22:01 Amid raging tension on the Korean peninsula, China today asked the US and North Korea to exercise restraint and avoid provoking each other, saying it was "very concerned" over their escalating war of words. Read the full story on Moneycontrol here.

21:47 The Haryana government has decided to use drones to monitor and put an end to all illegal constructions in urban areas and their peripheries.

In the first phase to be launched on a pilot project basis, monitoring would be done through drones in Karnal, and through satellite imaging in Gurgaon and Faridabad, urban local bodies minister Kavita Jain said today.

21:44 Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over note ban, GST, farm policies and 'Gujarat model' of development, Rahul Gandhi today voiced confidence about winning the upcoming Assembly elections, claiming there is a strong undercurrent in favour of Congress in Gujarat.

21:42 After repeated ceasefire violations from Pakistan, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat today said that the surgical strike conducted last year was to send a strong message.

According to an ANI report, Rawat said,"Surgical strike was conducted to send a message and if adversaries do not understand, it will be repeated."

21:38 The United States won't take on North Korea by force, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told a Russian TV channel, because Pyongyang has weapons that would pose a credible retaliatory threat.

Pointing to the end of Saddam Hussein's regime, Lavrov said that the US only invaded Iraq after being totally sure that the country could not hit back, and that the knowledge that North Korea can do so will prevent action from Washington.

21:36 North Korea's foreign minister has said that his country has the "right to shoot down strategic US bombers", even if they are not in North Korean airspace, after Donald Trump "declared war" on the country with his comments.

21:32 North Korean missiles demolished a US aircraft carrier and several jets in a propaganda video that came out of Pyongyang, a day before the regime's foreign minister said President Trump's latest comments were "a declaration of war."

The Reserve Bank today amended the statutes making it possible for lenders to invest in Reits and InvIts capping such exposures to 10 percent of the unit capital of such instruments, and also to regulate their

commodity derivatives play.

20:49 North Korea's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho made a public statement today in a very rare briefing to reporters at the UN Millenium Plaza hotel in New York, the Daily Star reported.

In it, he called President Trump's comments over the weekend as "clearly a declaration of war". The international community should "remember that the US declared war on North Korea", he added.

20:27 Shashi Shanker was today appointed as the chairman and managing director (CMD) of India's biggest oil and gas producer ONGC.

20:26 India is examining the impact of an existing bilateral agreement with Myanmar, which allows free movement of Indian and Myanmarese citizens within 16 km of the border, as the pact is being exploited by militants for smuggling arms, drugs and fake Indian currency.

The move came amidst the mass exodus of the Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, following turmoil in the Rakhine province of that country.

20:23 India and South Korea are discussing ways to upgrade the existing free trade agreement with a view to boost trade and investments, a government official told PTI today.

India and South Korea have implemented the trade pact in January 2010, which is officially known as Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

20:22 The Delhi High Court today reserved its order on a plea of AAP leader Deepak Bajpai challenging a trial court order summoning him in a criminal defamation case filed against him by Union minister Arun Jaitley.

20:18 Deloitte was the victim of a cybersecurity attack that went unnoticed for months, The Guardian reported today.

Deloitte clients across all of these sectors had material in the company email system that was breached. The companies include household names as well as US government departments.

So far, six of Deloitte’s clients have been told their information was “impacted” by the hack. Deloitte’s internal review into the incident is ongoing.

20:14 PM Modi has unveiled a new plan to provide power to every household. The total cost of the program would be Rs 16,000 crore but Modi said that this burden won't be borne by the poor. In fact, every person with a BPL (below poverty line) card will be able to avail the electricity free of cost.

20:09 The DMK today moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker to disqualify deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam and 10 other AIADMK MLAs under the anti-defection law for voting against Chief Minister K Palaniswami's trust vote in February.

20:00 The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed two trainee lower court judges for having more than two children in violation of the state government's rules.

Following an amendment to the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (General Condition of Services) Rules 1961, government officials face action if they are found to have had a third child post-January 26, 2001.

