Why Jefferies Is Cautious On HCLTech Despite Murmurs Of A Fed Rate Cut?

Shares of IT major HCLTech fell on Friday morning as global brokerage firm Jefferies remained cautious about the stock.

What Happened: Jefferies put a "hold" call on the scrip with a target price of ₹1390. The brokerage said the management expects no change in IT spending patterns this year. The management also sees greater traction on Gen-AI-led engagements. 

The management also sees growth in the Global Capacity Centres as a headwind, but it expects to be better placed due to its limited exposure to large U.S. banks. 

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HCLTech recently started multiple projects in AI. In May, HCLTech signed a deal with Arm to create custom silicon chips that are optimized for AI workloads. The deal looked to address solutions for boosting the computing efficiency of data centre environments and meeting the evolving needs of customers.

On Monday, HCLTech launched an Enterprise AI foundry to drive AI efficiency across enterprise value chains. The AI foundry is tuned for Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), the company said. 

On Wednesday, the company signed a $278 million (₹2,322 crore) contract with Deutsche Apotheker- und Ärztebank eG (apoBank).

HCLTech and other IT stocks gained on Thursday after U.S. inflation data came softer than expected in May, sparking hopes of rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve.

Price Action: Shares of HCLTech fell 1.11% to ₹1,428.05 on Friday morning. 

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