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Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported mixed quarterly results Monday, as growing optimism over AI-led tech spending was dampened by higher expenses and a still sluggish global demand environment.The leader of India's $283bn software services industry, TCS earns the bulk of its revenue from Western clients and has seen lacklustre demand in recent years due to global uncertainty and inflation.Hopes of a rebound in 2025 were tempered in part due to US President Donald Trump's tariffs blitz, which has made customers wary of spending on big tech projects.The company's revenue for the October-December quarter beat forecasts, rising 4.87% year-on-year to 670.87bn rupees ($7.43bn).Analysts had on average expected a topline of 666.76bn rupees.TCS last reported double-digit revenue growth in mid-2023.In an earnings release, chief executive K Krithivasan highlighted a ramp-up in demand for AI-related projects, noting the company's AI services now generate "$1.8bn in annualised revenue".But the firm's net profit for the three-month period ended December 31 missed expectations, falling 13.9% to 106.57bn rupees.TCS attributed the profit drop to higher expenses stemming from layoffs announced in 2025 and increased compliance costs due to India's new labour laws.India's vast outsourcing sector also faces headwinds from Trump's decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, which experts say will force Indian firms to hire more from the US, squeezing margins as a result.Many Indian software outsourcers including TCS have increased investments in AI tools and skilling, hoping to both earn new business and cut costs by boosting operational efficiencies."We remain steadfast in our ambition to become the world's largest AI-led technology services company... Our AI services now generate $1.8bn in annualised revenue, reflecting the significant value we provide to clients through targeted investments across the entire AI stack," Krithivasan said in a statement.Infosys, TCS's main domestic rival, is due to report its quarterly results later this week. 

US stocks have kicked off 2026 on a strong note, but could face turbulence in ‌the coming days with the start of corporate earnings season, fresh inflation data and rising geopolitical ‌uncertainty.The S&P 500 is up ‍1% in January, on the heels of the benchmark index in 2025 closing out its third straight year of double-digit percentage gains. The ⁠market's recent strength has defied an increasingly volatile geopolitical ⁠landscape. After a U.S. military operation that seized Venezuela's leader, officials in President Donald Trump's administration spoke of ‍acquiring Greenland, including potential use of the military. Investors point to a strong outlook for corporate profits, easing monetary policy and coming fiscal stimulus as supports for a bull market that is in its fourth year."On balance for this year, the foundation for the market is solid," said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Investment Management."As we're starting January, the market may be underappreciating some of the events on the horizon that could likely produce higher volatility," Arone said. "It just seems a little ‌too quiet." While geopolitical events have boosted the safe-haven appeal of gold, stocks have largely shrugged off the uncertainty, said Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments. The Cboe Volatility index has edged higher to start 2026 but ‍was not far above its low ⁠point from 2025."The market's ‌a bit numb to it," Miskin said. "But this is a time where everything is priced near perfection and it's a time where you can take out some insurance or think about some defensive options just in case another geopolitical event hits the headlines."Major banks kick off fourth-quarter earnings season in the coming week, with strong profit growth this year a crucial source of optimism for stock investors. Analysts expect that overall earnings from S&P 500 companies climbed 13% in 2025, and they estimate a further rise of over 15% in 2026, according to LSEG IBES.JPMorgan Chase, the largest US lender, reports on Tuesday, with Citigroup, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs among those reporting later in the week. Financial sector earnings are expected to have ​climbed 6.7% in the fourth quarter from ‌the year-earlier period.Jack Janasiewicz, portfolio manager at Natixis Investment Managers, will be looking to bank results for insight into the health of the consumer, such ⁠as on credit card payment defaults, with ‍consumer spending accounting for more than two-thirds of economic activity."The banks are going to be telling you something that is going to be pretty important because they're on the front lines," Janasiewicz said.Investors have been struggling to get a full picture of the economy because the 43-day government shutdown late last year delayed or cancelled key reports, with data flow now returning to normal. That could raise the stakes for Tuesday's release of December's consumer ​price index, closely followed for inflation trends. It will be one of the last key releases before the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting at the end of January.The US central bank lowered interest rates in each of its last three meetings of 2025 in response to a weakening labour market, but investors are unsure when it might cut further.Fed easing is adding "a sense of calm to risk markets," said Nanette Abuhoff Jacobson, global investment strategist at Hartford Funds."All the inflation numbers are going to be critical to what Fed policy is going to look like," Abuhoff Jacobson said. "If the mosaic is suggesting that ⁠inflation is inching higher, then there are going to be questions about whether the Fed is going to ease in 2026 or how much they can ease." 