19:43 Former PM Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan in an interaction with CNBC TV18 said that reconstituting the PMEAC was vital and that it should conduct sector-wise analyses through meetings with companies.

19:40 PM Modi is currently speaking at the launch of the Saubhagya Yojana. Follow the developments here.

18:46 Rakesh Mohan also said that all the members of the newly constituted Economic Advisory Council are well-known.

18:40 Speaking to CNBC TV18, Ashima Goyal, a member of the newly formed PM Economic Advisory Council, said that the panel will focus more on introducing structural reforms.

18:39 Rakesh Mohan, former deputy governor of RBI, said that the formation of the Economic Advisory Council is indicative of the fact that economic issues take precedence in today's world.

18:18 The other members of the Economic Advisory Council are Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy, Ashima Goyal, Ratan Watal.

18:16 The Prime Minister has constituted an Economic Advisory Council, reports News18. Bibek Debroy has been made the Chairman of this panel.

18:10 Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Monday said the state government should spend the entire amount earmarked for waiver of farm loans, though the number of beneficiaries is expected to be lower than the earlier estimates.

18:09 The new CEO of Uber today offered contrition for past mistakes, just days after London's transport authority said it would scrap the company's operating license.

17:28 State-owned IDBI Bank today said it has sold one per cent stake in Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) for an undisclosed amount in a bid to mobilise funds by exiting non-core business.

17:14 The Tamil Nadu government has appointed retired Madras High Court judge Justice A Arumugasamy to probe the death of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, News 18 reported.

17:13 Dera Sacha Sauda chief and convicted rapist, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, has filed an appeal against the special CBI court order in the Punjab & Haryana High Court on Monday, News 18 reported.

Singh was convicted of raping two of his disciples by the special CBI court in Haryana’s Panchkula on August 25.

16:48 State-owned GAIL has approached the ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for setting up a 1-million-tonne per annum capacity Greenfield Petrochemical Complex in East Godavari of Andhra Pradesh.

16:31 Pakistan and Russia are holding two-week long joint military drill focussing on counter- terrorism operations to enhance military ties between the two countries.

The joint exercise, called DRUZBA 2017, between special forces of Pakistan and Russia Armies started in Minralney Vody, Russia.

16:27 RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has sought two weeks to appear before the CBI for questioning in connection with a case of alleged graft in giving the maintenance contract for two IRCTC hotels to a private firm, sources told PTI.

To know how the market performed today watch video below

16:15 The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India has opened bookings for the new version of S-Cross, which it plans to launch later this week.

16:14 Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah will travel to Gaza on October 2 as part of a fresh push to end a decade-long split between Fatah and Hamas, which runs the enclave, his government said today.

16:11 Japan today said that it expects to raise more than USD 11.6 billion by selling off another chunk of the country's massive postal service.

15:48 The Prime Minister will address the BJP's National Executive meet at around 6pm. You can follow live updates here.

15:29 Reliance Industries has jumped five places to rank as the world's third-biggest energy company behind Russian gas firm Gazprom and German utility E.ON, according to Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings. State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) broke into the top 10 club, climbing to seventh position in the 2017 ranking, up from 14th rank in 2016. IOC has been steadily climbing the rankings -- it was placed at No. 66 in 2015.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was placed at 11th position in 2017 as against 20th in 2016. RIL, the owner of world's biggest refinery complex, was ranked seventh last year. Coal India, the world's largest coal producer, was the only Indian firm to have slipped in the ranking - 45 in 2017, down from 38 in last year.

15:23 Prataap Snacks Rs 482 crore initial public offer, which opened on September 22, has got fully subscribed on the second day of the three-day bidding process. The IPO was subscribed 1.06 times as at 2:15 pm. It received bids for 39,87,075 shares against 36,27,518 shares on offer.

15:21 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his decision to call a snap election would not distract his government from responding to North Korean threats, pledging to increase pressure if Pyongyang failed to halt its missile and nuclear weapons development, reports Reuters.

