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​With the US, a lot of good news is discounted and we could have some challenges and the challenges could be that inflation might make a reappearance. It may not be quite as smooth exit as the Fed has been hoping in terms of continue to lower rates, so I think we could see not much more room for the Fed to cut if inflation gets stubborn and stuck a little bit higher.

The Indian rupee was flat at 85.79 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday amid sustained foreign capital outflows and a strong US dollar index. Falling crude oil prices provided some support, while domestic equity markets saw a positive opening. Forex reserves reduced by USD 4.112 billion.

HDFC Securities recommends an add call on Jubilant Foodworks with a Rs 690 target price, up from its current Rs 764.05. The pizza category faces competition and pricing challenges, but expected innovations and cost optimization could drive growth. Jubilant Foodworks, with a market cap of Rs 50323.09 crore, shows strong potential for financial recovery in FY25.

Nuvama, BofA, and Bernstein have provided positive outlooks for SBI Cards, Bajaj Finance, and HDFC Bank, respectively. Nuvama upgraded SBI Cards to ‘Buy’ citing improving credit costs, while BofA maintained a ‘Buy’ rating for Bajaj Finance due to strong AUM growth. Bernstein reaffirmed its ‘Outperform’ rating on HDFC Bank, highlighting solid deposit growth and loan normalization.

Looking ahead to the second week of the year, the earnings season begins with IT major TCS, a key trigger as any signs of improvement in Q3 numbers could reverse the ongoing trend of FII outflows.

Union Bank reported a 2% YoY increase in its domestic deposits from the previous year at Rs 11.82 lakh. Sequentially, it was down 2%.

Considering the annualised net profit for the six months ended September 2024 and equity after IPO, company demands a P/E multiple of 38.5 compared with 66 and 63 for peers including GMM Pfaudler and HLE Glasscoat.

The company is also keen to reduce client concentration. At present, the top 10 clients contribute 80% to revenue. Daikin, its largest client, formed over 33% of its top line.

These will be previewed by data on ADP hiring, job openings and weekly jobless claims, along with surveys on manufacturing, services and consumer sentiment.