Goldman Sachs upgrades Palantir (PLTR.US) to "Buy" with a target price of $230, optimistic about AI growth continuing until 2027.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that enhancing competitiveness would help boost confidence in the yen.

According to information from Zhitong Finance APP, star technology analyst Dan Ives stated that Apple (AAPL.US)'s AI strategy could increase the company’s valuation by approximately $75 per share, as the company seeks to leverage AI to drive device upgrades and boost service revenue. Ives gives Apple stock an "Outperform" rating with a target price of $400.

After U.S. Treasury yields declined overnight, Japan’s government bond yield curve also moved lower across the board. On Thursday, U.S. Treasury yields fell due to a steady long-term bond auction and a buyback operation conducted by the Treasury Department. Cooling expectations for further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve have also put downward pressure on both U.S. and Japanese bond yields. Investors are currently watching the latest developments in the Iran conflict and movements in the French government bond market. During the session, the yield on Japan's 10-year government bond dropped by 4.5 basis points to 3.035%; the 2-year bond yield fell by 1.5 basis points to 1.915%; and the 30-year bond yield declined by 4 basis points to 4.080%.

After Tata Consultancy Services released its earnings, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra are set to follow with their own financial reports. Analysts noted that clients remain cautious towards non-essential technology projects, with industry growth expected to stay sluggish. However, recent results from Accenture indicate that spending is not simply shrinking but is shifting towards large-scale transformation projects led by AI. On Thursday, Tata Consultancy Services reported profit growth surpassing market expectations, but its revenue increased by only 0.5% quarter-on-quarter at constant currency. According to Nuvama, “Over the past nine months, the IT sector has significantly underperformed the broader market, mainly due to negative sentiment created by generative AI platform companies, along with uncertainty related to the Gulf War. We continue to believe that the IT services model will persist in the long term, and the disruption brought by generative AI will only create greater opportunities for these companies.”