Weekly Financial News

Bitcoin rose 5% on Friday to one-month highs, powered by what analysts said was a flurry of buying ahead of April's halving event and as recent outflows from exchange-traded funds slowed. The price rose to a session peak of $47,705, the most since January, after the first U.S. listed spot bitcoin exchange traded products received regulatory approval.

Bard as Gemini, unveiling it as a powerful AI tool available for users globally. According to the tech giant, users can now engage with the Gemini Pro 1.0 model in over 40 languages across more than 230 countries and territories. Gemini Advanced is now part of the all-new Google One AI Premium Plan, priced at $19.99 per month, starting with a complimentary two-month trial period.

The Indian rupee ended weaker on Friday, pressured by dollar demand from importers, including local oil companies, traders said.The rupee closed at 83.0350 against the U.S. dollar, weaker by 0.1% compared with its close at 82.9550 in the previous session. The local unit also logged a weekly decline of 0.1%.The dollar index was largely steady near 104.2 and most Asian currencies were rangebound but ended the week lower, pressured by moderation of bets on early rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.Odds of the Fed cutting rates in March have dropped below 20%, while those for May have also fallen to about 60%, down from about 73% a week earlier, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

By Ahmad Ghaddar

The S&P 500 (SPX) added 1.1% last week as bulls continue to close in on the new big target – 5000. The old record high of 4818 is now acting as support with the index in a bull mode as long as it keeps closing above this level on a daily basis.

OnePlus 12 series at the ‘Smooth Beyond Belief’ event on January 23. The two smartphones: OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R come with a powerful chipset, vibrant display and a 100W fast charger which is claimed to refill the battery in around 26 minutes. The OnePlus 12 is powered by the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC while the OnePlus 12R is powered by last year's premium Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset.

Also Read: Red Sea crisis: UK oil tanker catches fire with 22 Indians onboard after Houthi missile attack; Indian Navy responds Supply concerns are evident in the structure of Brent futures. The premium of the first-month contract to the sixth on both Brent and WTI rose to the highest since November, indicating a perception of tighter prompt supply, according to news agency Reuters.

Oil prices edged slightly higher in choppy trading on Friday, heading for a second weekly gain as positive U.S. economic growth and signs of Chinese stimulus boosted demand expectations, while Middle East supply concerns added further support. Brent crude futures were up 53 cents, or 0.7%, at $82.93 a barrel by 1:48 p.m. ET (1848 GMT), and touched $83.57, their highest price since November.

By Alex Lawler

The crypto market remains in the red zone with altcoins and pack leader Ethereum (ETH) posting losses two weeks after the approval of spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Stock Reports Plus, powered by Refinitiv, undertakes detailed company analysis for 4,000+ listed stocks. In addition to detailed company analysis, the report also collates analysts’ forecasts and trend analysis for each component. An average score in Stock Reports Plus is calculated by undertaking quantitative analysis of five key investment tools — earnings, fundamentals, relative valuation, risk and price momentum. Earnings rating is calculated based on three factors — earnings surprises, estimate revisions and recommendation changes.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan held broadly steady and was on track for a weekly gain of 2%. Trading was thinned with Australia out on a holiday. Chinese stocks looked set to end the week on a strong footing as a wave of policy support from Beijing restored fragile investor confidence and put a floor under its sliding stock market. The blue-chip index rose 0.03% and was eyeing a 2% weekly gain, while the Shanghai Composite edged 0.3% higher, putting it on track for a 3% weekly rise, its largest since July 2023. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased 0.41%, but was still more than 5% higher for the week, also its best performance since last July. In an attempt to shore up its fragile economic recovery, China's central bank announced a deep cut to bank reserves on Wednesday, in a move that will inject about $140 billion of cash into the banking system. Those came a day after Bloomberg News reported Chinese authorities are seeking to mobilise about 2 trillion yuan ($278.98 billion), mainly from the offshore accounts of Chinese state-owned enterprises, as part of a stabilisation fund to buy shares. «We remain cautious on China, in line with our view for several years,» said John Pinkel, a partner and portfolio manager at Indus Capital. «We see evidence of selling induced by structured 'snowball' products, especially from onshore China sources.

Weekly NFT sales on Solana experienced a surge this past week, surpassing Bitcoin.

The S&P 500 (SPX) hit a new record high last week after finally clearing 4,818.62 – the level set in the first week of 2022. The index gained 1.2% last week and is now likely to continue pushing toward the psychologically-important 5,000 level.

Big fat weddings have been urged to go local. So it’s goodbye Dubai, London, Maldives or Lake Como, and back to the drawing board. We know of at least three top business families—in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Kolkata—that have had to search for desi alternatives at the last minute. Some have found a way out by hosting all the pre-wedding festivities in the original exotic locations as planned, while the big day is held back home. Considering that some A-list invitees were also wary of attending such shaadis after the Wed in India mission statement, this was a happy nuptial workaround. Life Moves OnTh

In the week gone by, FPIs net sold shares worth over Rs 21,000 crore, signalling a sudden shift in the strategy. So far in the month of January, FPIs were net sellers at Rs 16,455 crore. Domestic institutional investors, meanwhile, are holding for as they invested about Rs 10,274 crore in Indian equities so far this month. Analysts say the rise in US bond yields and elevated valuations are triggering capital outflows from emerging markets. The not-so-pleasing results of India's leading HDFC Bank also aggravated the outflows as they increased short positions.

Sundar Pichai hinting at more layoffs in a memo to employees, while Microsoft CEO Sundar Pichai was deeply impressed by the launch of its new Rabbit R1 AI assistant. Here's a round-up of the week's top tech news stories. Samsung unveiled its flagship Galaxy S24 series at the Galaxy Unpacked event on January 17.

Also Read: ‘Oil markets well supplied’, says IEA as it raises 2024 global demand forecast; projects lower than OPEC The premium of the first-month Brent contract to the six-month contract rose to as much as $2.15 a barrel on Friday, the highest since November. This structure, called backwardation, indicates a perception of tighter supply for prompt delivery. Back home, on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), crude oil futures due for a February 16 expiry, settled 0.28 per cent higher at ₹6,045 per bbl, having swung between ₹6,084 and ₹6,213 per bbl during the session, against a previous close of ₹6,106 per barrel.

oil output offset concerns about the Chinese and global economies. Brent futures settled 54 cents lower at $78.56 a barrel. U.S.

dollar advanced on Friday and was poised for a weekly gain, as recent economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials have cooled expectations of rapid cuts in interest rates. Economic data showed the University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment came in at 78.8 this month, the highest reading since July 2021, compared with 69.7 in December and the 70.0 estimate of economists polled by Reuters. «The doom and gloom crew is very vocal, especially among politicians,» said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. «Yet, businesses and individuals have been quietly plugging away, trying to make the best of their situations.

Investing.com — The U.S. dollar edged lower in early European trading Friday, but was on track for a second consecutive weekly gain on renewed doubts over early rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, while weak retail sales hit sterling.