ET NEWS

Swiss bank UBS posted on Wednesday a forecast-beating 56% surge in net profit on strong performances from its wealth management and investment banking divisions, and announced plans for more share buybacks. The world's largest wealth ‌manager intends to ‌repurchase at least $3 billion of shares in 2026, the same amount it bought back last year, and aims "to do more." The amount of additional buybacks ‌was subject to further clarity around the future regulatory regime for banking in Switzerland, it said. Swiss authorities have proposed stricter capital rules for the country's remaining big bank since UBS bought ailing Credit Suisse in 2023 in a state-engineered emergency takeover. How the final regulations will be shaped remains unclear, but shares in UBS have risen since early December after lawmakers floated a compromise and Reuters reported government preparations to water down some of the rules. AN OLD TARGET REVIVED Net profit came in at $1.2 billion for ‌the fourth quarter, ahead ‍of a company-provided consensus forecast of $919 million. UBS also revived its ambition to ‍achieve a reported return on Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital of around ‌18% by 2028, an item it had dropped after the Swiss government pitched new capital rules in June. Additionally, it is aiming for a group cost-income ratio of around 67% by 2028, a more ambitious target than its current one of below 70%. UBS said it had made "excellent integration progress", adding that around 85% of Swiss-booked accounts have been migrated onto UBS systems. "I am confident in our ability to capture the remaining synergies by the end of the year," CEO Sergio Ermotti said in a statement, adding the ‍bank had increased its cost-saving program by $500 million to $13.5 billion. Ermotti, who oversaw the Swiss bank's 2023 emergency takeover of Credit Suisse, is set to step down by the middle ‍of 2027 although the ⁠timeline is not finalised, two ⁠sources with knowledge of the matter have said. Several internal candidates have been floated as potential successors, while few names for potential external ones have surfaced so far. UBS added $8.5 billion in net new assets to its global wealth management division during the quarter. While it saw strong inflows from Asia, Europe and the Middle East, the bank had outflows in the U.S., where it has lost relationship managers. UBS said it expects a low single-digit percentage decline in global wealth management's net interest income in the first quarter of 2026. The bank said its outlook was informed by steady global growth and easing inflation, while capital markets activity and the pipeline for deals remain healthy.

Gold and silver futures opened higher for a second consecutive session on Wednesday, pushing commodity-based ETFs up by as much as 9% during the period. Prices were supported by rising geopolitical tensions after the US military reported shooting down an Iranian drone near one of its aircraft carriers. Bargain buying at lower levels and a softer US dollar also lent support to gold prices.Edelweiss Silver ETF, Kotak Silver ETF, Mirae Asset Silver ETF, Zerodha Silver ETF and Tata Silver ETF gained up to 9% on Wednesday.The Wealth Company Gold ETF surged up to 8%, followed by Kotak Gold ETF, Mirae Asset Gold ETF, and Bandhan Gold ETF, which rallied upto 7%. Nippon India Gold ETF, the largest fund in the category based on the assets managed, gained 5% in the mentioned time frame to a day’s high of Rs 132.Also Read | Gold and silver ETFs jump up to 13% after 3-day sell-off. Here’s what drove the reboundSandip Raichura, CEO of Retail Broking and Distribution & Director, PL Capital, shared with ETMutual Funds that gold should form 10% of client portfolios at all points in tim,e and silver, being a very volatile commodity, should ideally be accumulated via the SIP route and with a 5-year timeframeOn Wednesday, MCX silver futures for March 5, 2026, rose 4%, up Rs 10,648 to Rs 2,78,663 per kg. Gold futures for April 2, 2026 delivery rebounded Rs 4,611, or 3%, to Rs 1,58,420 per 10 grams.In the international market, spot gold climbed 2.2% to $5,044.74 per ounce after surging 5.9% on Tuesday — its biggest single-day gain since November 2008. The metal had hit a record high of $5,594.82 last Thursday. Spot silver rose 2.1% to $86.92 an ounce, after touching a record high of $121.64 on Thursday.According to a report by ETMarkets, the dollar slipped against most major currencies, barring the yen, on Tuesday as traders consolidated recent gains driven by strong US economic data and expectations of a less-dovish Federal Reserve. A softer dollar tends to support bullion prices by making dollar-denominated metals cheap.On February 3, 2026, these ETFs saw rebounds of up to 13% following a sharp three-day sell-off.Abhishek Bhilwaria, BhilwariaMF ( AMFI registered MFD) shared with ETMutualFunds that in the evolving financial landscape of 2026, gold and silver Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have emerged as the preferred vehicle for investors seeking exposure to precious metals without the logistical burdens of physical storage or purity verification. Also Read | Quant MF cuts gold, silver exposure near peak levels in multi-asset fund“This shift is particularly evident in the success of global giants like the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and iShares Silver Trust (SLV), alongside cost-efficient Indian domestic options such as Nippon India Gold BeES and the Zerodha Gold ETF.”For Indian investors, these digital assets also offer a streamlined fiscal structure, with long-term capital gains (held for over a year) taxed at a flat 12.5%, making them a highly competitive alternative to traditional bullion, Bhilwaria said.

