ET NEWS

Apple Inc. shares hit their first record of 2025 on Monday after Loop Capital upgraded the stock to buy from hold, becoming the latest firm to cite positive iPhone demand trends.Shares rose as much as 3.1% to $260.20, taking out an all-time high that had stood since December. Apple had been a high profile underperformer among S&P 500 Index stocks for much of the year, down as much as 31% at its worst point in April. But since then the iPhone maker has soared more than 50%, finally turning positive for the year in late September.The recent strength comes amid signs of stronger-than-expected demand for its latest iPhone lineup, adding to hopes that a long-awaited upgrade cycle could be underway. Over the weekend, an analysis from Counterpoint Research showed the iPhone 17 series outsold the iPhone 16 by 14% over their respective first 10 days on sale in the US and China.“We are now at the front end of Apple’s long-anticipated adoption cycle,” Loop analyst Ananda Baruah wrote in his upgrade note. This reflects “a combination of refresh cycle and demand catalyzed by new design cycles.” He also raised his price target to a Street-high view of $315, implying upside of about 25% from Friday’s close. 124708324Investors had been looking for a similar upgrade bump following the release of the iPhone 16 but came away largely disappointed after its much-hyped AI features were either delayed or never released at all.However, more firms beyond Loop are turning more positive on Apple’s prospects. Evercore ISI added the stock to its tactical outperform list, as data on iPhone demand “suggest this may be more than the average iPhone refresh cycle.” Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes sees it “getting its groove back,” writing that “Apple is on a mission to silence its critics.” He touted positive trends in China and “momentum in new models overall,” with upcoming products likely to act as additional catalysts. Still, not everyone is so sure that the early momentum for the iPhone 17 justifies Apple’s valuation. Shares trade at more than 32 times estimated earnings, well above their 10-year average of 22 times. Apple also trades at a premium to the Nasdaq 100, and is the most-expensive member of the Magnificent Seven, save for Tesla Inc.Apple also remains less-loved than other megacaps. Even with Loop’s upgrade, just 58% of the analysts tracked by Bloomberg recommend buying the stock, the lowest share among other magnificent seven stock outside of Tesla.Jefferies analyst Edison Lee, one of just four with a sell-equivalent rating on Apple, cautioned over the weekend that “sales momentum of iPhone 17 continues to cool off.” Earlier this month Lee downgraded the stock to underperform, warning that excitement for a potential foldable iPhone is “overdone” as it would likely come with a hefty price tag and also “cannibalize” sales of the Pro Max version.

The management of the Louvre museum denied on Monday having contacted a private Israeli intel firm to investigate the weekend's audacious jewel heist at the iconic French institution. The Israeli CGI Group, based in Tel Aviv, told AFP earlier the world-famous museum had asked for its help for the investigation due to its past success recovering stolen artefacts from a German museum in 2019."The Louvre exceptionally asked us to uncover the identity of people involved in the theft and to retrieve the stolen artefacts," CGI Group CEO Zvika Naveh told AFP.But a museum representative, when asked by AFP, denied this."The Louvre management denies it," they said, without further comment.Asked for clarification, Naveh said the request had come "via an intermediary acting on behalf of the Louvre and other entities, including insurance companies".The Louvre's management reiterated that it had not "contacted anyone". The 2019 robbery at Dresden's Green Vault museum saw the theft of 18th-century jewels worth 113 million euros ($132 million). French police are on the hunt for thieves who made off with nine pieces of priceless jewellery after breaking into the Louvre on Sunday, one of which -- a crown covered in more than 1,000 diamonds -- they dropped as they fled.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) will face an estimated 90 billion-rupee ($1.03 billion) impact as the lender transitions to a central bank-mandated credit loss framework by 2031, its chief executive said on Monday.The country's third-largest state-owned lender by market capitalisation is one of the first to disclose an estimate on the likely effect of the rules, issued by the Reserve Bank of India earlier this month, to its balance sheet."The impact comes to around 90 billion rupees," said Ashok Chandra, PNB's managing director and CEO in an interview with Reuters. "The bank has done a rough estimate as this (new credit rules) was already in the pipeline ... I don't see any further deviation."The RBI's draft guidelines require banks to transition to an expected credit loss (ECL) framework, wherein funds are set aside to cover likely risk of default, over a five-year period starting April 1, 2027. At present, provisions for bad loans are made when a loan becomes overdue.Top Indian banks, including the State Bank of India , are in the process of evaluating the impact from the transition.As per internal estimates, Chandra said, the New Delhi-based bank will face an impact of around 0.85 percentage points to its capital to risk assets ratio (CRAR), a metric that measures bank's capital adequacy.PNB's CRAR was at 17.19%, as on September 30, according to the company's presentation. As per RBI's latest financial stability report, Indian commercial banks had a CRAR of 17.3% at March-end.The impact will be offset by the profit generated from the bank's operations in the normal course, said Chandra."I think we will be able to manage with our internal accrual itself. Bank is well poised to take care of all requirements which is going to come in future."For PNB, a majority of these provisions will be for stage-two assets in its retail, agriculture and small and medium enterprises portfolios, Chandra said.Stage-two assets refer to high-risk loans where the borrower has missed a repayment deadline but has not turned into a non-performing asset.The lender on Saturday reported a net profit of 49.04 billion rupees for the second quarter, up 14% from a year earlier. Chandra projects the bank to post a net profit of over 150 billion rupees for the 2026 financial year.