The dollar steadied in a narrow trading range on Wednesday ahead of the release of a number of US economic data that could determine the direction of Federal Reserve (US central bank) expectations regarding interest rates.Most currencies fell in early Asian trading, with the Australian dollar down 0.3 percent to USD 0.6717 following inflation data that came in below expectations, though it quickly recouped those losses.The British pound was steady at USD 1.3502, while the Japanese currency edged up slightly to 156.63 yen per dollar.The euro rose 0.03 percent to USD 1.1692 after having lost 0.3 percent.The dollar index saw little change at 98.58, while the New Zealand dollar stood at USD 0.5784.

Asian markets extended losses with Wall Street Tuesday as investors prepared for key US jobs and inflation data, while sentiment remains subdued by worries over a possible tech bubble.In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed down 1.6% to 49,383.29 points; Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index ended down 1.5% to 25,235.41 points andShanghai - Composite closed down 1.1% to 3,824.81 points Tuesday.After a healthy tech-led run this year, traders appeared to be seeing it out on a tepid note amid questions over the huge sums pumped into artificial intelligence and indications the Federal Reserve will pause cutting interest rates.All eyes are on the release later in the day of US November jobs data and the delayed reading for October, which will be followed on Thursday by consumer price index figures.The readings will be pored over for some idea about the Fed's plans for borrowing costs as officials debate whether or not to continue lowering them in January.Comments from decision-makers show the policy board split, with recent reductions coming on the back of worries about the weakening labour market but concern now turning to stubbornly high inflation.Governor Stephen Miran - an appointee of Donald Trump - warned that rates are still too high, while New York Fed boss John Williams said they were at about the right place and Boston president Susan Collins called the decision a "close call"."After essentially missing the October jobs report due to a lack of survey data, the Fed will closely scrutinise the November figures when setting out the path of monetary policy through early 2026," Matt Weller, head of market research at City Index, said."That said, traders are currently pricing in only a one-in-four chance of another rate cut in January, meaning that the market reaction to the release may be more limited unless it shows a large deterioration in the labour market."With the chances of a cut appearing limited for now - with some putting them at about 25% for next month - equity traders were turned sellers for now.Seoul lost more than 2%, while Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei were all more than one percent lower. Sydney, Singapore, Manila, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta also fell.London, Frankfurt and Paris opened lower.Worries over the tech sector were also weighing on sentiment, with recent warnings about an AI-fuelled bubble compounded by weak disappointing earnings last week from Oracle and Broadcom.Speculation that the hundreds of billions of AI investments will take some time to make returns, if at all, has also acted as a drag."Jitters over the AI theme have resurfaced in recent sessions, not helped by Broadcom's failure to provide concrete guidance for the quarter ahead, nor by reports that Oracle's data centre construction may be delayed," wrote Pepperstone's Michael Brown."Concern also lingers over the increase in debt-financed capex, especially from the likes of Oracle, though those concerns seem more likely to linger in the background into next year, as opposed to sparking significant fear in the now."The downbeat mood on equity markets has filtered into the crypto sphere, with bitcoin briefly falling to as low as $85,171, while gold - a go-to asset in times of uncertainty - hovered around $4,300 and close to a new record high.The yen held gains against the dollar ahead of an expected rate hike by the Bank of Japan on Friday. 

Turkiye’s central bank cut interest rates for the fourth time in a row, accelerating the pace of reductions following favourable inflation data.The Monetary Policy Committee led by Governor Fatih Karahan lowered the one-week repo rate to 38% from 39.5%, according to a statement on Thursday.“In November, consumer inflation was lower than expected due to a downward surprise in food prices,” the MPC said. However, it emphasised caution, saying broad expectations of price rises and price-setting behaviour by firms continue to pose risks to the disinflation process.The lira was little changed after the decision, trading at 42.62 per the US dollar at 2.49pm in Istanbul. Shorter-dated bonds extended gains, with the two-year yield dropping 22 basis points to 37.63%.“The cooling in inflation paved the way to a 150bp rate cut from the Turkish central bank today, which was larger than our call,” said Maya Senussi, lead economist at Oxford Economics. “We expected the central bank to err on the side of caution and resist a larger cut given the rise in medium-term inflation expectations.”Global banks were almost evenly divided in expecting a reduction of 150 basis points and 100 from the Turkish policymakers, though tilted slightly more toward a smaller cut. Bloomberg reported earlier that people briefed by Karahan said the bank was likely to pay closer attention to negative developments than the positive inflation data.The central bank evaluates rates decisions on a “meeting-by-meeting basis with a focus on the inflation outlook,” the MPC said on Thursday. “Monetary policy stance will be tightened in case of a significant deviation in inflation outlook from the interim targets.”The bank also lowered its overnight lending rate to 41% from 42.5% and overnight borrowing rate to 36.5% from 38%.Annual inflation slowed more than forecast to 31.1% in November and is poised to end the year around that level, according to Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek. That’s above this year’s target of 24% and stems from unexpectedly high food prices in recent months, the central bank previously said.Minimum WageInvestors are now on the lookout for the government’s decision on the minimum-wage increase, expected later this month. The adjustment has major implications for domestic demand, corporate-pricing behaviour and the inflation trajectory.Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co expect a 25% raise.“We think annual inflation will ease below 30% in early 2026, assuming a moderate hike in the minimum wage,” Senussi said. She expects interest rates of 26.5% by the end of next year.Nick Rees, head of macro research at Monex Europe, said “the recent softening in price growth opened the door” to a larger-than-expected cut on Thursday. “This risks looking like an overly dovish bias — which would pose a challenge to the Turkish central bank’s perceived credibility if this pattern persists into 2026.” 

