Shares of Waaree Energies, the country’s largest solar module manufacturer, have surged nearly 28% over the past two weeks, including an 11% jump on Tuesday, after India and the US agreed to a trade deal. The rebound has narrowed the stock’s three-month decline to 10%. The US contributed 15–20% of Waaree’s revenue in the December 2025 quarter compared with 57% in the March 2024 quarter. With tariffs now set to ease, the company’s exports to the US have significant room to recover.
Apart from the trade deal, investors have reacted positively to the company’s strong third-quarter results. The management expects to exceed its earlier guidance for operating profit before depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of ₹5,500–6,000 crore for FY26, backed by robust execution and expanding order book.
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As part of its backward-integration strategy, the company is setting up a 10 Gigawatt (GW) ingot and wafer facility and expanding cell capacity by another 10GW, both targeted to be operational by FY27. This will give it a fully integrated solar value chain covering polysilicon, ingots, wafers, cells and modules, reducing dependence on imports and improving margins.
The company’s order book grew 28% sequentially to ₹60,000 crore in the December quarter, supported by an order pipeline exceeding 100 GW that provides multi-quarter revenue visibility. Around 65% of the order book is international, while domestic orders are increasingly skewed towards highermargin segments, including domestic content requirement (DCR) modules, which are solar panels manufactured in India using locally sourced components and command a pricing premium.
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The company also plans to expand into related areas such as battery energy storage systems (BESS), inverters, and green hydrogen. It is setting up a 20-gigawatt-hour BESS manufacturing facility that is expected to be ready by FY28. In the December quarter, it raised around ₹1,000 crore in equity to fund lithium-ion cell and battery-pack plant. In green hydrogen, the company intends to build a 1GW electrolyser manufacturing facility supported by production-linked incentives of ₹444 crore. The project, with planned capital expenditure of ₹676 crore, is expected to be commissioned by FY27.To comply with US non-Chinese sourcing requirements, the company has invested $30 million in an Oman-based polysilicon facility, with production expected to begin in the current quarter. This is expected to give it a fully traceable, non-Chinese supply chain, a key differentiator for its US expansion.
For the Dember quarter, the company posted its highest-ever consolidated revenue of ₹7,565 crore, doubling year-on-year, while Ebitda surged threefold to ₹1,928 crore. Module production rose by 94% to reach a record 3.5GW and cell output touched 0.75GW from a near-zero base.
Following strong quarterly performance, PL Capital has raised the earnings estimate by 5.7% and 1.2% for FY27 and FY28 respectively. The broking firm has maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a higher target price of ₹3,600 compared with ₹4,084 earlier implying an FY28 expected price-earnings (P/E) multiple of 21.
The rupee surged the most in seven years and India’s equity gauges logged their largest gains in nine months after Washington agreed, as part of a long-awaited trade deal, to reduce tariffs hurting shipments and foreign inflows.
News of the successful US-India agreement caused both the Nifty and the Sensex to surge as much as 5% intraday. The central bank, meanwhile, reportedly bought dollars, preventing the rupee from appreciating too much, too soon. The Nifty 50 advanced 639.15 points, or 2.5%, to 25,727.5 at close of trading, while the Sensex climbed 2,072.67 points, or 2.5%, to end at 83,739.1.
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“The tariff-related uncertainty was one of the many reasons for India’s rising trade gap, equity market underperformance, $19 billion of selling by foreign investors in 2025, and a weakening currency,” said Ashish Gupta, chief investment officer, Axis Mutual Fund. “The new framework removes a key source of uncertainty around the growth outlook, supporting external demand, improving business sentiment, and potentially catalysing a pickup in private capex.”
The rupee, which had the dubious distinction of being the worst performer in Asia in 2025, rallied 125 paise on Tuesday to 90.26 a dollar from 91.51. Its logical advance beyond 90, dealers said, was halted only by the central bank’s decision to buy the US currency, which it had relentlessly sold from its stockpile earlier to prevent the local unit’s rout.
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Trade Anxiety Abates “Capital flows could see an improvement as the deal lifts overall sentiment,” said Shailendra Jhingan, head of treasury, ICICI Bank. “Foreign capital, which had stayed on the sidelines over the past few months, may begin to return, leading to inflows into both equity and debt markets.” He expects the rupee, the value of which vis-à-vis the dollar has a disproportionate say on overseas capital flows into Mumbai-listed growth assets, to trade between 90 and 89.50 per dollar by end of March. India’s volatility index VIX—the stock market’s fear gauge— fell 7% to 12.90, reflecting a thaw in trader anxiety. Analysts said the index could challenge its all-time high of 26,373.2 in the near term.
