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The markets are likely to open higher today. The recovery, which set on Friday has allowed the Nifty to close 27 points higher and recoup the 8200 mark.

While the volumes were down on the first day of the new settlement, it was essentially a low volume job. The sentiment was clearly buoyant in the PSU banking space.

Though the global markets will have a spate of holidays lined up, the Indian Government should give us much fodder to feed the markets as the Government  takes fresh initiatives on a lot of old ideas.

Holiday shortened week for International Markets

This week amongst the world?s major markets, we will be the only country that will be open all five days of the trading week.

The world will celebrate New Year on Thursday and barring a few Muslim countries, global markets will be shut that day. For the oriental markets of China and Japan, the New Year will be a two day affair. They will be closed on Friday too. For them this week will only have Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as working days.

Data, however, will pour in this short week as well. Data will start pouring in on Tuesday with the December reading of the U.S. Consumer confidence. The reading is likely to further improve from the 88.7 seen in November to about 95.

The HSBC Manufacturing PMI for China will be announced on Wednesday. The last reading for November had barely come at 50. Any dip below this will mean the economy is contracting. We will react to both the data on Wednesday morning.

The only key data that we would watch is the HSBC Manufacturing PMI for India that arrives on Friday. The reading for November had come in at 53.3.
 
Petronet LNG short listed for Bangla LNG Terminal

Petronet LNG is among five global energy firms that have been shortlisted for setting up an LNG import terminal (3.5 million tonnes) in Bangladesh.
 
IOC well positioned to bag Ennore-Tuticorin LNG pipeline

According to a report in The Hindu Business Line, Indian Oil Corporation is well positioned to bag the Rs.2,800-crore Ennore-Tuticorin LNG pipeline project, which will link its proposed Ennore LNG Terminal with the southern parts of Tamil Nadu and Bengaluru.

Reliance Capital may consider giving 10% stake in Proposed Bank

Though there is no Banking license in hand, according to the reports that appeared in Business-Standard, Reliance Capital will consider giving up to 10% stake to its newly-signed strategic partner Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank of Japan in its proposed bank.

NDMC Plans slurry pipeline

NMDC plans to set up a 139-km-long slurry pipeline to carry iron ore from Bailadila mines for its proposed 3 million tonnes per annum steel plant in Nagarnar, with an estimated cost of Rs. 800 crore. Both Bailadila mines and the Nagarnar steel plant are located in Chhattisgarh. The report appeared in The Hindu Business Line.
 
Ahead of Obama?s visit, Sebi flags down govt on India-US tax pact

The market regulator has written to the finance ministry, saying Fatca in its current form lacks complete reciprocity from the US counterparts, and there is an asymmetry in due-diligence requirements.

Lupin eyes acquisitions in US, Europe

Drug major Lupin Ltd is eyeing acquisitions in various global markets, including the US, Latin America and Europe, as it looks to bolster its overseas presence. The company is likely to focus on US, Latin America, Europe (Russia, Turkey), Japan and Chinese markets.

During the last fiscal, global markets (excluding India) accounted for around 75% of the total revenues of the company, which stood at over Rs.11,000 crore.

Centre to take ordinance route to effect changes in Land Acquisition Act

After a failed Winter Session of the Parliament, the Government  is now planning the ordinance route to make changes to the Land Acquisition Act. The government plans to exclude 13 central laws to clear several infrastructure and Public Private Partnership projects.

Government sources have told that necessary directions have been issued to the Rural Development Ministry to get the draft ordinance vetted by the Law Ministry. Sources said that Cabinet approval could be taken as early as next week for making changes to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

The Cabinet has already approved the ordinance route for coal and insurance reforms and also liberalised foreign investment policy in the medical devices sector.
 
Manappuram Group may apply for a banking license

Manappuram Group is contemplating applying for a banking licence through its micro finance arm.

Inaugurating Manappuram Finance Ltd's new regional office , Managing Director and Chief Executive officer V P Nandakumar said that the group has also initiated due diligence to take over a prominent vehicle loan company in the country.

?We are going for the third NCD public issue during the current financial year from January 15, 2015 to mobilise Rs 200 crore", he added. Introducing a new concept of niche banking in India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last month had issued final norms for payment banks and small finance banks.