The software sector was jolted overnight with what analysts are calling a “SaaSpocalypse” — a sudden and severe selloff triggered by new artificial intelligence tools unveiled by US AI startup Anthropic. The episode has sharpened investor fears that AI is no longer merely helping software companies but may now begin replacing them.So, first, what exactly is this new tool?Anthropic has expanded its enterprise AI platform, Claude Cowork, by launching 11 new plugins aimed at automating a wide range of professional tasks. Claude Cowork is an agentic, no-code AI assistant built for corporate users, allowing companies to automate workflows without writing software. The new plugins are designed to handle tasks across legal, sales, marketing and data analysis functions. The most recent addition is Anthropic’s Claude Legal agent, which can perform routine legal work such as document and contract review, and compliance checks.Anthropic has said that the tool does not provide legal advice and that all AI-generated outputs must be reviewed by licensed attorneys. Even so, the breadth of automation signals a step change in how much white-collar work AI systems can now perform.Also read: Rs 1.9 lakh crore SaaSpocalypse for IT stocks explained: What it means for investorsWhy is it worrying for tech companies?At the heart of the market reaction is a growing concern that AI could fundamentally reshape the competitive landscape for software and IT services companies, eroding both profitability and market position.“The fear with AI is that there's more competition, more pricing pressure, and that their competitive moats have gotten shallower, meaning they could be easier to replace with AI,” said Thomas Shipp, head of equity research at LPL Financial, which has $2.4 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets. “The range of outcomes for their growth has gotten wider, which means it's harder to assign fair valuations or see what looks cheap.”Industries once considered relatively safe from AI disruption, including legal services, data analytics and customer suppor are now firmly in the crosshairs. If AI can automate these functions, the massive IT services industry built around delivering them could face existential challenges.Jefferies was among the first to label the market reaction a “SaaSpocalypse”, noting a rapid shift in sentiment from ‘AI helps these companies’ to ‘AI replaces these companies.' Jeffrey Favuzza from Jefferies’ equity trading desk described the mood as outright panic. “Trading is very much ‘get me out’ style selling,” he said, according to Bloomberg.What were the repercussions?The consequences were swift and broad-based. A Goldman Sachs basket of US software stocks plunged 6%, its biggest single-day fall since April’s tariff-led selloff, according to Bloomberg. Financial services stocks were hit even harder, with an index tumbling nearly 7%.In India, IT stocks suffered their worst single-day selloff in recent memory on Wednesday, with the sector losing Rs 1.75 lakh crore in market value as investors fled amid fears that artificial intelligence could make traditional software and IT services obsolete. Persistent Systems shares crashed over 6%, while heavyweight IT stocks, including Infosys, LTIMindtree, Coforge, TCS, Mphasis and HCL Tech tumbled 4–6% each. Wipro and Tech Mahindra fell around 4%. The combined market value of Nifty IT index stocks plunged from Rs 31.75 lakh crore to Rs 30 lakh crore.The selloff was not confined to India. Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.4% on Tuesday, with software stocks shedding approximately $300 billion in market value. Global giants were also hit hard: London Stock Exchange Group Plc fell 13%, Thomson Reuters Corp. plunged 16%, CS Disco Inc. sank 12%, and Legalzoom.com Inc. plummeted 20%.JPMorgan said the ongoing generalist money outflows are triggering knee-jerk selling, amplified by index-arbitrage basket trades, programmatic de-grossing, cross-correlation factor contagion and a vacuum in passive liquidity. The bank noted that it had flagged the risks of extreme bullish positioning in AI well ahead of time. As far back as late 2022, JPMorgan had warned that AI technology would “evolve at the speed of light” and could surprise investors with the pace and scale of its capabilities.Concerns around AI-led disruption have been building for months. Anthropic’s initial release of the Claude Cowork tool in January had already heightened investor anxiety around software sector risks. Other technology launches have added to the unease. Video game stocks were caught in a selloff last week after Alphabet began rolling out Project Genie, which can create immersive worlds using text or image prompts.Also read: Infosys, Wipro, TCS and other IT stocks tumble up to 7%. Here’s whyAs fears of AI-driven disruption spread, analysts say the coming months will be critical in determining how software and IT companies navigate this complexity. But for now, the “SaaSpocalypse” has delivered a shock to the markets.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)