15:20 The Bank of England said an agreement is needed as part of the Brexit process to protect the “long-term validity” of GBP 20 trillion (USD 27.1 trillion) of existing derivative contracts, reports Bloomberg. The BoE’s Financial Policy Committee said that after the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, it will be “complex and difficult” for financial firms themselves to address the risks to continued servicing of contracts between counterparties in the UK and the remaining 27 EU countries.

15:12 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would seek to implement a 2 trillion yen (USD 18 billion) spending package to expand access to education and cut waiting times at child-care centres, reports Bloomberg. He made the comments shortly before his coalition partner said an election would be held, likely on October 22.

Abe said he would make use of revenue from a planned consumption-tax hike set to take effect in October 2019. Revenue from increasing the sales levy had previously been marked mostly to replace deficit spending on the social safety net. He said that he wanted to settle on the details of the package before the end of the year.

Abe said it would be important to find a balance between spending on the policy package and improving Japan’s finances. He also wants to consider measures to increase wages and encourage investment.

15:04 British lenders need to hold around an extra GBP 10 billion (USD 13.5 billion) in capital to guard against increased risks from rapidly rising unsecured consumer lending, reports Reuters. British consumer borrowing is growing at nearly 10% a year, far faster than incomes, and the BoE’s Financial Policy Committee said it would tell banks by the end of the year how much extra capital to hold, based on the riskiness of their lending. Policymakers also warned that Britain’s upcoming departure from the European Union in March 2019 posed big legal problems for about a quarter of derivative contracts, which businesses use to hedge against interest rate and currency risks.

14:56 The committee of creditors to debt-laden steel firm Bhushan Steel is unwilling to approve additional funding of Rs 500 crore as part of the corporate insolvency process, reports The Financial Express. Banks have notified their decision to the interim resolution professional (IRP) Vijaykumar V Iyer at a recent meeting where he presented his plan. The company owes banks a sum of Rs 44,500 crore and banks have informed the IRP that he may look at other institutions like asset reconstruction companies that are keen to lend at a higher interest rate.

14:52 Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik said a committee headed by the chief secretary has been constituted to go into the protest in the Banaras Hindu University campus over an alleged eve-teasing incident, reports PTI. A number of students, including women, and two journalists were injured in a baton-charge by the police in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) where a protest on Saturday night against an alleged eve-teasing incident turned violent.

14:50 Doctors at the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Safdarjung Hospital have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging corruption in the selection procedure of doctors at the hospital, reports CNN-News18.

14:33 The Delhi High Court has acquitted Peepli Live co-director Mehmood Farooqui in the US researcher rape case. The court raised doubts about the veracity of the incident and complaint.

14:31 Jaypee Group's flagship company Jaiprakash Associates said its shareholders have approved the proposal to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore through sale of securities. The special resolution was approved by the shareholders at the company's annual general meeting held on September 23.

14:29 Hours after he alleged that he was not getting due importance, Trinamool Congress MP Mukul Roy was suspended from the party for six years. Roy had earlier said he would quit as MP after Durga puja.

14:21 Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav has ruled out forming any new party “as of now”, putting a lid on speculation that he could part ways amid the continuing battle for supremacy in the party. Blowing hot and cold, the Samajwadi patriarch said his blessings were with his son Akhilesh Yadav though he did not agree with the decisions made by him.

14:19 Coffee Day Enterprises said searches conducted by the Income Tax Department over the past few days on the company and its subsidiaries will not have any significant impact on its financial position. The company said there was no information discovered that would significantly impact its financial position. Any information that is considered to have a ‘material impact in nature discovered later’ will be intimated to the exchange immediately, it added.

14:16 Unilever has agreed to buy cosmetics firm Carver Korea for EUR 2.27 billion (USD 2.71 billion) from Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital and the company’s founder as it expands its beauty and personal care business, reports Reuters. The Anglo-Dutch company announced the deal on Monday, saying Carver was the fastest-growing skincare business in South Korea, through sales of its A.H.C brand.