Saudi Budget shows no respite in spending

The Saudi government unveiled a 2015 budget on Thursday that signaled a continuation of a high level of spending despite pressures from a steep fall in oil prices in recent months.

The kingdom, the world?s top oil exporter, depends on oil revenue to fund social spending, helping head off the kind of unrest that has roiled Middle Eastern countries since 2011. 

A prolonged oil-price slump could threaten such policies here and in other Gulf monarchies.

Saudi King Abdullah, however,  struck a note of caution in the budget announcement, instructing officials to consider the developments that led to oil?s decline by ?rationalizing the expenditure.?

The kingdom didn?t say on what price of oil it based its 2015 budget.The International Monetary Fund and others estimate a Saudi Arabia?s fiscal break-even price for oil at well above $90 a barrel?it has been trading recently under $60?underlining the country?s vulnerability to changes in the energy market.

The kingdom expects to run a wider deficit of 145 billion riyals to continue with its spending plans, as projected revenue falls by nearly a third to 715 billion riyals, according to a finance ministry statement.
 
Nuts tightening in Russia

The U.S. expanded its Russia sanctions earlier this month and for the first time, it imposed a broad ban on doing business in Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in March. The move showed Washington is digging in for a prolonged standoff over the status of the region and seeking to make it an investment pariah.

Visa, an international payment system company, suspended its operations in Crimea after another round of U.S. sanctions, the company said on Friday. Visa is now prohibited from offering Visa-branded products and services to Crimea. This means that we can no longer support card issuing and merchant/ATM acquiring services in Crimea?.

Ukraine this week cut off electricity and train services to Crimea, citing electricity shortages of its own because rebels have halted shipments of coal to its power plants. The cutoff in railway services, however, could indicate Ukraine is stepping up its pressure of the peninsula.
 
Wall Street Continues to bask in the rally even after Christmas

Key U.S. Indices further built on their pre-Christmas gains to close at yet another high on Friday amid lowest volumes this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 24 points or 0.13 to its Christmas eve close to end at 18,054.

The S&P 500, did still better rising 7 points or 0.34% to close at 2,089. The Nasdaq Composite too surged higher, rising 34 points or 0.70% to end at 4,807, its highest close since March 2000.
The Russell 2000 rocketed to an all-time high as stocks charged to new records in the final session of a holiday-shortened week.

The Dow has gained for the seventh straight. This was its longest running streak since March 2013.  It also gained the most in 7 sessions, since November 2008.

The Nasdaq has been up for eight of the last ten weeks, while the S&P 500 has gained for nine of the past ten weeks.

Investor confidence has been high since Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and colleagues promised to be "patient" in raising rates over 2015. Over the past seven sessions, the S&P 500 and Dow have surged 5.8%.

Oil prices slumped on Friday to close out its fifth week of losses. The commodity was higher earlier in the day after fighting at Libya's largest terminal at Es Sider potentially restricted oil supply, temporarily addressing a global commodity glut. Crude has been in freefall since a midyear peak as OPEC refused to cut production in the face of tepid international demand.

West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery fell 2% to $54.73 a barrel, while Brent crude futures lost 79 cents, or 1.3%, to close at $59.45. Both are the second-lowest settlement levels of this year, after ones set last week.
 
Energy shares were mixed with Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips falling, while  Total SA  gained. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF traded flat.

Amazon climbed 2.2% after announcing over 10 million Prime users had been added over the holiday season. The internet retailer also said customers ordered more than 10 times as much via its same-day delivery service compared to last year's holiday season.

GoPro  shares spiked 4.2%. The camera maker has been rallying after more than 15 million shares became eligible for sale earlier in the week.

Qualcomm shares were up 1.2% after Chinese regulators said a months-long investigation into the company would be completed soon. Officials accused the chipmaker of abusing its monopoly by overcharging.

Sony was a tad lower, despite its controversial film 'The Interview' grossing more than $1 million in its limited theatrical release on Christmas Day. However, hackers did target Sony's PlayStation networks and Microsoft's Xbox over the holiday, disrupting normal operations for much of the day.

European markets are closed until Monday. Asian stocks mostly rose, with a 2.8% gain for the Shanghai Composite led by banks.In other markets, the dollar held steady above ?120, while gold prices finished the week slightly lower, but gained $22.10 Friday, rising to $1,196.30 an ounce.