TCS Q3 Results Today, Revised Trade Data, US Payroll Growth Slows | Rise With Profit
NDTV Profit Podcast: From Q3 earnings today to the appointment of the new Revenue Secretary, here's everything you need to know at the start of your day.
Good morning!
This is the daily morning update from NDTV Profit. Here’s everything you need to know at the start of your day.
Listen to this as a podcast here.
Conflicting data on jobs came through in the US overnight. And that does nothing to change investor scepticism that the inflation bogey has gone away. On the one hand, US private payrolls growth slowed sharply in December, according to the ADP National Employment Report. And on the other, initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 201,000 for the week ended Jan. 4, the lowest level since February 2024, according to the Labor Department. This was below consensus estimates. But, while fresh claims have fallen, the duration of those claiming benefits has increased, indicating that people are staying jobless for longer.
All of that, and the minutes of the last Fed meeting, are contributing to keeping bond yields elevated in the US. Benchmark 10-year yields peaked at 4.73%, the highest since April 25, to retreat slightly to 4.677% later in the day.
The minutes of the last meeting of the US Federal Reserve suggested that officials took note of the recent higher-than-expected readings on inflation, and the effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy, when the Trump administration takes over shortly. They expect that the process of bringing inflation lower could take longer than previously anticipated. That further reinforces the view in the bond market, which has pushed yields up.
On Wall Street, equity markets were rangebound, with the Dow gaining 0.25%, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ending flat. In the Asia Pacific region, two of the three early risers have started in the red. China’s latest inflation data could have a bearing on trade later on in the day.
Q3 Results Today, Revised November Trade Data
Back home, the top event to look forward to is going to be earnings. Of course, the earnings season is already underway, but we’re going to have the first major earnings today, with Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Elxsi and IREDA reporting numbers.
In the top news you should know, despite a downward revision in gold imports, India's merchandise trade deficit remains at a record high in November. The government on Wednesday sharply corrected the surge it saw in November gold imports, from $14.8 billion to $9.8 billion. The earlier figure was incorrect because of a calculation error, caused by likely double counting in warehouses.
Post the revision, the merchandise trade gap narrowed to approximately $32.8 billion from $37.8 billion in November, in absolute terms. The overall merchandise imports during the month now stands at $64.9 billion, lower than the previous estimate of $69.95 billion. Gold imports, despite being reduced by around a third in the revised estimates, remain significantly high in November. The surge was driven by festive demand, wedding season, and asset diversification amid global uncertainties. You will also have to take into account the sharp rise in the value of gold over the past 12 months, which would also increase the value of imports.
JLR's Q3 Sales,
JLR shipped more cars, but fewer were registered in October-December 2024, even as supply disruptions eased. That, even as Jaguar undergoes a metamorphosis to emerge as an electric-only brand. Wholesales rose 3% over the year-ago period to 104,427 units in the third quarter of the current year, according to a stock exchange filing yesterday. Sequentially, dispatches were up 20%. Volumes were higher in North America and Europe and lower in China, the UK, and other international markets.
Rating agency Crisil has said that steel prices could rise in 2025 if the proposed safeguard duty on steel imports is imposed by the end of next month. The rise in price could be 4-6%.
And finally, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Wednesday approved the appointment of Tuhin Kanta Pandey as Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
In a corresponding move, Arunish Chawla, presently the Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), succeeding Pandey.
