The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1042 GMT - China could maintain electric-vehicle demand growth in December, thanks to year-end promotions and potential front-loading ahead of the phaseout of purchase tax exemptions, HSBC Global Research analysts write in a note. Starting Jan. 1, battery EVs and hybrids will transition from a full purchase tax exemption to a 50% exemption. However, the analysts reckon Beijing will continue to support EV purchases next year, as evidenced by recent guidance from the Central Economic Work Conference. The meeting emphasized the need to boost domestic consumption and optimize trade-in programs, they note. Among Chinese automakers, HSBC Global Research prefers those with robust product pipelines poised to gain share in the mass-market segment, including BYD, Geely Auto and Leapmotor. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)
1041 GMT - A return of global concern over the AI investment case sends European AI-related stocks down across the board. France's STMicroelectronics drops 2.05%, as falls for semiconductor companies ASML, BE Semiconductor and ASM drag the Netherlands' tech-dominated AEX index down 0.5%. The three companies fall 1.85%, 1.25% and 0.7%, respectively. The moves follow three days of falls in the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which closed 0.6% lower on Monday, as traders worry about an AI bubble and high capital expenditure. Asian trading also saw falls for tech stocks, including Hong Kong's Semiconductor Manufacturing International and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
1036 GMT - Novo Nordisk investors need to take into account a low-single-digit percentage headwind to group growth from the White House deal on drug pricing, says JPMorgan, after speaking with Novo Nordisk CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar. Doustdar said the White House deal on Medicare pricing will increase volume growth, which should start materializing in mid-2026 and more than offset the impact from lower prices, the bank says. There may be a lag between the price cuts and subsequent increase in volume growth, though. There is also a potential headwind to group growth from Ozempic generics in a number of markets, it adds. Despite some signs of a slowdown in growth of compounders--made-to-order substitutes for approved drugs--Doustdar stressed that some patients on compounded drugs might still be unable to afford approved products, JPMorgan says. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
1035 GMT - Insured natural-catastrophe losses are set to decline this year compared with 2024, but remain above the $100 billion-mark for the sixth year in a row, according to the Swiss Re Institute. The research arm of the Zurich-based reinsurer estimates insured natural-catastrophe losses in 2025 at $107 billion, or 24% lower than the amount recorded in 2024. The Los Angeles wildfires are the main driver of insured losses this year, with insured losses of $40 billion making it the costliest ever wildfire event globally, according to the institute. The U.S. is the most affected market by insured catastrophe losses, accounting for 83% of the estimated global total, it says. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
1024 GMT - Hermes may not book any acceleration in sales growth in the year's last quarter, analysts at Bernstein write, pointing to a tough comparison base and challenges in the perfume division. The French luxury-fashion house recorded a 9.6% uptick in its top line over the third quarter, adjusted for currency effects. "Consensus expectations for 2025 stand at [growth of] 8.5%, and seem to incorporate these headwinds," the brokerage says. It keeps an outperform rating and a 2,650-euro target price on the Paris-listed stock. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)
1024 GMT - Shell appears unlikely to bid for British peer BP after restrictions on its ability to do so expire on Dec. 26, AJ Bell's Russ Mould writes, after a report from the Financial Times Tuesday said that Shell's head of mergers departed after CEO Wael Sawan blocked a bid for its rival. If the reports are accurate, it hints that Shell is unlikely to make a move, Mould says. Combining the two business, plus absorbing BP's considerable debt, could have potentially derailed Sawan's efforts to drive Shell forward, he adds. Shell's shares are down 1.1% at 2,669 pence and BP's are down 0.9% at 433.55 pence.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
1022 GMT - Hollywood Bowl's results for fiscal 2025 show the strength of its investment-led model and the quality of its management, Shore Capital analyst Greg Johnson says in a note. The company states that it remains focused on delivering sustainable growth, and although it faces challenging comparatives in the early part of fiscal 2026, comparisons are set to ease as the year progresses, Johnson says. "The new news to us today was the strength in U.K. spend per game, which offset a much more marked decline in volume growth over the spring and summer and provides easier comps into 2H than previously anticipated," he says. Shares are up 0.7% at 281.50 pence. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
1010 GMT - U.K. housebuilders are boosted by a bump in already-high expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates, AJ Bell's investment director Russ Mould writes. The U.K.'s headline unemployment figure rose to 5.1% for August-October, giving the country's central bank further motivation for rate cuts, Mould says. Markets are pricing in a 92% probability of a 25 basis points rate cut when the bank's monetary policy committee meets Thursday, according to LSEG. Housebuilders Crest Nicholson, Barratt Redrow and Berkeley Group rise 0.63%, 0.42% and 0.37%, respectively, while the FTSE 100 real estate sector index is up 0.4%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
1009 GMT - Centrica's Spirit Energy selling a collection of producing natural gas fields to Serica Energy continues the trend of larger operators divesting assets to smaller operators, AJ Bell's Russ Mould writes. Across the North Sea, smaller and more agile companies have been buying fields, he adds. "The disposal will free up Spirit's time and resources for the development of the Morecambe Net Zero carbon storage project" he writes. In exchange, Serica gets additional reserves and an immediate injection of cash flow, he adds. "On this basis you can see why the deal suits both parties," Mould says. Centrica shares fall 1.1% to 165.95 pence, while Serica's rises 2.4% to 166 pence. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
1000 GMT - Pricing competition in China's GLP-1 weight-loss drug market is expected to heat up, HSBC analysts say in a note. The inclusion of Eli Lilly's tirzepatide treatment in China's national reimbursement drug list was a surprise to the market and raises concerns about the sales outlook of Innovent's mazdutide drug, they say. A price cut for GLP-1 drugs will quickly raise market penetration as the treatments only received approval in China in 2025. However, given there are multiple domestic GLP-1 treatments in the pipeline, a more aggressive pricing strategy may hurt sales for all drugmakers, they add. HSBC awaits more updates from China's oral GLP-1 developers, including Ascletis and Hengrui. The bank maintains a buy call on Innovent and hold ratings on Livzon and Fosun Pharma. (jason.chau@wsj.com)
0945 GMT - The Government of Canada's approval for Anglo American's merger with Teck Resources removes a key regulatory risk, J.P. Morgan analysts write. The combination of the mining companies was cleared under the Investment Canada Act. The deal, which has also cleared competition scrutiny in Canada and Australia, will position Anglo-Teck as a significant force in copper, they write. Anglo American's shares trade up 0.2% at 2,858 pence. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0931 GMT - Innovation in China's healthcare sector should remain a key theme for 2026 despite recent underperformance, which Nomura analyst Jialin Zhang attributes to profit-taking. Zhang expects out-licensing activity to stay strong, supported by continued research and development investment, sustained cost and efficiency advantages over overseas peers, and fewer geopolitical hurdles following the recent U.S.-China trade truce. Zhang says it is critical to monitor the clinical progress of out-licensed assets next year, including data readouts and the speed of clinical trials. RNAi-based therapies could drive the next wave of out-licensing after weight-loss and oncology treatments, he adds, with IPO filings from RNAi companies potentially drawing further investor interest to the segment. Nomura tips Hengrui, Innovent, BeOne Medicines, Wuxi XDC and Mindray as its sector picks. (jason.chau@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 16, 2025 05:42 ET (10:42 GMT)
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