Business
Asian equities climb: Investors weigh US-China trade tensions, Fed rate cut expectations; gold rallies – The Times of India
Asian markets edged higher on Thursday as investors weighed escalating tensions in the US-China trade war alongside expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates this year.The region’s gains follow a broadly positive session on Wall Street and mark a second consecutive day of recovery, as traders focused on softer US economic data and central bank signals that may favour further monetary easing.
Trump reignites trade war fears
Markets have been volatile this week after US President Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese goods in retaliation for Beijing’s new rare-earth export controls.When asked about the possibility of a prolonged trade conflict, Trump bluntly told reporters, “Well, you’re in one now… We have a 100 percent tariff. If we didn’t have tariffs, we would be exposed as being a nothing.”Despite the hawkish tone, treasury secretary Scott Bessent suggested a more conciliatory approach, proposing a potential extension of the tariff truce if Beijing delays its rare-earth restrictions.Trump still plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea later this month.
Fed rate cut expectations support markets
Investors were also encouraged by data from the Fed’s “Beige Book” survey, which pointed to a softer US job market, echoing other recent weak economic indicators. Fed chair Jerome Powell had warned earlier this week that “the downside risks to employment appear to have risen,” reinforcing market bets on additional rate cuts.Economists, however, remain cautious. Bank of America noted that uncertainties persist over trade, inflation, growth, and US policy, including healthcare and drug pricing.
Safe-haven assets climb
The combination of trade war jitters, rate cut expectations, and a weaker dollar pushed gold to new daily records, reaching $4,234.70 on Thursday.
Key market figures
- India –
Sensex : UP 0.56% at 83,064.09;Nifty 50 : UP 0.54% at 25,459.70 (at 12 pm) - Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.9% at 48,088.07
- Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.2% at 25,953.67
- Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1% at 3,914.85
- Euro/USD: UP to $1.1670 from $1.1645
- Pound/USD: UP to $1.3436 from $1.3400
- Dollar/Yen: DOWN to 150.54 from 151.24
- WTI crude: UP 0.8% at $58.71/bbl
- Brent crude: UP 0.7% at $62.34/bbl
- New York – Dow Jones: FLAT at 46,253.31
- London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3% at 9,424.75
Markets in Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei, and Manila also posted gains as traders balanced geopolitical risks with hopes for accommodative US monetary policy.
New Delhi: Indian stock markets are shut today, January 15, after the Maharashtra government declared a public holiday for municipal elections in Mumbai and several other parts of the state. While the move aims to ensure smooth voting, it has sparked a debate in the financial world with Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath strongly criticising the closure of both the NSE and BSE, calling it a case of “poor planning.”
Kamath Flags Global Impact of Local Market Holiday
In a post on X, Nithin Kamath pointed out that Indian stock exchanges are deeply connected with global markets, yet were closed today due to local municipal elections. Quoting Charlie Munger, he wrote, “Show me the incentive, and I will show you the outcome.” Kamath said the holiday continues because no one who matters has any incentive to oppose a market shutdown, adding that such decisions underline how far India still needs to go to earn the confidence of global investors.
Indian stock exchanges are closed today for Mumbai’s municipal elections.
The fact that our exchanges, which have international linkages, are shut down for a local municipal election shows poor planning and a serious lack of appreciation for second-order effects.
As Munger…
— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) January 15, 2026
Holiday Added at the Last Minute
The trading holiday on January 15 was not part of the stock exchanges’ original 2026 trading calendar and was added only earlier this week. Both the BSE and NSE later issued separate circulars confirming that trading would remain suspended today due to municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra.
All Key Market Segments Shut, Trading to Resume Tomorrow
Trading remained suspended across equities, equity derivatives, securities lending and borrowing, as well as currency and interest rate derivatives for the day. The commodity derivatives segment was closed during the morning session, but was scheduled to reopen for evening trading. Normal trading on both the NSE and BSE is set to resume on Friday, January 16.
Getty ImagesRegulator Ofwat has opened an investigation into South East Water (SEW) after repeated loss of water supplies across Kent and Sussex.
The investigation will consider whether the company has complied with its licence condition to provide high standards of customer service and support.
Ofwat said it was the first investigation it had launched into customer-focused licence conditions.
SEW said: “The company will always fully co-operate with any investigation by our regulators and provide any information required.”
As of Wednesday night, 10,000 properties continued to have no water supply.
Lynn Parker, Ofwat’s senior director for enforcement, said: “The last six weeks have been miserable for businesses and households across Kent and Sussex with repeated supply problems.
“We know that this has had a huge impact on all parts of daily life and hurt businesses, particularly in the run up to the festive period.
“That is why we need to investigate and to determine whether the company has breached its licence condition.”
The investigation was started after the prime minister said the situation, which affected 30,000 customers at its height, was “clearly totally unacceptable” and asked Ofwat to review the company’s licence.
SEW said some customers might not see supplies return until Friday after issues first began on Saturday in the wake of Storm Goretti and a power cut at a pumping station.
The company said it would be using 26 tankers to pump water directly into its network while working “around the clock” to fix leaks and bursts.
Ofwat already has an open investigation into SEW’s supply resilience to determine whether it has failed to develop and maintain an efficient water supply system.
As of 17:30 GMT on Wednesday, SEW said it had implemented a new recovery plan for Tunbridge Wells that involved keeping local booster pumps switched off for a further 36 hours.
The aim was that customers would wake up to a consistent supply by Friday morning.
SEW said its local drinking water storage tanks had not refilled at the speed required, so it had to extend the “outage” to allow it to recover fully.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon speaks during an interview at the Economic Club of Washington in Washington, D.C., U.S., Oct. 30, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Goldman Sachs is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings before the opening bell Thursday.
Here’s what Wall Street expects:
- Earnings: $11.67 per share, according to LSEG
- Revenue: $13.79 billion, according to LSEG
- Trading revenue: Fixed income of $2.93 billion, equities of $3.70 billion, per StreetAccount
- Investing banking fees: $2.58 billion, per StreetAccount
Goldman Sachs is set up to be a beneficiary of several trends in the fourth quarter.
Trading desks across Wall Street have benefited in the last year as President Donald Trump’s policies have roiled markets for bonds, currencies, commodities and stocks.
For instance, rival JPMorgan Chase topped expectations for fourth-quarter results on equities and fixed income trading revenue that exceeded the StreetAccount estimate by a combined $460 million.
Global investment banking revenue in the quarter was 12% higher than a year ago, according to Dealogic, which should provide a boost to Goldman’s advisory business.
The firm’s asset and wealth management division should also see gains as stock market levels remained buoyant in the quarter.
Finally, the bank said last week that its deal to offload its Apple Card business to JPMorgan would result in a 46-cents-per-share boost to quarterly results.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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