Altius, Fortius “The Nifty has traded in a broad range of nearly 1,500 points for most part of May to now, and after the announcement of the trade deal, we may see this range shifting upward, with a potential for Nifty to move toward 26,650 levels on the back of improved sentiment in the coming weeks,” said Rohit Srivastava, founder, indiacharts.com.
Foreign portfolio investors were net buyers of ₹5,236 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutions bought shares worth ₹1,014 crore. So far this year, overseas investors have net sold to the tune of nearly ₹28,180 crore.
BNP Paribas Securities said the trade deal supports its positive outlook on Indian equities this year. It expects a return of foreign fund flows to benefit IT and financial stocks.
Across Asia, markets surged Tuesday, reversing some of the recent losses. Japan gained 3.9%, China 1.3%, Hong Kong 0.2%, South Korea 6.8% and Taiwan 1.8%. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 was up 0.1% at the time of going to press.
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At home, the broader market too ended strong, with the Nifty Mid-cap 150 and Nifty Smallcap 250 surging more than 2.9% each. Of the total 4,422 stocks traded on the BSE, 3,279 advanced and 1,015 declined.
Harendra Kumar, managing director of Elara Securities, said the deal strengthens India’s long-term macro setup. “With the tariff overhang now behind us, India’s longterm growth outlook has strengthened, with the GDP potentially expanding at 8-8.5% from FY28-FY29 onwards,” Kumar said. “This should support higher valuation multiples for Indian markets and, alongside a weaker rupee, improve India’s appeal to FIIs.”
Kumar expects the Nifty to hit 30,000 by March 2027.
Gupta said the tone for equities has turned more favourable after a weak start to 2026. The backdrop, he said, is improving thanks to better valuations, stronger earnings expectations, firmer economic momentum following the budget and steady domestic flows. “With tariff uncertainties now resolved, the near-term risk-reward has shifted in favour of equities, and these factors together are expected to meaningfully strengthen India’s FY27 growth outlook,” he said.
Professional Capital Management CEO Anthony Pompliano explains why he is ‘betting’ on Elon Musk after the SpaceX founder merges SpaceX with his A.I. start-up and more on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
French police raided X offices in Paris on Tuesday as part of an investigation into the company’s use of algorithms and its artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok.
French prosecutors had opened the probe in 2025 following a complaint by a lawmaker alleging that biased algorithms on the platform were likely to have distorted the operation of an automated data processing system.
Authorities are now examining suspected algorithm abuse and fraudulent data extraction by X or the platform’s executives, prosecutors said.
Britain’s privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office, also said on Tuesday in a statement it had launched a formal investigation into Grok over the processing of personal data and reports that the chatbot had been used to generate nonconsensual sexual imagery, including of children.
X went on to criticize the French authorities’ actions, accusing prosecutors of bypassing international legal mechanisms.
The investigation has also broadened to include Grok, X’s AI chatbot. (Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The company said in a statement on X that the Paris Public Prosecutor’s office was “plainly attempting to exert pressure on X’s senior management in the United States by targeting our French entity and employees, who are not the focus of this investigation.”
Musk called the raid a “political attack.” (Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo/Reuters / Reuters Photos)
In a separate statement, Europol said it was supporting the French investigation with the assistance of the French Gendarmerie’s cybercrime unit.
“The investigation concerns a range of suspected criminal offences linked to the functioning and use of the platform, including the dissemination of illegal content and other forms of online criminal activity. Europol stands ready to continue supporting the French authorities as the investigation progresses,” it said.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO) Q3 2026 Earnings Call February 3, 2026 4:30 PM EST
Company Participants
Nicole Shevins – Senior Vice President of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications Strauss Zelnick – Executive Chairman & CEO Karl Slatoff – President Lainie Goldstein – Chief Financial Officer
Conference Call Participants
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Douglas Creutz – TD Cowen, Research Division Eric Handler – ROTH Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division Colin Sebastian – Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division Christopher Schoell – UBS Investment Bank, Research Division Andrew Marok – Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division Edward Alter – Jefferies LLC, Research Division Jason Bazinet – Citigroup Inc., Research Division Alec Brondolo – Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division Michael Hickey – The Benchmark Company, LLC, Research Division Andrew Crum – B. Riley Securities, Inc., Research Division Brian Pitz – BMO Capital Markets Equity Research Martin Yang – Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Research Division Omar Dessouky – BofA Securities, Research Division
Presentation
Operator
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Hello, and thank you for standing by. My name is Tiffany, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Q3 Fiscal Year 2026 Quarterly Earnings Results Call. [Operator Instructions]
I would now like to turn the call over to Nicole Shevins, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Nicole, please go ahead.
