Gold Hovers Near Five-month High

Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday to hover near a five-month high as rising inflation boosted demand for the precious metal. Gold is a proven long-term hedge against inflation.

Spot gold rose 0.6 percent to $1,873.14 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up half a percent at $1,875.65.

Gold prices have rallied more than 2 percent since last Tuesday after official U.S. data showed annual consumer price inflation hit a 30-year high in October.

Gold is edging higher despite the dollar holding close to a 16-month high and benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields steadying near a three-week peak.

Investors await a slew of data, including U.S. retail sales and industrial production for October to assess the strength of the world’s largest economy.

After last week’s weak consumer sentiment reading, a strong retail sales report could influence the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rate hikes.

Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said on Monday that while the Fed will not hesitate to raise interest rates, the central bank should wait to gauge if inflation and labor shortages prove to be more long-lasting.

Sensex tumbles 396 points; Nifty slips below 18,000

Reliance Industries was the top loser in the Sensex pack.

Equity benchmark Sensex tanked 396 points on Tuesday tracking losses in index majors Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and SBI amid a mixed trend in global markets.

The 30-share index ended 396.34 points or 0.65 % lower at 60,322.37. The 50-issue Nifty fell 110.25 points or 0.61 % to 17,999.20.

Reliance Industries was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 2 %, followed by SBI, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, NTPC and Sun Pharma.

On the other hand, Maruti, M&M, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Infosys and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers.

"As Investors try to figure out the valuation disconnect between the recently listed digital entities versus their traditional counterparts who built distribution reach offline, the euphoria around the former seems to have set minds thinking,” said S. Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.

"As the street worries on inflationary pressures leading to companies raising prices and their consequent impact on demand, we saw a highly volatile trading session today," he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Seoul ended in the red, while Hong Kong and Tokyo closed on a positive note.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading with gains in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.72 % to $ 82.64 per barrel.

Voice AI platform SoundHound to go public via $2.1 billion SPAC merger

(Reuters) – SoundHound Inc, which offers a voice artificial intelligence platform for businesses, will go public through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal that values it at $2.1 billion, the companies said on Tuesday.

TransDigm Group Incorporated Q4 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

TransDigm Group Incorporated (TDG) revealed earnings for its fourth quarter that increased from the same period last year.

The company’s earnings came in at $209 million, or $3.58 per share. This compares with $82 million, or $1.43 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter.

Excluding items, TransDigm Group Incorporated reported adjusted earnings of $248 million or $4.25 per share for the period.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $3.70 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 9.4% to $1.28 billion from $1.17 billion last year.

TransDigm Group Incorporated earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q4): $248 Mln. vs. $166 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q4): $4.25 vs. $2.89 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $3.70
-Revenue (Q4): $1.28 Bln vs. $1.17 Bln last year.

Toys stuck in supply chain chaos

New York (CNN Business)The supply chain crisis isn’t slowing down Walmart.

America’s largest retailer and a bellwether of consumer spending reported strong sales growth during its most recent quarter. The company also raised its annual sales and profit growth, a signal that it’s expecting a strong holiday shopping stretch.
Walmart (WMT) on Tuesday said sales at US stores open for at least one year increased 9.2% during the three months ending October 31 compared with the same period a year ago. The company raised its full-year sales guidance, expecting sales to come in above 6% for the year.

Walmart has used its enormous size and clout to navigate supply chain and inflationary pressures.

Several large retail chains, including Walmart, have chartered their own ships to deliver goods from Asia, stocked up on extra merchandise and relied on their deep pockets and broad supplier bases to adjust to supply constraints. Those options are too expensive and inaccessible for most small shops, which typically have less financial flexibility to absorb higher costs and keep prices down for customers than large competitors.

Although many stores are struggling to get products, Walmart’s inventory levels increased 11.5% last quarter from with the year prior as the company stocked up ahead of the holiday stretch.

“We have the people, the products, and the prices to deliver a great holiday season for our customers and members,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement Tuesday.
Walmart’s stock was up slightly in premarket trading.

Covid Cases Graph Again On The Rise In U.S.

After nearly two months, the graph of coronavirus infections in the United States has started showing an upward trend.

The weekly average of Covid cases in the country rose by 5 percent within a fortnight, according to latest data compiled by New York Times.

Ever since touching the year’s peak of 285,058 new Covid infections in a single day on September 13, the number has been coming down.

125,035 new cases reported on Monday was the highest in recent weeks. It took the national total to 46,613,210, as per the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

During the same period, 1,207 Covid deaths were reported in the country. With this, the total casualties due to the pandemic reached 755,643.

California reported the most number of cases – 16,581 – and deaths – 113.

46,440 people are currently hospitalized in the U.S., reflecting a 13 percent decrease within a fortnight.

A total of 37,496,364 people have so far recovered from the disease in the country.

As per the latest data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 194,001,108 people in the United States, or 58.4 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. This includes 85.7 percent of people above 65.

223,944,369 people, or 67.5 percent of the population, have received at least one dose.

A total of 432,111,860 vaccine doses have been administered so far nationally.

24,795,097 people have so far received booster doses, which accounts for 12.8 percent of the population.