Morning News Call - India, September 19

To access the newsletter, click on the link: http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Indiamorning/MNC_IN_09192017.pdf If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/india-morning/ FACTORS TO WATCH 9:00 am: Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, NTPC Chairman Gurdeep Singh, Jain Irrigation Systems CFO Anil Jain, UPL Regional Director Sameer Tandon and other executives at IACC annual convention in Mumbai.

9:30 am: Department of Economics Affairs Additional Secretary Dinesh Sharma, L&T Finance Holdings CEO Dinanath Dubhashi, Punj Lloyd Chairman Atul Punj and others at Infra Focus annual summit in New Delhi.

10:00 am: Farm Minister Radha Mohan Singh to inaugurate Rabi campaign in New Delhi.

11:00 am: Power Grid annual general meeting in New Delhi.

3:00 pm: Export committee constituted by GST Council to hold its first meeting in New Delhi.

5:00 pm: SIDBI Deputy Managing Director Manoj Mittal at micro finance event in Mumbai.

LIVECHAT - BITCOIN FOCUS Bitcoin action is catching everyone's attention, though regulation around it seems murky. Central banks don't really hail it, while market leaders like Jamie Dimon have explicitly dissed it. Are these just growing pains? Or are there larger issues that need to be confronted? Join us at 10:00 am IST as we speak to Arthur Hayes who is CEO of BitMEX, one of the most advanced bitcoin derivatives exchange in the world. To join the conversation, click on the link: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/communities/ INDIA TOP NEWS • EXCLUSIVE-India eyes spending cuts as glitches in new tax hit revenue India could be forced to cut spending on key infrastructure such as railways and highways as lower-than-expected tax collections and sluggish growth have upset the government's budget calculations, two finance ministry officials said.

• Ford, Mahindra alliance reflects pressures on automakers Ford Motor Co and Indian vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd said on Monday they will launch a strategic alliance to counter challenges posed by fast-changing technology and global competition.

• Google launches digital payments service in India Alphabet Inc's Google on Monday launched a localised payments app for India as it tries to gain a foothold in the country's rapidly-growing digital payments space.

• Dixon Technologies soars on market debut after $94 million IPO Shares of Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd rose as much as 70 percent on their trading debut on Monday as investors bet on the strong outlook for the contract electronics manufacturer that counts some of the leading global names among its clients.

• SEBI allows realty, infrastructure trusts to issue bonds The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Monday permitted real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) to issue bonds, as part of measures it has been taking to help attract investors to a capital-starved property sector.

• Japan's Mitsui OSK targets 26 percent stake in Swan's Indian LNG unit Japan's leading shipper Mitsui OSK Lines aims to buy at least a 26 percent stake in a floating storage regassification unit (FSRU) in India, a company official said, to boost its exposure in the west coast project of Swan Energy.

• Book opens for buyer seeking $312 million stake in India's Tata Motors Citi is handling the process for a prospective buyer to acquire up to 20 billion rupees worth of shares in India's Tata Motors Ltd today, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters.

• Aviation company InterGlobe's share sale raises $591 million A share sale by India's InterGlobe Aviation, which runs the country's IndiGo airline, raised 37.9 billion rupees for the company and some of its shareholders, based on the final issue price announced on Monday.

GLOBAL TOP NEWS • Northrop Grumman to buy missile maker Orbital for $7.8 billion U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp said on Monday it would buy Orbital ATK Inc for about $7.8 billion in a deal that gives it greater access to lucrative government contracts and expands its arsenal of missile defense systems and space rockets.

• Trump to speak in 'tough terms' about North Korea in first U.N. speech U.S. President Donald Trump will speak forcefully about the threat posed by North Korea during his first address to the United Nations while knocking those he sees as enabling Pyongyang.

• EXCLUSIVE-Google offers to treat rivals equally via auction Google has offered to display rival comparison shopping sites via an auction, as it aims to stave off further EU antitrust fines, four people familiar with the matter said.

LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) • The SGX Nifty Futures were at 10,153.50, trading down 0.25 percent from its previous close.

• Indian government bonds will likely open steady, as the nation’s state-run banks continued buying notes for a fourth straight session yesterday. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 percent bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 6.59 percent-6.63 percent band.

• The Indian rupee will likely edge lower against the dollar, as the greenback inched higher prompted by hardening U.S. Treasury yields before the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting that starts later today.

GLOBAL MARKETS • The S&P 500 ended slightly higher on Monday as financial stocks rose ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting, but the Nasdaq pared gains sharply as technology stocks lost ground late in the session.

• Asian shares wavered, bolstered by record highs on Wall Street but hobbled by uncertainty as traders waited on a Federal Reserve meeting for clues on U.S. monetary policy.

• The dollar hovered near an eight-week high against the yen, supported as U.S. Treasury yields continued their sharp rebound from 10-month lows.

• U.S. Treasury yields rose on Monday as investors prepared for a potentially more hawkish Federal Reserve at its two-day policy meeting this week, after the Bank of England surprised investors last week with talk of a possible rate hike.

• Oil markets were stable, supported by a fall in Saudi Arabian crude exports but capped by an expected rise in U.S. shale output.

• Gold inched up from its lowest in over two weeks as the dollar shed some of its gains from the previous session, with market focus on a two-day Federal Reserve meeting that kicks off later in the day.

CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.12/64.15 September 18 -$15.11 mln $52.86 mln 10-yr bond yield 6.89 pct Month-to-date -$365.74 mln $450.41 mln Year-to-date $6.64 bln $23.59 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 = 64.1530 Indian rupees) (Samrhitha Arunasalam)