14:14 An evacuation plan has been put in place to ensure safety of border inhabitants in Kathua district of Jammu & Kashmir in view of frequent shelling and firing by Pakistan, reports PTI. The district administration has kept ready relief camps at identified locations where families would be provided safe accommodation and basic amenities.

14:13 State-owned Gujarat State Fertilisers & Chemicals (GSFC) cleared the air that all its plants are operating perfectly and information of their shutdown in social media is false and baseless, reports PTI. Its ammonia plant is "running perfectly and producing 11,000 tonne per day", the company said in a BSE filing. Melamine and caprolactum units are operating at full capacity and even other major plants of urea, sulphuric acid and others are functioning more that their capacity, it added.

14:10 Power grids maker ABB is buying General Electric’s Industrial Solutions business for USD 2.6 billion in a bet it can improve the division’s lacklustre margins over the next five years, reports Reuters. The Zurich-based ABB sees potential for annual cost benefits of USD 200 million with the deal, which includes an agreement for long-term use of GE’s brand and a strategic partnership. In 2016, the GE business had sales of USD 2.7 billion.

14:02 Indian shuttler PV Sindhu has been nominated for the prestigious Padma Bhushan award by the Sports Ministry. World No 2 Sindhu has been in stellar form since winning a silver medal at Rio Olympics last year and is the second athlete after cricketer MS Dhoni to have been nominated for the honour this year.

13:59 The US Food & Drug Administration has approved Lupin’s generic Clobex lotion, reports CNBC-TV18. Clobex lotion is used to treat dermatoses.

13:52 World's heaviest woman Eman Ahmed dies in Abu Dhabi due to 'health complications', reports CNN-News18.

13:48 State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will acquire the government's 51.11% stake in HPCL through a bulk or block deal some time in November or December at the prevailing market price, reports PTI. While the government is keen that the deal, which would fetch it over Rs 33,000 crore at the current market price, is done in October, ONGC wants time to raise the money required for the acquisition, a senior government official said.

13:42 The board of Novartis India has approved a buyback worth Rs 231.2 crore at Rs 670 per share.

13:25 The Enforcement Directorate has attached Karti Chidambaram's assets, the latter denies receiving a notice, reports CNN-News18. It has attached fixed deposits worth Rs 90 lakh. The total assets attached stands at Rs 1.16 crore.

12:50 Drug firm Suven Life Sciences has been granted a patent each by India and Japan for a drug used in the treatment of neuro-degenerative diseases. In a BSE filing, Suven Life said it has been granted "one product patent from India and one product patent from Japan corresponding to the New Chemical Entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with neurodegenerative diseases". The patents are valid till 2027 and 2032, respectively, the company added.

12:42 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will dissolve Parliament's Lower House on September 28, reports Reuters.

12:40 The Gujarat Food & Drug Administration finds 35-40% bottled drinking water samples to be sub-standard, reports CNBC-TV18. The regulator had collected 400-500 bottled water samples. No specific brand of bottled water is being pulled up at this point in time. The FDA will meet state bottled water representatives in 10-15 days and discuss water treatment, facility upgradation and counterfeits.

12:33 Gayatri Projects’ scrip gained 2.8% on Monday as its JV bagged an irrigation project order worth Rs 1,483 crore. The deal has been bagged by its joint venture with NCC and HES and is for the formation of Sri Komaravelli Mallanna Sagar Reservoir with a capacity of 50 TMC. The project is expected to provide a major boost to water-intensive crops such as sugarcane and banana as well as to associated agro-industries.

12:17 Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s ‘adopted daughter’ Honeypreet Insan could be in the captivity of Dera supporters, reports CNN-News18. She was last seen by a relative in Hanumangarh on August 28 taken away by two Dera supporters.

12:05 The Future Retail stock is down close to 4% after 11.5 lakh shares traded in two block deals on the NSE.

11:39 Actor Kamal Haasan said he plans to make a political debut early next year. Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18, he said he is against politics in the name of religion and caste. Though some of his heroes are communist, he said he does not belong to any political ideology.

