EconoTicker

Moody’s (MCO) posted EPS of $3.64 vs $3.41 expected (+6.74% surprise) and revenue of $1.89B vs $1.86B expected (+1.61% surprise). The stock was down ~0.33% at the time shown (last $449.29) and up ~0.23% in extended hours (to $450.34). Market cap is about $79.66B, with investors typically focused next on ratings issuance volumes, fee trends, and management’s outlook for credit-cycle conditions.

Booking Holdings (BKNG) reported EPS of $48.80 per share vs $48.19 expected (+1.27% surprise), supported by resilient travel demand and strong platform economics. Revenue came in at $6.35B vs $6.12B expected (+3.76% surprise). Despite the double-beat, the stock was down ~6.15% (last $4,007.45) and -0.31% in extended hours (to $3,995.00). Market cap stands near $126.93B, keeping the spotlight on forward booking trends, ADR/RevPAR indicators, and 2026 guidance.

Airbus Group ADR (EADSY) reported EPS of $0.8587 vs $0.6829 expected (+25.74% surprise) but revenue of $30.56B vs $32.04B expected (-4.62% surprise), a mixed print (profit beat, sales miss). Shares were down ~6.74% (around $54.95) and up ~0.09% in extended hours (around $55.00). Market cap stands near $173.32B, and investors typically drill into delivery cadence, backlog visibility, and forward guidance after this kind of split outcome.

Deere & Company (DE) delivered EPS of $2.42 vs $2.02 expected (+19.80% surprise) and revenue of $9.61B vs $7.59B expected (+26.61% surprise), a strong double-beat. Shares were up ~11.58% (around $662.00) and +0.15% in extended hours (around $663.00). Market cap is about $179.45B, and the key follow-through is typically forward demand, pricing power, and margin/cost outlook.

Walmart (WMT) reported EPS of $0.74 vs $0.73 expected (+1.37% surprise) and revenue of $190.7B vs $190.4B expected (+0.16% surprise), a narrow beat on both lines. Shares were down ~1.38% at the time shown (around $124.87) and up ~0.14% in extended hours (around $125.05). Market cap stands near $995.23B, with investors typically focusing next on guidance, margin mix, and consumer demand trends.

Turkey’s reserve data improved, with gross FX reserves rising to $79.59B (from $78.87B). The net FX reserves ratio also increased to 95.87% (from 91.26%).

Market lens: Higher reserves can support near-term confidence in external buffers, though FX stability still depends on flows and policy credibility.

Source: Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT).

Turkey’s consumer confidence strengthened in February, with the index rising to 85.7 from 83.7. While still below the 100 threshold typically associated with “optimistic” sentiment, the uptick suggests households are slightly less pessimistic than the prior month.

Source: Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) consumer confidence survey.

OpenAI and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said they will collaborate on building local data centers in India under OpenAI’s Stargate initiative. The partners plan to develop a 100-megawatt facility with the ability to scale up to 1 gigawatt, with OpenAI as the first customer of TCS’ data-center business. The deal was announced by Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran at the India AI Impact Summit.

OpenAI said the infrastructure will allow its most advanced models to run securely in India, offering lower latency while meeting data residency, security, and compliance requirements—especially for mission-critical and government workloads. As part of a broader “OpenAI for India” push, OpenAI also plans to open its first offices in the country. Separately, Tata Group will roll out ChatGPT Enterprise across employees over the coming years, while TCS plans to use OpenAI Codex for software development. TCS shares rose nearly 2% after the announcement.

Source: OpenAI statement; Tata Consultancy Services disclosures; remarks at the India AI Impact Summit.

India’s Nifty 50 was little changed to slightly lower in early Wednesday trade as heavyweight software names struggled to stabilize after a bruising February selloff. The pressure was concentrated in tech: Reuters noted the Nifty IT index fell about 2.4%, with all constituents in the red and Infosys down ~3%.

The drag reflects a growing narrative that AI agents and new “agentic” software could compress the traditional IT services/consulting value chain—fears that have intensified after Anthropic rolled out fresh upgrades and tools around its Claude ecosystem, adding to global tech volatility.

Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.4%, extending the prior session’s advance, as CSL helped lift the index—up 0.6% after announcing a licensing deal with Eli Lilly.

But the upside was capped by heavyweight decliners: BHP fell 1.6% from record highs even after delivering strong first-half earnings on Tuesday. In energy, Santos slid 1.7% after reporting a 25% drop in annual profit, while Suncorp also fell following weaker earnings.

Market lens: The move looks like a selective “risk-on” session—healthcare strength offset by profit-taking in cyclicals and earnings-driven selling.

Japanese equities staged a recovery, with the Nikkei 225 up 1.1% and the TOPIX up 1.4%, clawing back some of the steep losses seen earlier this week. Tech shares led the rebound on the Nikkei after weeks of heavy selling, while broader gains were supported by bargain buying following two sharp down sessions triggered by disappointing Q4 GDP data released Monday.

Sentiment also got a lift from stronger-than-expected January trade data released Wednesday, which showed Japan’s key exports surged well above forecasts, helping stabilize the growth narrative after the GDP shock.

Australia’s No. 2 oil and gas producer Santos said it will cut about 10% of its workforce and conduct a strategic review of its Australian integrated oil and gas portfolio in 2026, after reporting a sharp fall in annual profit. Shares closed 0.6% lower at A$6.63, after falling as much as 3.8% earlier in the session.

Underlying earnings for FY2025 dropped 25% to $898 million, slightly below the Visible Alpha consensus of $904 million, pressured by weaker commodity prices and a delay in ramping up the Barossa LNG project due to a technical issue. Santos also reported FY2025 revenue down 8% to $4.94 billion.

Despite weaker results, the company declared a final dividend of 10.3 cents per share, matching the FY24 payout and beating market expectations of 10 cents. Santos did not provide details on the scope or timing of the 2026 portfolio review.