The dollar drifted higher against its major peers on Thursday as traders waited for the delayed release of US consumer inflation data on Friday, while digesting trade threats between Washington and Beijing. The yen weakened to a one-week low against the dollar as the market awaited details of a big stimulus package from new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, widely viewed as a fiscal and monetary dove. Sterling remained under pressure after British data on Wednesday showed consumer inflation held steady at 3.8% last month, defying economists' estimates for it to accelerate. The US dollar index, which measures the currency against the yen, sterling, euro and three other peers, edged up 0.5% to 98.979. The dollar added 0.17% to 152.21 yen, and earlier touched 152.26 yen for the first time since Oct. 14. Sterling sagged 0.09% to $1.3345. The euro eased 0.06% to $1.1604.

Gold prices edged lower on Thursday, weighed down by a firmer dollar as investors looked forward to key US inflation data later this week for more cues on the interest rate path. Spot gold slipped 0.3% to $4,082.95 per ounce, while US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.8% to $4,097.40 per ounce. Prices have surged about 56% since January, touching an all-time high of $4,381.21 per ounce on Monday. The rally has been driven by a mix of economic uncertainty, expectations of interest rate cuts, and strong buying by central banks across the world. Spot silver fell 0.4% to $48.31 per ounce, extending its decline after reaching record highs earlier this month. Platinum slipped 1.4% to $1,598.65 per ounce, while palladium also dropped 1.4% to $1,438.47 per ounce.

Gold prices extended their decline on Wednesday amid profit-taking following recent record highs, as investors awaited key US inflation data this week for further indications on the Federal Reserve's potential path toward interest rate cuts. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $4,113.54 per ounce, after plunging more than 5% on Tuesday — its sharpest daily drop since August 2020. Meanwhile, US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.5% to $4,129.80 per ounce. Despite the recent correction, gold prices have surged about 56% so far this year, hitting an all-time high of $4,381.21 on Monday. The rally has been driven by heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty, growing expectations of interest rate reductions, and sustained central bank demand for the yellow metal. Among other precious metals, spot silver fell 0.9% to $48.29 per ounce, platinum dropped 1.1% to $1,534.44, while palladium was steady at $1,406.76 per ounce.

His Excellency the Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari participated in the meeting of Finance Ministers, Central Bank Governors, and Heads of Regional Financial Institutions from the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The meeting was chaired by Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was held on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, now being held in Washington, DC. The meeting discussed key strategic issues related to economic growth in the region, in addition to future outlooks and fiscal policy requirements to combat inflation. It also addressed sustainable financing strategies, ways to stimulate economic growth, and the promotion of innovation in financial development.Regional and global challenges were also reviewed, particularly the risks of rising inflation rates and food insecurity. The participants stressed the importance of continuing efforts to adapt to the current financial and economic developments.The meeting was held within the framework of enhancing regional cooperation and the exchange of insights among financial and economic policymakers, with the aim of supporting economic stability and achieving sustainable development across the region.