He ruled out an alliance with Trinamool Congress’ Mamata Banerjee and saffron parties but is open to a pact with south superstar Rajinikanth, subject to certain conditions. He feels the latter is more suited for a saffron alliance.

Haasan said, if he comes to power, his first priority would be to curb corruption. All political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the AIADMK and DMK, are corrupt, he added.

Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s beef politics, he said the government should provide food not a ‘menu card’. He sees a clear North-South divide with Delhi not understanding people’s aspirations from the South and vice-versa.

11:25 Estranged Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy has announced his decision to quit the party. He said he will tender his resignation as Rajya Sabha MP after Durga puja which ends on September 30. I will disclose my reasons later when I submit my resignation, said Roy.

Roy has already resigned as TMC’s working committee member.

Once the second-in-command in the TMC after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Roy, a Rajya Sabha MP, shares a strained relationship with the party. Roy was recently removed as the TMC vice-president after the party decided to restructure its committee.

CNN-News18 reports that Roy is likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.

11:16 Tata Capital is likely to sell its forex business to Thomas Cook, reports CNBC-TV18. The deal is likely to occur on Monday.

11:14 One person died and another was injured after a major fire broke out in storage tank near oil jetty at Gujarat’s Kandla port on Sunday night, reports ANI. The fire was doused on Monday morning.

10:46 The weakness in Coffee Day Enterprises, operator of Café Coffee Day chain of quick service restaurants, continued on Monday, with the stock falling over 10.5%. Investors turned cautious of the stock on the back of media reports that the Income Tax Department has detected undisclosed income worth over Rs 650 crore. The department expects the undisclosed income figures to be higher.

10:42 A thumbs down to Apple’s latest products is turning out to be bad news for Taiwan equities, reports Mint. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, which assembles the iPhone and other Apple devices, has fallen 10% in Taipei since Apple unveiled its collection of new gadgets for the holidays this month. Other suppliers across the region, including Taiwan’s Pegatron Corp. and South Korea’s LG Innotek Co. have plunged more than 13%.

Taiwan’s USD 1.1 trillion equity market is particularly exposed to the swinging fortunes of Apple products, due to the dominance of parts manufacturers. Hon Hai and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, Apple’s main chip-maker, together make up a quarter of the Taiex total weighting, while exports account for more than half of the island’s gross domestic product.

10:34 On Saturday, Amazon arm picked up 5% stake in Shoppers Stop. Govind Shikhande, Customer Care Associate and MD, Shoppers Stop, expects a dramatic rise in business once the agreement with Amazon.in commences in 90 days. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he said proceeds from Amazon Investment will be used to strengthen Shoppers Shop’s market position. “We will bring the entire Shoppers Stop catalogue of 400 brands onto Amazon.in.” Shikhande said the retail major is targeting 8% growth by FY18 end and 8% EBITDA margin in 24 months.

10:13 Capacit’e Infraprojects had a stellar listing on the bourses today. The stock debut with gains of 59.6% at Rs 399 per share as against its issue price of Rs 250 per share. The company’s initial public offering received a stellar response, getting oversubscribed 183.03 times.

10:07 Tata Motors, the owner of luxury car brands Jaguar-Land Rover, is building a war chest that will allow it to expand its business and acquire rivals, reports Mint. Cash and equivalents at the Indian maker of the Tiago and Hexa cars surged 87% to Rs 39,760 crore as of June 30 from a year earlier. Reliance Industries, India’s biggest company by market value, had Rs 72,100 crore in cash in the period.

10:02 Under the farm loan waiver scheme, over 2.4 lakh farmers who haven't provided their Aadhaar details may not be eligible as the scheme mandates Aadhaar as one of the criteria for issue of the benefits, reports The Times of India. According to the state information and technology (IT) department, over 56.59 lakh farmers have registered for the scheme across Maharashtra, out of which over 2.4 lakh applicants have not mentioned their Aadhaar details.

09:51 Shoppers Stop share rallied 16% after an arm of e-commerce giant Amazon purchased 5% stake in the company at Rs 408 per share.

