Business
Gold outlook: Yellow metal prices may consolidate next week, traders eye Fed signals and global data cues – Times of India
Gold prices are expected to witness a phase of consolidation in the coming week as investors focus on fresh global economic data, commentary from central bankers and evolving geopolitical developments, according to analysts.Traders will keep a close watch on US housing numbers, consumer price data from the UK and Eurozone, and provisional PMI releases from major economies, PTI reported. In addition, markets will track European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde’s speech and US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s address at the Jackson Hole Symposium, which are likely to shape bullion’s near-term trajectory.“Gold prices are likely to see some consolidation/correction in the coming week as focus now remains on the incoming US macroeconomic data and the Federal Reserve’s meeting next month with interest rate cuts in focus,” said Pranav Mer, Vice President, EBG – Commodity & Currency Research, JM Financial Services. He added that safe-haven demand has eased after Washington and Beijing agreed to extend trade negotiations for another 90 days.Mer pointed out that while weaker US data has underlined slowing economic activity, firm producer and import price readings have kept inflation concerns alive, leaving Fed officials divided on the timing of rate cuts. Progress in US-Russia talks over the Ukraine conflict also reduced safe-haven buying, though discussions ended without a conclusion.On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), the most-traded October gold futures contract declined Rs 1,648 per 10 grams, or nearly 2 per cent, last week. Prathamesh Mallya, DVP-Research, Non-Agri Commodities and Currencies at Angel One, told PTI that prices slipped from highs of Rs 1,02,000 to lows of Rs 1,00,000 per 10 grams after US President Donald Trump clarified that gold imports into the US would not face tariffs, denting upside momentum.Mallya added that developments in US-Russia discussions will be critical, cautioning that any move towards higher tariffs on India could weigh on macroeconomic sentiment and lift gold demand in the near term.On Comex, December gold futures ended lower at $3,382.60 per ounce in New York on Saturday.Manav Modi, Analyst – Precious Metal Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said gold lost ground last week as safe-haven demand eased amid shifting geopolitical and economic developments. He noted that prices briefly rallied after confusion over potential US tariffs on Swiss gold but retreated once the White House clarified the reports were inaccurate.Modi added that optimism around a possible ceasefire in Ukraine after a meeting between US President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, alongside an extension of the US-China tariff truce, further capped safe-haven buying. On the supportive side, however, a weaker dollar and rising expectations of a September US rate cut helped cushion losses. “Soft inflation data spurred dovish bets and Treasury Secretary Bessent hinted at a deeper 50-basis-points reduction,” Modi said.Physical gold demand in Asia, a key seasonal driver, remained subdued due to high prices, he added. Investors are now expected to focus on US PMI data, Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, and further signals from Washington-Moscow talks.Analysts said the overall near-term outlook for gold will hinge on how upcoming data and central bank commentary shape market sentiment.
Business
Stock Market Live Updates: Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs; Bank Nifty Climbs 60,000 For The First Time
Stock Market News Live Updates: Indian equity benchmarks opened with a strong gap-up on Monday, December 1, touching fresh record highs, buoyed by a sharp acceleration in Q2FY26 GDP growth to a six-quarter peak of 8.2%. Positive cues from Asian markets further lifted investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex was trading at 85,994, up 288 points or 0.34%, after touching an all-time high of 86,159 in early deals. The Nifty 50 stood at 26,290, higher by 87 points or 0.33%, after scaling a record intraday high of 26,325.8.
Broader markets also saw gains, with the Midcap index rising 0.27% and the Smallcap index advancing 0.52%.
On the sectoral front, the Nifty Bank hit a historic milestone by crossing the 60,000 mark for the first time, gaining 0.4% to touch a fresh peak of 60,114.05.
Meanwhile, the Metal and PSU Bank indices climbed 0.8% each in early trade.
