail line to its proposed Carmichael coal project, a government frontbencher confirmed on Sunday.

Hindalco Industries Q3 profit jumps 17.7 percent India's top aluminium producer Hindalco Industries reported a 17.7 percent rise in quarterly profit on Friday, helped by higher metal prices.

Alibaba deepens India push with BigBasket investment China's Alibaba became the biggest shareholder in India's leading online grocer BigBasket after a $300-million funding round, stepping up its rivalry with Amazon in the country.

India lifts export curbs on onions as prices plunge

India will allow unrestricted export of onions, the government said in an order on Friday, as prices of the politically-sensitive vegetable fell over a third in a month.

REUTERS INDIA EDITION Monday, February 5, 2018

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MORNING NEWS CALL - INDIA EDITION February 5, 2018

GLOBAL TOP STORIES

South Korean appeals court to rule on Samsung scion Lee's conviction and jail term

A South Korean appeals court will rule on Samsung Group scion Jay Y. Lee's conviction and jail term for corruption in a case that led to the ouster of the nation's president last year.

China's service sector grows at fastest pace in nearly 6 years in Jan-Caixin PMI China's services sector got off to a flying start this year, expanding at its fastest pace in almost six years, as new orders surged and companies rushed to hire more staff, a private survey showed.

Republicans differ with Trump on whether memo undercuts Russia probe

Several Republican lawmakers disagreed on Sunday with President Donald Trump's assertion that a memo released last week by the House Intelligence Committee vindicated him in the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

STATE OF THE MARKETS

The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 10,612.50, trading down 0.99 percent from its previous close. -NewsRise

The rupee will likely fall against the greenback in opening trade, tracking a sharp rally in the dollar Friday on the back of upbeat U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, which also pushed treasury yields higher. -NewsRise

Indian sovereign bonds are likely to fall in early session tracking gains in U.S. Treasury yields, even as demand for debt remains muted amid concerns about the government fiscal situation. The yield on the 7.17 percent bond maturing in 2028 is likely to trade in a 7.52 percent -7.60 percent band today. -NewsRise

Worries about the impact of a tightening job market on the prospects for inflation and a surge in bond yields sent investors fleeing equities on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrials Average swooning almost 666 points, for its biggest daily percentage loss in 20 months. Asian shares fell the most in over a year as fears of resurgent inflation battered bonds, toppled Wall Street from record highs and sparked speculation that central banks globally might be forced to tighten policy more aggressively. The dollar steadied after rallying on upbeat U.S. jobs data, which sent bond yields surging on the prospects of increasing inflation and hammered equities. A strong U.S. payrolls report on Friday raised concerns the Federal Reserve might hasten to increase interest rates to stem inflation, compounding a bond market rout that pushed the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note to a four-year high. Oil prices extended declines from the end of last week on the back of a stronger dollar, with Brent crude falling to its lowest in nearly a month. Gold prices inched down early on a firmer dollar after robust U.S. jobs data late last week, but a fall in equities cushioned losses.

CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT

PNDF spot 64.02/64.05 February 2 $148.16 mln $76.49 mln

10-yr bond yield 7.68 pct Month-to-date - $294.39 mln

Year-to-date $2.22 bln $1.77 bln

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MORNING NEWS CALL - INDIA EDITION February 5, 2018

PICTURE OF THE DAY

A participant poses for a photo during the Queer Azaadi Pride March in Mumbai, February 3. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade

(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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