09:49 The Corporate Affairs Ministry has disqualified another 200,000 directors for holding posts in defaulting companies that have not filed their financial returns for the last three years or more, taking the total number to over 300,000, while cancelling the registration of another 10,000 companies. These directors won’t be able to hold board seats in other companies as well and may have to resign soon from them, potentially impacting other firms as well.

09:44 Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will begin his three-day campaign for the Gujarat Assembly elections on Monday from the crucial Saurashtra region with the state police refusing him permission to hold an open-jeep road show, but leaving him with a consolation to take out a bullock cart yatra, reports The Financial Express.

09:28 In what is being billed as a major announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to unveil 'Saubhagya - Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana' in Delhi on Monday. The scheme costing Rs 17,000 crore aims at providing 'last mile electricity connectivity to all rural and urban households'. The televised announcement, set to be made at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s National Executive meet in the capital, will reinforce the ruling party's Electricity-for-All target, which was recently advanced from 2019 to 2018.

09:18 The benchmark indices have opened weak with the Nifty breaching the crucial 9,950 level. Banking and infrastructure marquee names are the big losers in opening trade.

08:55 To read about all the stocks and sectors that will be in news today, click here

08:53 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected on Monday to announce a snap election for next month to take advantage of improved ratings and opposition disarray, despite criticism that he is creating a political vacuum amid worries over North Korea, reports Reuters. Abe will hold a news conference at 2:30 pm, Jiji news agency reported, after meeting party executives and will likely put pledges to spend on education and child care, stay tough on North Korea and revise the constitution at the forefront of his campaign.

08:49 All eyes will be on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he will address the extended national executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday. BJP President Amit Shah will deliver the inaugural speech at the event. Modi is expected to allay fears of economic slowdown and make some key announcement of welfare schemes. More than 2,000 delegates, which includes BJP MLAs from across India and all MPs, will be present at this meet at New Delhi's Talkatora stadium on Monday.

08:39 A number of students, including women, and two journalists were injured in a lathicharge by the police in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) where a protest on Sunday night against an alleged eve- teasing incident turned violent, reports PTI. The violence erupted after some students, protesting against the incident on Thursday, wanted to meet the varsity's vice chancellor at his residence on Sunday night, according to the police and BHU sources.

08:37 Capacit'e Infraprojects, the Mumbai-based construction company, is set to debut on Dalal Street on Monday. The company made quite a splash on the primary market this past fortnight as its initial public offering (IPO) saw a whopping 186 times subscription. The shares will be listed on both NSE and BSE. The company issued the shares at Rs 250 apiece.

08:27 To read about all the stocks that will be in news today, click here

08:24 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he wants to sell 35-75 million Facebook shares in the next 18 months to fund the company's work in education, science and advocacy, reports IANS.

08:21 The Income Tax Department on Sunday concluded raids on premises linked to former Union minister SM Krishna's businessman son-in-law VG Siddhartha, who is also founder-owner of Cafe Coffee Day, the country's largest coffee retail chain, reports The Times of India. A senior public relations official of the I-T department in Bengaluru confirmed that the department has detected over Rs 650 crore of undisclosed income linked to Siddhartha, after four days of raids.

08:14 Billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla’s Aditya Birla Group is readying a bid for aluminium maker Aleris Corporation, reports Mint. The group’s bid may assign a USD 2.5 billion enterprise value for Cleveland, Ohio-based Aleris. The offer, which may come as soon as the first week of October, will include an investment of close to USD 1 billion through equity and debt, and refinancing of the company’s debt of around USD 1.5 billion.

08:03 Expect a big bang announcement from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday about the power sector-that's the word from new Power Minister RK Singh, reports CNBC-TV18. The minister also promised to open up the sector further to private players. Besides separating ‘content’ and ‘carriage’, he also promised legislative changes to ensure power purchasing agreements are honoured.

