To access the newsletter, click on the link: here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: here FACTORS TO WATCH 10:30 am: Housing and Urban affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri at FICCI’s Smart Cities Summit in New Delhi. 10:30 am: Science Minister Harsh Vardhan to inaugurate Saksham 2018 event in New Delhi. 12:30 pm: Commerce Ministry Joint Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi and Trade Promotion Council of India Chairman Mohit Singla to address media on ‘Indus Food’ trade show in New Delhi. 1:00 pm: Science Minister Harsh Vardhan at an event in New Delhi. 2:30 pm: TRAI Chairman R.S. Sharma at open house discussion on mobile portability charges in New Delhi. 4:00 pm: Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Junior Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha at open house discussion in New Delhi. 5:30 pm: New India Assurance Chairman G. Srinivasan, Indian Banks’ Association CEO V.G. Kannan at ‘Role and Responsibility of Insolvency Resolution Professionals’ conference in Mumbai. GMF:LIVECHAT-COMMODITIES We take a look at the outlook for commodities in the first quarter of 2018 with Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN AMRO at 03:30 pm IST. To join the conversation, click on the link: here INDIA TOP NEWS • India's trade deficit widens to over three-year high in December India's December trade deficit widened to its highest in more than three years as higher import bills for gold and crude oil weighed on rising exports, government data showed on Monday. • India to add facial authentication for ID card security India will build facial recognition into its national identity card in addition to fingerprints after a series of breaches in the world's biggest biometric identification programme, the government said on Monday. • Air India to be split into 4 entities ahead of sale - Bloomberg India will split state-run carrier Air India into four separate companies and offer at least 51 percent in each of them as part of a divestment plan proposed by the government, Bloomberg reported on Monday. • Federal Bank Q3 profit rises 26 percent, lags estimates India's Federal Bank Ltd posted a 26 percent rise in its third-quarter net profit, helped by higher interest income, but missed analysts' estimates by a small margin. • Israel's Netanyahu pushes for India free trade deal during rare visit India and Israel will begin work on a free trade pact that Israel has been pushing for, officials said on Monday, as Benjamin Netanyahu began a first visit by an Israeli prime minister in 15 years. • India reports highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu in Karnataka -OIE India has reported an outbreak of a highly contagious bird flu virus near Bengaluru in the southern state of Karnataka, the World Organisation for Animal Health said on Monday, citing a report from the Indian agriculture ministry. GLOBAL TOP NEWS • EXCLUSIVE-China's JD.com targets $2 bln fundraising at logistics unit - sources China's second-biggest e-commerce firm JD.com has kicked off a fundraising round at its logistics unit with a target of at least $2 billion, and eventually plans to list the business overseas, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. • HNA's problems mount as airlines delay payments, bank sets up team to handle debt-sources Some airlines affiliated with China's HNA Group Co Ltd are delaying aircraft lease payments to lessors, and Export-Import Bank of China, which is a long-term financer of the group, has formed a team to handle the conglomerate's liquidity issues, several banking and leasing sources said. • North Korean orchestra to perform in South during Olympics amid easing tensions North Korea agreed during rare talks on Monday to send a 140-strong orchestra to perform during the Winter Olympics in South Korea next month, Seoul said, amid easing tensions after a months-long standoff over the North's weapons programmes. LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK (As reported by NewsRise) The SGX Nifty Futures were trading at 10,762.00 trading up 0.11 pct from its previous close. The Indian rupee will likely trade lower against the dollar in opening session, as trade deficit at home widened to a more-than-three-year high. Indian government bonds are likely to fall in early trade amid concerns rising crude oil prices would stoke inflation. The yield on the benchmark 6.79 pct bond maturing in 2027 is likely to trade in a 7.42 pct-7.47 pct band today. GLOBAL MARKETS • Asian shares slumped, as miners were pressured by weaker Chinese iron ore prices, while the euro stood near a 3-year peak on rising expectations that the European Central Bank could pare its monetary stimulus. • The euro inched lower, taking a breather after having rallied on the back of optimism about the euro zone's economic outlook and expectations for the European Central Bank to wind down its massive monetary stimulus. • Brent crude prices were settling in around $70 per barrel, levels last seen before the start of an oil market slump in late 2014. • Gold prices held firm near four-month highs hit in the previous session, buoyed after the U.S. dollar slumped to three-year lows against a basket of currencies on Monday. CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT PNDF spot 63.45/63.48 January 15 $5.18mln -$141.75mln 10-yr bond yield 7.41 pct Month-to-date $254.55mln $561.55mln Year-to-date $254.55mln $561.55mln 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 = 63.5100 Indian rupees) (Compiled by Nishit Kunal in Bengaluru)