Morning News Call - India, April 21

To access the newsletter, click on the link: http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Indiamorning/MNC_IN_04212017.pdf If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/india-morning/ FACTORS TO WATCH 11:00 am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an event in New Delhi.

11:30 am: Renewable Energy Secretary Rajeev Kapoor, Heads of PTC India and IREDA at an event in New Delhi.

2:30 pm: HDFC Bank earnings concall in Mumbai.

5:00 pm: Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha at an event in New Delhi.

5:00 pm: RBI to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai.

GMF: LIVECHAT - WEEKAHEAD Reuters EMEA markets editor Mike Dolan discusses the upcoming week's main market inflection points at 3:30 pm. To join the conversation, click on the link: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/communities/ INDIA TOP NEWS • India rate panel maintains hawkish stance, warns of inflation - minutes Indian central bank's monetary policy committee cited upside risks to inflation arising from price pressure excluding food and fuel as the main reason for keeping its policy rate unchanged, according to minutes of its April meeting released on Thursday.

• POLL-India's central bank to keep rates steady over the next 18 months India's central bank is expected to keep interest rates steady well into next year after it shifted to a neutral monetary policy stance in February, and despite having raised concerns over a potential spike in inflation, a Reuters poll found.

• Supply disruption hits Vedanta's aluminium plant in eastern India Diversified miner Vedanta said on Thursday its 500,000 tonne aluminium smelter in the eastern state of Odisha was hit by a power outage this week that damaged over one-third of its processing capacity.

• India raises $186 mln from NALCO share sale, kicks off FY18 asset sale process India raised 12 billion rupees ($185.7 million) from a 9.2 percent stake sale in state-run National Aluminium Co (NALCO), the government said on Thursday, kicking off its asset sale programme for the new financial year.

• No consensus yet on resolving bad debt at lenders - India cbank deputy The Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India had not yet reached an agreement on a new plan to clean up the record troubled debt accumulated at the country's lenders, S.S. Mundra, a deputy governor at the central bank, said on Thursday.

• Pernod rides U.S and China growth, cautions on India highway ban Pernod Ricard's third quarter sales beat forecasts on Thursday, lifting its shares, but the French spirits group cautioned that a ban on alcohol sales near Indian highways would slow growth in its second-largest market.

• Mindtree Q4 net profit plunges 27 percent, misses estimates Information technology company Mindtree Ltd said consolidated net profit fell 27 percent in the fourth quarter hurt by a foreign exchange loss and fewer client additions.

• Goldman to sell up to $123 mln worth shares in India's Max Financial - term sheet Goldman Sachs will sell shares worth up to $123 million in India's Max Financial Services Ltd, according to a deal term sheet seen by Reuters.

GLOBAL TOP NEWS • Trump praises Chinese efforts on North Korea 'menace,' Pyongyang warns of strike U.S. President Donald Trump praised Chinese efforts to rein in "the menace of North Korea" on Thursday, after North Korean state media warned the United States of a "super-mighty preemptive strike." • Trump administration, world financial officials clash over trade The Trump administration had a simple but stark message for world financial leaders who gathered in Washington on Thursday amid worries about rising U.S. protectionism: fair trade means tit-for-tat tariffs.

• Islamic State claims Paris shooting, one policeman killed A French policeman was shot dead and two others were wounded in central Paris on Thursday night in an attack carried out days before presidential elections and quickly claimed by the Islamic State militant group.

LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) • The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 9,176.50, trading up 0.2 pct from its previous close.

• The Indian rupee is poised to open lower against the dollar, as investors remain cautious ahead of the first round of voting in French presidential elections this weekend.

• Indian government bonds will likely edge lower after minutes of the nation’s Monetary Policy Committee released after market hours yesterday showed that the central bank is intent on meeting its medium-term inflation aim of 4 pct. A fresh supply of notes later today is also likely to weigh on bond prices. The yield on the benchmark 6.97 pct bond maturing in 2026 is likely to trade in a 6.87 pct-6.92 pct band today. The bond closed at 100.62 rupees yesterday, yielding 6.88 pct.

GLOBAL MARKETS • U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday, with the Nasdaq closing at a record, as a round of solid earnings led by American Express pushed equities higher.

• Asian stocks rose, lifted by bets on strong U.S. earnings and U.S. tax reform, while the euro retreated from a three-week high as jitters returned over the first round of French presidential elections on Sunday after a shooting in Paris.

• The euro held steady below a three-week high against the dollar as investors awaited this weekend's first round of voting in France's presidential election.

• U.S. Treasury yields rose as investors waited on the results from the French presidential election this weekend and as rising risk appetite boosted stocks, after yields fell earlier and broke below key technical resistance.

• Oil opened the last day of a choppy trading week on a cautious note over doubts that an OPEC-led production cut was having the desired effect of restoring balance to a market that has been dogged by oversupply for more than two years.

• Gold held steady, after rising 0.2 percent in the prior session, with tensions surrounding upcoming French elections on Sunday underpinning the safe-haven demand.

CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.61/64.64 April 20 -$26.2 mln $270.76 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.12 Month-to-date -$350.1 mln $3.85 bln Year-to-date $6.43 bln $9.32 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 = 64.6100 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Nayyar Rasheed in Bengaluru)