Aurelia Butler

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets.U.S. payrolls and service sector data won’t offer much inspiration to Asian markets this week, thanks to the ambiguous economic and Fed policy picture that churned markets on Friday, though a handful of regional economic reports due out and the Taiwan election on Saturday with geopolitical ramifications will grab the spotlight.U.S. stock indexes seesawed to a small gain on Friday, even as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted their worst weekly showing in months, after the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers hired more workers than expected last month while raising wages at a solid clip.Markets initially dialed back bets the Fed would start cutting interest rates in March, before the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said that service sector employment plunged to 43.3 in December to the lowest level since July 2020 restored some of the speculation that policy makers would hike rates early in 2024. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield swiveled around the 4% level on the clashing views of the strength of the economy, wrapping up the day around 4.05%, while its 13.1 bp weekly gain was the largest since mid-October. The dollar index ended little changed. The yuan ticked a bit higher against the dollar which meshed with news that China’s state owned banks were active in forex markets last week trying to contain the yuan’s slide, according to four people with direct knowledge. On Sunday, a China foreign ministry spokesperson said China will sanction five U.S. military manufacturers in response to the latest round of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. The sanctions come a week before Taiwan’s Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections, which China has cast as a choice between war and peace.Dollar/yen ended Friday up a fractional 0.02%, just enough to extend the 2024 winning streak to four days.Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda faces pressure to end Japan’s negative interest rate policy. Last week’s devastating earthquake could make it harder to rev up the economy and inflation. On Monday Japan’s December household spending and Tokyo Consumer Price Index could feed into Nikkei and JGB trading. Several other CPI reports are due this week, including the Australia CPI on Tuesday, China CPI Thursday, India CPI on Friday and the widely anticipated U.S. release on Thursday. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets this week:- Tokyo CPI Monday (December)- Japan household spending Monday (December)- South Korea unemployment rate Tuesday (December) More

Steve MacMillan, Hologic’s Chairman, President, and CEO, highlighted the company’s strong organic revenue performance, excluding COVID-19 impacts, estimating over 9% growth compared to the prior year when adjusted for four fewer selling days.By division, the Diagnostics segment saw a decline, with reported revenues of $447.8 million compared to $559.3 million in the previous year. However, organic Molecular Diagnostics, excluding COVID-19, grew by 2.8%. The Breast Health division experienced a 13% increase, reporting $377.7 million in revenues. The GYN Surgical segment also saw growth with a 5.3% increase to $162.2 million. Skeletal Health revenues declined by 4.5% to $25.4 million.Hologic’s organic revenue, excluding COVID-19, reached $952.7 million, representing a 6.1% increase in reported currency and a 5.2% rise in constant currency. This performance exceeds the company’s previous guidance of 1.0% to 3.7% growth.The company has not completed its financial close processes for the quarter, and GAAP financial results have not been finalized. However, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) are expected to be towards the high end of the $0.92 to $0.97 guidance range.Hologic plans to release its full financial results for the first quarter on February 1, 2024. The company will also provide updated financial guidance for the second quarter and the full fiscal year of 2024 after its quarterly forecasting process is complete.These preliminary results were shared in advance of Hologic’s participation in the 42nd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which begins Monday. The company will post its conference presentation on its investor website and will also provide a live webcast of its presentation and Q&A session.It is important to note that the information provided is based on a press release statement and may be subject to revisions. The non-GAAP financial measures presented are intended to supplement GAAP measures and may differ from similar measures used by other companies.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

CHENNAI (Reuters) -India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu has signed investment pacts worth more than $4.39 billion with firms such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) suppliers Tata Electronics and Pegatron, as well as auto major Hyundai (OTC:HYMTF) Motors, it said on Sunday. Apple is counting on India as the next big driver of its growth as the tech giant looks to diversify some production away from China, with Pegatron working towards a second factory in the country where Tata Group last year began to assemble iPhones.Tata Electronics, a part of the Indian conglomerate, committed to invest 120.8 billion rupees for mobile phone assembly operations, the state government said during the signing of the agreements.”The Tamil Nadu government will support investors in every way possible,” Chief Minister M. K. Stalin said at the event, adding that it sought to play a major role in India’s growth.Pegatron, Apple’s Taiwan supplier, will also invest 10 billion rupees to expand production, the government added.Separately, Tata Power is exploring investments up to 700 billion rupees in Tamil Nadu over the next several years,including investments made in some existing projects, its chief executive officer and managing director Praveer Sinha said at a press briefing at the event. The pacts, unveiled at a meeting of global investors, are projected to generate thousands of jobs in the state. The state’s summit comes days before another investment summit in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat where hundreds of domestic and foreign investors are expected to attend. Sunday’s deals in Tamil Nadu include an agreement with JSW Energy to invest 120 billion rupees to develop renewable energy projects.Auto major Hyundai Motors also committed 61.80 billion rupees, some of it earmarked for electric vehicle (EV) battery and car manufacturing, the government added. On Saturday, Vietnamese EV maker VinFast (NASDAQ:VFS) agreed to set up its first manufacturing facilities in India and work toward an investment of up to $2 billion in Tamil Nadu, as more companies seek to penetrate the world’s third-largest vehicle market. Nike (NYSE:NKE) shoemaker Hong Fu is set to sign a pact with the state to invest nearly 10.4 billion rupees in India, with another 16.6 billion rupees expected soon, Aqeel Panaruna, chairman of Florenece Shoe – the company’s India partner – said at the event. ($1=83.1030 Indian rupees) More

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