The latest Market Talks covering Financial Services. Exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
1757 GMT - Alibaba is seeing growth from several economic stimulus packages, and expects more stimulus measures to come, CEO Eddie Wu says on a call with analysts. The e-commerce giant has already seen a boost to its performance across categories such as home appliance and automobile purchases. Wu thinks "the stimulus measures are really just getting started," and believes they will have a positive impact on driving consumption overall. These policies will also help reduce merchant destocking cycles and have a medium-to long-term effect in terms of driving the consumption of branded goods, the executive adds. (sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix)
1458 GMT - Royal Bank of Canada valuation and an expectation investors will switch into underperforming or discount banks has TD Cowen dropping its bullish call on the big Canadian lender. TD analysts now see greater potential in those banks with the potential to improve sub-par return on equity, where Royal Bank's healthy ROE will be difficult to build on without hefty share buybacks. TD shifts to a hold stands from buy, though its price target rises by C$2 to C$180. Its analysts believe RY has had difficulty breaking through a 15% price-earnings premium to the group of peer banks, and it is trading at around that spot now, and historically this is the level it has traded down. The shares are now 0.9% lower at C$170.52, though remain up 27% in 2024. (robb.stewart@wsj.com)
1103 GMT - Aviva's results have shown that the British insurer and asset manager's strategy and business model are working well, HSBC says in a research note. Analysts point out that shares have fallen since mid-year highs but the stock offers attractive growth and capital returns. HSBC raises its rating on the stock to buy from hold and lifts its target price to 555 pence from 520 pence. Aviva has made notable improvements in its core areas and is focusing on growing its capital-light businesses, operational efficiencies and enhancing customer relationships, they say. "We believe the group is delivering on its strategy and could overachieve on its 2026 targets," they write. Shares in London rise 1.3% to 481.4 pence and have gained 11% year to date. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 16, 2024 04:20 ET (09:20 GMT)
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