Morning Alert.. *Trade deficit widens to nearly $23 billion in January as exports shrink* India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to nearly $23 billion in January, compared with $16.5 billion a year earlier, as the value of exports dropped amid subdued demand for petroleum products and global economic uncertainties. Exports contracted by 2.4 per cent year-on-year to $36.43 billion in January, according to data released by the commerce department. In contrast, the value of imports surged 10 per cent to $59.4 billion, raising concerns over the depreciating value of the Indian rupee. The higher value of imports was driven by items such as gold (40.8 per cent), electronic goods (17.8 per cent), chemicals (71.8 per cent), non-ferrous metals (26 per cent), and vegetable oil (11.4 per cent). However, crude oil imports, which account for 22 per cent of India’s total import basket, fell by 13.5 per cent to $13.4 billion in January. The decline in exports was primarily due to a 58.7 per cent year-on-year drop in exports of refined petroleum products, driven by a consistent fall in global petroleum prices and muted demand for petrochemical products. *Global market action* Dow Jones – Up by 0.10% or 42.37 points FTSE – Up by 0.41% or 35.55 points CAC – Up by 0.13% or 10.59 points DAX – Up by 1.25% or 284.67 points Gift Nifty – Down by 0.05% or 10.50 points *FII/DII activities* FII – Sold 3937.83Cr worth of shares DII – Bought 4759.77Cr worth of shares. *Major Indian Indices PE* Nifty 50 – 20.4x Nifty Bank – 12.9x *Stocks with high delivery percentage* Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Ltd – 89.9% Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd – 84.3% Emami Ltd – 83.3% GE Vernova T&D India Ltd – 77.8% Kama holdings Ltd – 76.6% *Commodities updates* Gold – Rs 85071/10gm, Silver – Rs 95599/kg, Brcrude – Rs 6195/barrel, Copper – Rs 864.80/kg. *Corporate News* NTPC to invest $62 bn in 30 GW nuclear power expansion over 20 years. ABB India Oct-Dec quarter net profit rises 56% to Rs 528.41 crore. Airtel lands subsea cable in Chennai to connect India to Singapore, France.