07:57 Finance Minister Arun Jaitley goaded companies to boost investments as businesses bruised by a slowing economy and falling returns defer spending, reports Bloomberg. Jaitley and Amitabh Kant, the Chief Executive Officer at Niti Aayog called for more private spending from local companies and said the banking system must get healthier to support that investment. Jaitley told companies that there’s “no need to panic,” while R Shankar Raman, Chief Financial Officer at Larsen & Toubro, India’s biggest engineering and construction company, said the environment is not conducive for adding investments.

07:52 North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons is preventing the US from launching a first strike against the rogue nation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Bloomberg. “The Americans won’t strike because they know for sure -- rather than suspect -- that it has atomic bombs,” Lavrov said, adding that the US attacked Iraq “solely because they had 100% information that there were no weapons of mass destruction left there,” refuting arguments the American government made at the time.

07:47 China’s central bank has set the yuan mid-point at 6.5945 per dollar from 6.5890 earlier. The yuan mid-point is at the weakest level since August 31.

07:30 Oil prices stood little changed on Monday, keeping most of their gains from the previous session to hold near their highest levels in months, as major producers meeting in Vienna said the market was well on its way toward rebalancing, reports Reuters. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and several other producers have cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day since the start of 2017, helping lift oil prices by about 15% in the past three months.

07:28 The euro slipped on Monday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in a weekend election, but faced leading a much less stable coalition in a fractured parliament as support for the far-right party surged, reports Reuters. The euro was down 0.2% at USD 1.1934, putting more distance between a two-and-a-half-year high of USD 1.2092 reached on Sept. 8, when a European Central Bank policy meeting left currency bulls optimistic the ECB would begin tapering its big stimulus program. Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 0.6%, Australian shares climbed 0.4% and South Korea's KOSPI was flat.

07:23 Japanese manufacturing activity expanded in September at the fastest pace in four months as domestic and export orders picked up, a preliminary private survey showed on Monday in a sign of strengthening demand, reports Reuters. The Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 52.6 in September from a final 52.2 in August. The index remained above the 50 threshold that separates expansion contraction from the 13th consecutive month and reached the highest level since May.

07:21 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to compile a new economic stimulus package of around 2 trillion yen (USD 17.8 billion) by the end of this year, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. The package will mainly consist of increased spending on child care and education, and cover a period of three years from the fiscal year beginning in April 2018.

07:18 Optimism about the business environment among Britain’s financial services firms declined again in the third quarter of this year, the longest run of falling sentiment since the global financial crisis, reports Reuters. The latest quarterly survey of 94 financial services firms by business lobby CBI and consultancy PwC found sentiment about Britain’s overall business climate deteriorating, with banks and building societies especially pessimistic.

07:15 SAP, Europe’s biggest technology company, has agreed to buy US-Israeli customer identity software company Gigya to strengthen its position in the booming market for online customer relationship marketing, reports Reuters. The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, will tie together Gigya’s user identity access and management platform with SAP’s Hybris customer profile data-matching software so businesses can market services to online customers.

07:12 The S&P 500 closed slightly higher on Friday even though Apple was a drag, as worries about Washington’s latest healthcare legislation proposal eased and investors shrugged off concerns about North Korea, reports Reuters. Investors in the broader market were also encouraged by a jump in the Russell 2000 small-cap index, which ended with a record high close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9.64 points, or 0.04%, to 22,349.59, the S&P 500 gained 1.62 points, or 0.06%, to 2,502.22 and the Nasdaq Composite added 4.23 points, or 0.07%, to 6,426.92.

07:05 German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a fourth term in office on Sunday but Europe’s most powerful leader will have to govern with a far less stable coalition in a fractured parliament after her conservatives haemorrhaged support to a surging far right, reports Reuters. Two years after Merkel left German borders open to more than a million migrants, the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) stunned the establishment by becoming the first far-right party to enter parliament in more than half a century.

07:04 President Donald Trump on Sunday slapped new travel restrictions on citizens from North Korea, Venezuela and Chad, expanding the list of countries covered by his original travel bans that have been derided by critics and challenged in court, reports Reuters. Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Somalia were left on the list of affected countries in a new proclamation issued by the president.