Morning News Call - India, September 23

To access a PDF version of this newsletter, please click here https://share.refinitiv.com/assets/newsletters/Indiamorning/MNC_IN_09232021.pdf If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: https://solutions.refinitiv.com/MNCIndiaSubscriptionpage FACTORS TO WATCH 10:00 am: Farm Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Junior Minister Kailash Choudhary, Minister of State for New & Renewable Energy Bhagwanth Khuba, Niti Aayog Member Ramesh Chand at FICCI webinar on agrochemicals industry. 10:30 am: Indoco Remedies to hold annual general meeting. 10:30 am: Kalyan Jewellers to hold annual general meeting. 11:00 am: Hindustan Construction Company to hold annual general meeting. 11:00 am: Max Financial Services to hold annual general meeting. 11:00 am: Repco Home Finance to hold annual general meeting. 12:30 pm: Max India to hold annual general meeting. 2:30 pm: National Real Estate Development Council Chairman Rajeev Talwar, Indian Hotels Managing Director Puneet Chhatwal, Hero Enterprise Chairman Sunil Kant Munjal and other corporate executives at AIMA management convention. 3:00 pm: Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Junior Minister Bharati Pravin Pawar, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan at Aarogya Manthan webinar. 3:15 pm: Marico Managing Director and Chief Executive Saugata Gupta, Spencer's Retail Managing Director and Chief Executive Devendra Chawla, Jyothy Laboratories Joint Managing Director Ullas Kamath at FICCI webinar. 3:30 pm: Competition Commission of India Chairperson Ashok Kumar Gupta at ASSOCHAM webinar. 3:30 pm: Welspun India Chief Executive and Joint Managing Director Dipali Goenka, Managing Director Rajesh R. Mandawewala to interact with investors. 4:30 pm: Health Ministry briefing on Covid-19 situation in New Delhi. 5:00 pm: Paras Defence and Space Technologies IPO subscription closes. 6:30 pm: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal at AIMA management convention. INDIA TOP NEWS • India likely to block Chinese investment in insurance giant LIC's IPO -sources New Delhi wants to block Chinese investors from buying shares in Indian insurance giant Life Insurance Corp (LIC) which is due to go public, four senior government officials and a banker told Reuters, underscoring tensions between the two nations. • Sony unit to buy Zee Entertainment, dominating Indian broadcast market Sony's India entertainment unit will buy local rival Zee, merging TV channels, film assets and streaming platforms to become the largest broadcaster in the country and better compete with companies like Netflix and Disney. • India must work towards sustainable growth in post-pandemic era - Das India must seek sustainable growth through medium-term investments and sound financial and structural reforms once the global pandemic is over, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday. • India, UAE plan to lift bilateral trade to $100 billion in 5 years via new pact India and United Arab Emirates plan to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the end of the year with the aim to lift trade between the two countries by 70% in five years, trade ministers of both countries said. • Vodafone Idea confident of funding deal after boost from government package Vodafone Idea is confident it can reach a fundraising deal with potential investors, bolstered by a federal government package that provides much-needed relief to the debt-ridden mobile carrier, its chief executive officer said on Wednesday. • Australia's Zip enters Indian buy-now-pay-later space with ZestMoney deal Australian buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) firm Zip said on Wednesday it would invest $50 million to acquire a minority interest in Indian peer, ZestMoney, as part of its plans to tap new growth markets and add investors. • Serum Institute to invest $68 million in UK vaccine maker Oxford Biomedica Vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII) will invest $68 million in Oxford Biomedica to help fund the development of a plant that manufactures COVID-19 shots, the British company said on Wednesday. GLOBAL TOP NEWS • Fed signals bond-buying taper coming 'soon,' rate hike next year The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it will likely begin reducing its monthly bond purchases as soon as November and signaled interest rate increases may follow more quickly than expected as the U.S. central bank's turn from pandemic crisis policies gains momentum. • U.S. FDA clears Pfizer COVID-19 booster for older and at-risk Americans The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized a booster dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for those 65 and older, all people at high risk of severe disease, and others who are regularly exposed to the virus. • China's Evergrande chairman seeks to reassure investors, shares surge Indebted property giant China Evergrande will make it a top priority to help wealth investors redeem their products, its chairman said, as investors await a key deadline for a dollar-bond coupon payment. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) • SGX Nifty nearest-month futures were trading 0.6% higher at 17,651.50. • The Indian rupee is expected to weaken against the dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would begin reducing the pace of asset purchases soon. • Indian sovereign bond yields are likely to open marginally lower, ahead of the central bank’s debt purchase today that includes the benchmark paper. However, the benchmark Brent crude oil contract’s rise above the $76-per-barrel mark may cap large gains in the local notes. The yield on the benchmark 6.10% bond maturing in 2031 is likely to trade in the 6.11%-6.16% band till the debt purchase today. GLOBAL MARKETS • The three major U.S. stock indexes rose 1% on Wednesday as investors mostly took in stride the latest signals from the Federal Reserve, including clearing the way for the central bank to reduce its monthly bond purchases soon. • Asian shares moved higher, supported by some positive news from struggling developer China Evergrande Group, while the dollar held near a one-month top after the U.S. Federal Reserve took a hawkish tilt overnight. • U.S. Treasury yields see-sawed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would reduce its monthly bond purchases "soon" and investors grappled with a timeline that suggested higher interest rates may follow more quickly than expected. • Oil prices rose, extending strong gains overnight with fuel demand growing and crude stocks declining as production remains hampered in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico after two hurricanes. • Gold prices dipped after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled easing its monthly bond purchases by next year and a sooner-than-expected interest rate hike, which could increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding bullion. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 73.87/73.90 September 22 1,333.44 crores 338.19 crores 10-yr bond yield 6.138% Month-to-date 14,496 crores 5,761 crores Year-to-date 65,615 crores (5,028) crores (FII investment numbers are in Indian rupees. Source: National Securities Depository Limited) 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 = 73.87 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Yoganand KN in Bengaluru)