Nicole Shevins Senior Vice President of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
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Good afternoon. Thank you for joining our conference call to discuss our results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 ended December 31, 2025.
Today’s call will be led by Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Karl Slatoff, our President; and Lainie Goldstein, our Chief Financial Officer. We will be available to answer your questions during the Q&A session following our prepared remarks.
Before we begin, I’d like to remind everyone that statements made during
Billionaire Adrian Portelli’s push into the fuel market seems to be taking shape after months of speculations and social media posts.
Signage for Portelli’s LMCT+ has appeared at a former Shell site in Melbourne, leading many to assume that the opening of the brand’s first physical location is not far off.
LMCT+ Signage Appears at Former Shell Site in Melbourne
The former Shell site is located at the corner of Gower St and Plenty Rd in Preston, according to Real Commercial.
The membership-based brand is a result of Portelli’s frustrations with the fuel market in Australia, notes WhichCar, particularly the refusal of major companies to offer discounts.
LMCT+ is, therefore, positioning itself as “rewards hubs” that offer fuel discounts in addition to other promotions and giveaways from the brands.
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It has also been speculated that the Preston location will not be the only LMCT+ sites as it is only a sign of things to come.
Social Media Comments Are Positive
Social media comments regarding LMCT+ and Portelli have largely been positive.
Comments left on LMCT+’s Instagram posts range from calls for cheaper fuel to support for Portelli should he decide to run for office.
“You are a hero to the working class,” one comment reads.
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“Run for parliament & you got my vote,” another comment says.
There is even one comment that reads “Can you just buy Australia and fix it … thanks.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has confirmed that another Australian, a male in his 20s, died while skiing in Japan.
The tragic news comes after 22-year-old Brooke Day passed away following a ski lift accident.
Second Australian Dies in While Skiing in Japan
According to a report by news.com.au, the Australia man died while skiing off-piste in an unpatrolled terrain between Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort and Niseko Annupuri International Ski Resort.
The young man had been skiing with a group, who eventually noticed that he disappeared along the way.
His friends went back to search firm and found another group of skiers performing CPR on him.
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He was brought to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to ABC News.
“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” DFAT said in a statement, per 7NEWS. “Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”
One Tragedy After the Other
The death of the young Australian man comes after Brooke Day passed away following a ski lift accident.
According to The Gurdian, the 22-year-old sustained critical injuries after her backpack was caught in the ski lift as she was trying to disembark.
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This caused her to be dragged along the snow before being suspended in mid-air. She reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest.
The accident took place at the Tsugaike Mountain resort in Otari, near Nagano.
| Photography and videos by Ricky-Thomas Serikawa for WSJ
A Michigan pension fund wanted to grow the second-largest coffee farm in Hawaii. What happened there demonstrates the perils of investing public workers’ savings in private markets.
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The $16 billion Lansing-based retirement fund ended up abandoning the coffee farm last spring after nine years and $86 million in losses. A few months later, the pension said it had lost $53 million on another ambitious private market bet: an investment with a one-year-old Swiss firm in renewable energy technology.
The state government will offer royalty relief to WA’s fledgling vanadium sector, as part of its push to build a $150 million battery using the material in Kalgoorlie by 2029.
Mumbai : Debt capital market (DCM) heads expect a sharp pickup in overseas borrowing by domestic corporates, including some top government banks, over the next two quarters as the USIndia trade deal improves investor sentiment toward these companies in an expectedly softer global rate regime.
Bankers said several issuers that stayed away from offshore markets amid a sharp decline in the rupee are likely to now tap overseas debt.
As part of the bilateral trade agreement, the US would slash tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%. This has already triggered buying in Indian bonds and a 5–10 basis point spread compression is seen across in names such as Vedanta, PFC and REC.
