To access a PDF version of this newsletter, please click here here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 5:00 pm: RBI to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai. INDIA TOP NEWS • India's December factory activity picks up to 7-month high but business optimism weakens India's factory activity expanded at its fastest pace in seven months in December as a jump in new orders prompted companies to ramp up production, a private business survey showed on Thursday. • India electricity supply down 1.1% in December, declines for fifth straight month India's electricity supply fell for the fifth straight month in December, provisional government data showed, potentially reflecting sluggish industrial activity amid an overall economic slowdown. GLOBAL TOP NEWS • Lebanon receives Interpol arrest warrant for ex-Nissan boss Ghosn Lebanon received an Interpol arrest warrant on Thursday for former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, while Turkey launched an investigation into his daring escape from Japan via Istanbul. • HSBC kicks off year with Hong Kong branches closed, vandalised HSBC is being drawn into Hong Kong's political turmoil with protesters attacking some of its branches and graffiti daubed on the famous pair of lions that guard its city-centre headquarters. • Iran's Soleimani and Iraq's Muhandis killed in U.S. air strike - militia spokesman Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed early on Friday in an air strike on their convoy at Baghdad airport, an Iraqi militia spokesman told Reuters. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) • SGX Nifty nearest-month futures were down 0.2% at 12,318.50. • The Indian rupee is expected to open lower against the dollar, weighed by the surge in Brent crude after a U.S. air strike reportedly killed Iranian and Iraqi military personnel. • India's federal government bonds are likely to rise today as the central bank will conduct yet another special open market operation, where it will simultaneously buy and sell notes worth up to 100 billion rupees each. The yield on the benchmark 6.45% bond maturing in 2029 is likely to trade in a range of 6.45%-6.50% until the weekly bond auction today. GLOBAL MARKETS • Wall Street's major indexes notched record highs to open the new year on Thursday, as fresh economic stimulus from China added to optimism fueled by easing trade tensions and an improving global outlook. • Asian shares extended their New Year's rally after Wall Street struck another record high on fresh Chinese stimulus while oil spiked after U.S. air strikes in Iraq heightened geopolitical tensions. • The Japanese yen led other safe-haven assets higher after air strikes on Baghdad airport killed a senior Iranian military official, stoking tensions in the Middle East and lifting the price of oil. • U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday in light post-holiday trading, after longer-dated debt posted its best yearly returns since 2014. • Oil prices jumped more than $1 after a U.S. air strike killed key Iranian and Iraqi military personnel, raising concerns that escalating Middle East tensions may disrupt oil supplies. • Gold prices inched up, on track to record a fourth consecutive weekly gain, as the dollar eased, while investors awaited the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's December meeting. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 71.33/71.36 January 2 359.03 (1.45)cro crore re 10-yr bond yield 6.62% Month-to-date (1,613)c (545)cror rore e Year-to-date (1,613) (545)cror crore e (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 = 71.34 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Siddharth Athreya V in Bengaluru)
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