(Morning News Call - India edition will not be published on Friday, April 14, as markets are closed for Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti and Good Friday.) To access the newsletter, click on the link: http://share.thomsonreuters.com/assets/newsletters/Indiamorning/MNC_IN_04132017.pdf If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/india-morning/ FACTORS TO WATCH 11:15 am: Petroleum Secretary K. D. Tripathi briefs media on cabinet decisions related to the ministry in New Delhi. 4:00 pm: India Ratings webinar on power sector in Mumbai. 5:00 pm: RBI to release weekly foreign exchange data in Mumbai. GMF: LIVECHAT - CHINA AUTOMOBILE OUTLOOK Will SUVs continue to boost Chinese car makers such as Geely and Great Wall Motor in the rest of 2017 and beyond? What is the prospect of electric cars - both domestic brand BYD and U.S. brand Tesla - in China? Reuters auto correspondent Jake Spring will discuss the trend of the industry at 11:30 am. To join the conversation, click on the link: https://forms.thomsonreuters.com/communities/ INDIA TOP NEWS • Higher fuel prices drive up India's inflation to five-month high Higher fuel costs drove up India's headline inflation to its highest level in five months in March, data showed, vindicating a central bank decision last week to keep its policy rate on hold amid concern about price pressures. • Indian sales tax coming July 1, to boost growth, revenues - official India will launch a new national sales tax as planned on July 1 to boost economic growth and state revenues, a finance ministry official said on Wednesday, despite calls from some businesses for a delay. • Indian state refiners to revise fuel price in 5 cities daily from May 1 - sources India's state-owned fuel retailers plan to implement daily revision of fuel price in five cities from May 1 ahead of a nationwide roll out of the scheme, industry sources said. • Indian-Greek venture offers 480 mln euros to build Crete airport -sources The only bid submitted to build an airport on the island of Crete was priced at 480 million euros ($509.42 million), well below the expected 850 million, sources close to the project said on Wednesday. GLOBAL TOP NEWS • China's Xi urges peaceful resolution of N.Korea tension in call with Trump Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a peaceful resolution of rising tension on the Korean peninsula in a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, as a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group steamed towards the region. • U.S.-Russia relations at another low after Syria attacks The presidents of the United States and Russia on Wednesday both presented souring views of the relationship between their two countries, exchanging sharp words as Moscow extended an icy welcome to the United States' top diplomat in a face-off over Syria. • Foreign journalists in North Korea gather for "big event" amid tensions Foreign journalists visiting North Korea gathered in Pyongyang for "a big and important event" with tensions high over the possibility of a new weapons test by the isolated state and as a U.S. carrier group sails towards the Korean peninsula. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) • The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 9,202.50, trading little changed from its previous close. • The Indian rupee will likely open higher against the dollar, as the greenback slipped after U.S. President Donald Trump said the currency was getting too strong and that he prefers a low interest rate policy. • Indian government bonds will likely edge higher in early trade tracking a slide in U.S. Treasury yields after President Donald Trump said he preferred a low Federal funds rate. The yield on the benchmark 6.97 pct bond maturing in 2026 is likely to trade in a 6.75 pct-6.81 pct band today. The bond closed at 101.30 rupees, yielding 6.78 pct, yesterday. GLOBAL MARKETS • U.S. stocks eased on Wednesday and the S&P 500 closed below a key technical level for the first time since Election Day, pressured by lingering geopolitical concerns and President Donald Trump's comments on the dollar and interest rates. • Japanese stocks posted fresh four-month lows as the yen spiked against the dollar after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S currency was too strong, hitting automakers and tech shares hard. • The dollar slumped broadly, falling to a five-month low against the yen, after U.S. President Donald Trump helped accelerate its recent decline by saying the currency was too strong. • U.S. Treasury yields fell on Wednesday with benchmark yields hitting a near five-month low, prompted by comments by U.S. President Donald Trump on favoring low interest rates made in a newspaper interview published in late U.S. trading. • Crude oil futures slid for a second session, moving away from a one-month high touched briefly in the last session as rising U.S. production stoked worries about global oversupply. • Gold hit a five-month peak as the U.S. dollar slid after President Donald Trump said he preferred lower interest rates with the greenback "too strong", and amid rising tensions over U.S. relations with Russia and North Korea. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 64.52/64.55 April 12 -$89.8 mln $116.57 mln 10-yr bond yield 7.16 Month-to-date -$1.2 mln $2.89 bln Year-to-date $6.78 bln $8.36 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 = 64.6850 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Nayyar Rasheed in Bengaluru)