Global cues
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Monday as traders assessed fresh Chinese manufacturing data and increasingly priced in the likelihood of a US Federal Reserve rate cut later this month.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are now assigning an 87.4 per cent probability to a rate cut at the Fed’s December 10 meeting.
China’s factory activity unexpectedly slipped back into contraction in November, with the RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI by S&P Global easing to 49.9, below expectations of 50.5, as weak domestic demand persisted.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.6 per cent, while the broader Topix declined 0.86 per cent. In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 0.30 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.31 per cent.
US stock futures were steady in early Asian trade after a positive week on Wall Street. On Friday, in a shortened post-Thanksgiving session, the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.65 per cent to 23,365.69, its fifth consecutive day of gains.
The S&P 500 rose 0.54 per cent to 6,849.09, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 289.30 points, or 0.61 per cent, to close at 47,716.42.
Osmond ChiaBusiness reporter
Getty ImagesSouth Korea’s largest online retailer, Coupang, has apologised for a massive data breach potentially involving nearly 34 million local customer accounts.
The country’s internet authority said that it is investigating the breach and that details from the millions of accounts have likely been exposed.
Coupang is often described as South Korea’s equivalent of Amazon.com. The breach marks the latest in a series of data leaks at major firms in the country, including its telecommunications giant, SK Telecom.
Coupang told the BBC it became aware of the unauthorised access of personal data of about 4,500 customer accounts on 18 November and immediately reported it to the authorities.
But later checks found that some 33.7 million customer accounts – all in South Korea – were likely exposed, said Coupang, adding that the breach is believed to have begun as early as June through a server based overseas.
The exposed data is limited to name, email address, phone number, shipping address and some order histories, Coupang said.
No credit card information or login credentials were leaked. Those details remain securely protected and no action is required from Coupang users at this point, the firm added.
The number of accounts affected by the incident represents more than half of South Korea’s roughly-52 million population.
Coupang, which is founded in South Korea and headquartered in the US, said recently that it had nearly 25 million active users.
Coupang apologised to its customers and warned them to stay alert to scams impersonating the company.
The firm did not give details on who is behind the breach.
South Korean media outlets reported on Sunday that a former Coupang employee from China was suspected of being behind the breach.
The authorities are assessing the scale of the breach as well as whether Coupang had broken any data protection safety rules, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT said in a statement.
“As the breach involves the contact details and addresses of a large number of citizens, the Commission plans to conduct a swift investigation and impose strict sanctions if it finds a violation of the duty to implement safety measures under the Protection Act.”
The incident marks the latest in a series of breaches affecting major South Korean companies this year, despite the country’s reputation for stringent data privacy rules.
SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest mobile operator, was fined nearly $100m (£76m) over a data breach involving more than 20 million subscribers.
In September, Lotte Cards also said the data of nearly three million customers was leaked after a cyber-attack on the credit card firm.
Agency workers hired to cover Birmingham bin strikers will join them on picket lines on Monday, a union has said.
A rally will be held by Unite The Union at Smithfield Depot on Pershore Street, Birmingham, on Monday morning to mark the first day of strike action by agency refuse workers.
Unite said the Job & Talent agency workers had voted in favour of strike action “over bullying, harassment and the threat of blacklisting at the council’s refuse department two weeks ago”.
The union said the number of agency workers who will join the strike action is “growing daily”.
Strikes by directly-employed bin workers, which have been running since January, could continue beyond May’s local elections.
The directly-employed bin workers voted in favour of extending their industrial action mandate earlier this month.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Birmingham council will only resolve this dispute when it stops the appalling treatment of its workforce.
“Agency workers have now joined with directly-employed staff to stand up against the massive injustices done to them.
“Instead of wasting millions more of council taxpayers’ money fighting a dispute it could settle justly for a fraction of the cost, the council needs to return to talks with Unite and put forward a fair deal for all bin workers.
“Strikes will not end until it does.”
Stock Market Live Updates: Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs; Bank Nifty Climbs 60,000 For The First Time
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