A spate of inflation data confronts US stock investors in the coming week as markets grapple with fresh uncertainty over tariffs and government bond yields, while equities hover at lofty valuations. The benchmark S&P 500 index closed at a record high on Thursday despite an uneven start to September, which has been the worst month for stocks on average over the past 35 years. Stocks were pulling back on Friday after the monthly US employment report showed job growth weakened in August."September has been known to see a wearing down of the sentiment picture," said Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments. At the same time, he said, "stocks aren't pricing in a lot of risks right now. They look fully valued."The monthly US consumer price index on Thursday highlights next week's economic releases, with investors focused on signals from the inflation data about the prospects for interest rate cuts and the fallout from tariffs on prices. Following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks late last month that flagged rising risks to employment, markets have been widely expecting the central bank to lower rates for the first time in nine months at its September 16-17 meeting.Investors bet on even more accelerated easing after the weak jobs report.Fed Funds futures were baking in a 90% chance of a quarter-point rate cut at the meeting, and a roughly 10% chance of a heftier half-percentage point cut, LSEG data as of Friday afternoon showed.Only a CPI number that comes in "egregiously higher" than estimates could dent assumptions of imminent monetary policy easing, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.About 70 basis points of easing, or nearly three standard cuts, are projected by December, according to the futures data.Recently, "the prospect of the Fed cutting has been the overwhelming factor driving equity sentiment to be more positive," Miskin said. "And so if that reverses, then it could be problematic for equities."Along with CPI, a Wednesday report on producer prices could also reveal impacts from import tariffs. Last month's PPI data showed US producer prices increased by the most in three years in July as the costs of goods and services surged. Tariffs and their economic implications were the main risk facing markets earlier this year, but other factors such as questions over Fed independence and caution about the artificial intelligence trade have been more prominent recently.The issue returned to the fore this week after a US appeals court ruled that most of President Donald Trump's tariffs are illegal. While the Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to hear a bid to preserve the sweeping tariffs, the ruling injected fresh uncertainty for markets."It felt as though the fog of trade war was clearing, and now we're just back into the thick of it," Hogan said. "And that doesn't help corporate America make decisions, consumers make decisions, and investors make decisions."The potential of lost tariff revenue exacerbating the US fiscal deficit was one factor investors said may have driven long-dated US government debt yields sharply higher at the start of the week, moves that also followed big jumps in yields in the UK and other regions. While long-dated yields globally have since calmed, their spikes were cited as contributing to stock weakness initially during the week.The 30-year US Treasury yield this week hit 5% for the first time in over a month. That yield level has been "problematic" for risk appetite over the past few years, said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial. The long-bond yield was last around 4.78%, with yields falling broadly on Friday after the jobs data.The S&P 500 was up about 10% so far in 2025, helped recently by a solid second-quarter earnings season. The S&P 500's price-to-earnings ratio climbed to 22.4 times, based on earnings estimates for the next 12 months, a valuation well above its long-term average of 15.9, according to LSEG Datastream."Investors face ongoing threats from trade and tariff unknowns as well as potential economic releases that could ultimately challenge elevated stock valuations," Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial, wrote in a commentary."That said, investors have been navigating those dynamics for months, and stocks have continued to grind higher."

Market EyeAhead of the US key inflation data in the US, the Qatar Stock Exchange listed, like other major Gulf bourses, saw severe selling pressure, leading to a 112-point plunge in its index and about QR7bn in capitalisation.The foreign institutions were seen increasingly net profit takers as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 0.99% to 11,226.84 points, although it touched an intraday high of 11,367 points.The industrials, insurance and banking counters witnessed higher than average selling pressure in the main market, whose year-to-date gains truncated further to 6.2%.The Gulf institutions turned bearish in the main bourse, whose capitalisation eroded QR6.93bn or 1.02 to QR670.75bn, mainly on large and small cap segments.The domestic institutions’ substantially weakened net buying had its influence on the main market, which saw as many as 2,966 exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank and Doha Bank) valued at QR0.02mn trade across eight deals.However, the local retail investors were seen net buyers in the main bourse, whose trade turnover and volumes were on the increase.The Islamic index was seen declining slower than the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The Arab individual investors turned bullish in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Total Return Index shed 0.99% and the All Share Index by 1.06% and the All Islamic Index by 0.59% in the main market.The industrials sector index tanked 1.61%, insurance (1.26%), banks and financial services (1.25%), transport (0.27%) and consumer goods and services (0.24%); while telecom gained 0.25% and real estate 0.12%.About 71% of the traded constituents were in the red with major losers in the main market being Meeza, Industries Qatar, QNB, Qatar Insurance, Qatar Electricity and Water, Qatar Islamic Bank, Doha Bank, AlRayan Bank, Gulf International Services, QLM, Nakilat and Gulf Warehousing.Nevertheless, Ezdan, Medicare Group, Milaha, Vodafone Qatar, Inma Holding and Mazaya Qatar were among the gainers in the main bourse.In the venture market, Techno Q saw its shares appreciate in value.The foreign institutions’ net profit booking increased drastically to QR50.95mn compared to QR31.06mn the previous day.The Gulf institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR1.6mn against net buyers of QR8.3mn on August 27.The domestic institutions’ net buying decreased substantially to QR18.76mn compared to QR31.4mn on Wednesday.The foreign individual investors’ net buying eased marginally to QR1.18mn against QR1.86mn the previous day.However, the Qatar individuals were net buyers to the extent of QR29.75mn compared with net sellers of QR6.35mn on August 27.The Arab retail investors turned net buyers to the tune of QR2.7mn against net sellers of QR3.38mn on Wednesday.The Gulf individuals were net buyers to the extent of QR0.18mn compared with net sellers of QR0.59mn the previous day.The Arab institutions had no major net exposure against net profit takers to the tune of QR0.18mn on August 27.The main market saw a 2% jump in trade volumes to 143.38mn shares, 4% in value to QR359.1mn and 5% in deals to 18,014.In the venture market, a total of 1.63mn equities valued at QR4.55mn changed hands across 275 transactions.