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Shares of IT companies may surge when markets reopen on Wednesday, as their American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) rallied overnight amid overall optimism on Wall Street, driven by easing concerns about AI disruption and hopes surrounding fresh Iran-US peace talks.

Infosys ADR jumped more than 5%, while Wipro ADR gained more than 3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index gained more than 1% on Monday. Adobe shares jumped more than 6%, while Salesforce rallied 5%. Accenture rallied nearly 7%, while Microsoft gained 4%.

The S&P 500 erased all the losses it racked up since the war started in the Middle East. The blue chip index gained over 1% to end at 6,886, higher than its February 27 closing level. Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, rose 0.63%.

Goldman Sachs CEO on AI

Goldman Sachs released its Q1 earnings on Monday. The company reported a net revenue of $17.23 billion in the January-March quarter, recording a 14% year-on-year growth compared to $15.06 billion in the year-ago period. The net revenue shot up 28% sequentially versus $13.45 billion in Q4CY25.

Commenting on the company’s results, David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, said, “Goldman Sachs delivered very strong performance for our shareholders this quarter, even as market conditions became more volatile. Our clients continue to depend on us for high-quality execution and insights amid the broader uncertainty, and we remain confident in how we’ve positioned our businesses. The geopolitical landscape remains very complex – so disciplined risk management must remain core to how we operate.”
During an analyst’s call, Solomon said he is hugely forward-leaning on the power of artificial intelligence to accelerate growth at the bank. “Whenever you have accelerations in new technology, there are going to be bumps, there will be risk issues and recalibrations. But the power of this technology to use it in enterprise to increase efficiency is incredibly constructive,” he added. Entrepreneur and financial expert Gurmeet Chaddha highlighted that Solomon claimed that AI taking over enterprise software is not easy.
Notably, this comes after tech stocks saw a massive decline earlier this year with the launch of new and innovative artificial intelligence tools by AI startup Anthropic, which triggered worries around disruption in the software services. Back on Dalal Street, India’s much-touted IT services stocks, including Infosys, Wipro, TCS and HCLTech, saw a sharp selloff.
However, while some doomsday prophets painted a grim picture for IT shareholders, some analysts were quick to point out that an overall replacement of software engineers by AI is unlikely. The new technology would instead increase efficiency across the companies, boosting margins, according to them.

Fresh hopes for Iran-US war peace talks

Reports claimed that the US continued to engage with Iran to make a peace deal even as it blocked the latter’s ports after the collapse of ceasefire talks over the weekend. Iran and the US have left the door open to dialogue, and a US official said there was forward momentum toward an agreement, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, said that his administration received a call from Iran who is now eager to negotiate after the US imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said that “they’d like to make a deal very badly.” He reiterated that the primary sticking point in the negotiations remains Iran’s nuclear ambitions, asserting that “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon”.

As a result, Brent crude futures declined nearly 2% to trade at $97.5 per barrel, while WTI Crude futures dropped more than 2% to $97 per barrel on Tuesday morning. The cooling oil prices and rising hopes for peace talks boosted global markets.

Also read: India the new ‘no-go’ zone for FIIs? 7 brutal truths behind $18 billion exodus

The raging war has stoked inflationary worries in the US. Peace talks hopes eased some of those concerns, which in turn may boost the IT stocks as these companies derive a major portion of their revenue from the US economy.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

The kitchenware brand says it has outperformed the market

Kitchenware brand Procook has reported a strong fourth quarter as it continues to invest in new branch openings around the UK. The Gloucestershire-headquartered retailer saw a 19.2 per cent rise in revenue to £18.5m for the 12 weeks to the end of March, driven by sales online and in store.

The results mean the company posted full-year revenue of £85.5m, ahead of market expectations, and up 23 per cent year on year and 11.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis. EBITDA – a measure of performance – is estimated to be slightly ahead of expectations for the full year.

Procook told investors on Tuesday (April 14) it had “outperformed” the UK kitchenware market by more than 13 percentage points during quarter four, and by more than 20 per cent across the full year. It also said operating profit was set to be in line with expectations.

The brand opened three new stores in the fourth quarter, increasing its total UK retail estate to 78 branches, of which eight are now in a new bigger format. Last year, the company, which sells cookware, tableware, electricals and kitchen gadgets, spent £5.3m on store openings as it looks to target 100 outlets in the UK.

Lee Tappenden, chief executive of Procook, said: “We have delivered a strong fourth quarter and full year performance, significantly outperforming the market and improving profitability, whilst accelerating investment in our new store opening programme.

“Strong revenue growth across both our expanding store footprint and online reflects substantial increases in new customers attracted to our brand and repeat purchases, demonstrating that our unique product proposition and service focus is really resonating with consumers.”

Mr Tappenden said while the business was “mindful” of the potential macroeconomic effects of any protracted geopolitical instability, it would “look forward” to building its market share.

“Our ongoing store openings, initiatives to increase brand awareness, and disciplined investments to support growth, position us well to deliver on our medium term ambition of 100 stores, £100m revenue and 10 per cent operating profit margin,” he added.

The Bristol-headquartered maker of Golden Virgina is continuing to focus on tobacco-free products

Tobacco giant Imperial Brands has reiterated its guidance for the full year amid a “more uncertain” geopolitical and macro environment. The announcement on Tuesday comes as the business looks to focus on tobacco-free products as smoking rates continue to decline.

The Golden Virginia maker said its “robust” pricing and continued investment in next-generation products (NGP) means it expects low-single-digit growth in tobacco and NGP net revenue for the first half. Imperial said its tobacco performance was underpinned by pricing and only a modest volume drop in combustibles.

Group adjusted operating profit is expected to be slightly ahead year-on-year for the first half, and is likely to be stronger in H2, the business added.

Imperial also said that while the conflict in the Middle East had caused “no material business impact to date”, the situation remained “uncertain”.

“We are pleased to report a good start to our 2030 strategy, with strong momentum behind our execution and our transformation towards becoming a more consumer-centric, data led, agile and efficient challenger,” a statement to the stock market said.

“During the first half, we began the implementation of our new long-term partnership with Capgemini and took further action to focus on our supply chain footprint, while continuing the rollout of our enterprise IT applications.”

Imperial Brands’ interim results for the six months ended March 2026 will be announced on May 12.

Derren Nathan, head of equity research at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Imperial Brands’ tobacco volumes declined again in the first half, but that’s to be expected as more smokers kick the habit and non-combustible alternatives continue their expansion.

“Low single-digit reductions are on the manageable side. In the meantime, revenue has grown modestly, supported by robust pricing and a mid-to-high digit percentage rise in sales of next generation products. With full-year guidance intact, Imperial is setting out its stall as a strong defensive investment, and despite a note of caution, it has seen no material business impact from this year’s tumultuous geopolitical events.”

The latest trading update comes just a day after the company confirmed it would launch the second tranche of its ongoing share buyback scheme. The business told investors on Monday that it intends to repurchase stocks worth £725m as part of a wider £1.45bn programme announced last year.