Indian corporates anticipate a surge in overseas borrowing over the next two quarters, fueled by improved investor sentiment following a US-India trade deal. This agreement, which includes tariff reductions, has already led to buying in Indian bonds and a spread compression.
“There has been visible buying in Indian bonds including Vedanta, PFC and REC,” said a bond investor. “We are seeing spread compression in the range of 5 to 10 basis points. Vedanta, for instance, has tightened by close to 10 basis points. The tone is positive, though exact numbers will become clearer as volumes pick up.” The announcement of the trade deal late Monday caused the Indian rupee also to surge the most in seven years. A depreciating currency inflates the rupee cost of repayment for companies borrowing overseas.
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last year said it plans to ease external commercial borrowing (ECB) rules by rationalising limits, relaxing maturity norms and removing cost caps. This is expected to lower overseas borrowing costs and give Indian corporates greater flexibility to tap foreign capital as spreads compress further. India’s ECB volumes has been climbing over the past few years. Indian companies had raised a record $61 billion through ECB route in FY25 up from $48 billion raised in FY24.Market buoyancy is likely to benefit issuers with medium-term maturities, including large public sector banks such as State Bank of India (SBI), which have offshore bonds maturing in FY27. Some issuers, including Greenko that had earlier replaced dollar redemptions with rupee borrowings, could find foreign currency debt attractive again.
“If this environment sustains with lower global rates, stronger inflows and regulatory easing, issuers that stayed away from overseas markets may return,” a banker said.
Following the trade deal announcement, government bond yields eased, too, by four basis points. The 10year benchmark yielded 6.72%
Japanese investment applications in Thailand saw a significant surge of 146% in 2025, reaching 119 billion baht, signalling growing optimism among Japanese businesses for Thailand’s economic rebound in the first half of 2026.
This positive outlook is supported by a JETRO Bangkok survey, which found that Japanese companies expect improved economic conditions compared to the previous six quarters, attributing this to a recovery in production and consumption and new business opportunities across various sectors. The Board of Investment (BOI) highlights Thailand’s continued importance as a long-term investment base for Japanese firms, with investments increasingly shifting towards high-tech and sustainable industries.
Key information from the JETRO survey and BOI data includes:
Japanese Investment in 2025:
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Total Investment Value: Exceeded 119 billion baht, a 146% increase from 2024.
Number of Projects: 311, up 17% year-on-year.
Major Driving Sectors:
Automotive and Parts: 28.332 billion baht (+57%), including expansion into Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs).
Electronics and Electrical Appliances: 24.318 billion baht (+121%), focusing on advanced components for EVs and high-precision electronics.
Digital: Rose sharply to over 7.6 billion baht (from 42 million baht in 2024), driven by large data-centre projects supporting the digital economy and AI.
Other Notable Investments: Aircraft parts, high-grade steel, food and beverages, renewable energy, and joint ventures for industrial estate development.
Japanese Business Sentiment (JETRO Survey conducted Nov-Dec 2025 among 520+ firms):
Optimistic Outlook for H1 2026: Attributed to recovery in production and consumption, alongside new business opportunities.
Sectors Expected to Improve: Automotive, electronics, chemicals, food, trading, and financial services.
Future Investment Plans:
23% plan to increase investment in Thailand in 2026.
35% expect exports to rise.
26% are considering establishing a regional office in Thailand.
Response to External Risks:
US Reciprocal Tariffs: 44% of firms were unaffected, while 26% reported or anticipated impacts. Most (54%) planned to maintain existing strategies, with others considering cost pass-through, market expansion, or operational efficiency improvements.
Thai-Cambodian Border Checkpoint Closures: Over 67% reported no significant impact, though 25% faced logistics and production disruptions, leading to shifts to sea freight or rerouting via Laos and Vietnam.
Areas for Improvement in Thailand’s Investment Climate (as desired by investors):
Stimulating domestic consumption.
Addressing household debt.
Improving tax audit and refund efficiency.
Upgrading transport infrastructure.
Broader economic stimulus and infrastructure investment to strengthen long-term competitiveness.
Overall, Japanese investors maintain confidence in Thailand as a key production base in ASEAN, with a strategic shift towards new technologies such as hybrids, semiconductors, PCBs, aircraft parts, biotech products, data centres, and renewable energy, reinforcing Thailand’s role in global supply chains.
