The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
1408 ET - Lyft is most at risk of being disrupted by autonomous vehicles, Wedbush analysts say, downgrading the stock to underperform from neutral. The company is heavily exposed to the U.S. ridesharing market and has an undiversified offering mix, the analysts say. They think autonomous-vehicle operators will opt for more first-party distribution, which will make it hard for Lyft to carve out a specialized focus within autonomous driving. "We believe the market is underestimating the negative terminal value impact that AVs may have on Lyft's DCF [discounted cash flow] value," the analysts say. Lyft is off 2.5%, and up 50% year-to-date. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1315 ET - Global credit in 2026 will face conditions and uncertainties that will keep risks elevated, Fitch Ratings says. However, global credit will begin the year with a generally benign outlook, according to the agency, adding that it expects the credit resilience seen this year to continue. The AI investment boom shows little sign of slowing, even as concerns about the risk of badly allocated business investments and over-extended valuations have grown, Fitch says. Fiscal support in major economies and a return to neutral monetary policies in the U.S. and Europe will also cushion the economy and investor risk sentiment, Fitch adds. However, risk remain, among them China's private investment contraction and the threat of an overheating U.S. economy, Fitch says. (stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com)
0718 ET - Shares in Oracle jump 5% premarket on reports it will have a 15% stake in TikTok's U.S. operations. After a week of heavy selling--Oracle is down 10% on week--investors favored its participation in the deal that will allow TikTok to continue its U.S. operations. Oracle closed down Thursday around 45% from its all-time high of $328.33 on Sept. 10, a day that was "the most extreme manifestation of AI speculative mania this year," writes Jefferies analyst Christopher Wood. U.S. tech stocks are boosted premarket by a lower-than-expected U.S. inflation print. CoreWeave jumps 5%, while futures for Broadcom, AMD and Nvidia all rise. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0338 ET - Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment's plan to acquire Sizone Electronic Technology aligns with its goal to expand into the chemical mechanical planarization business, Daiwa analysts say in a research note. CMP is a critical process using chemical slurries and mechanical polishing to create perfectly flat, smooth wafer surfaces. AMEC aims to expand its product coverage from etching, deposition to wet process tools like CMP, the analysts say. Sizone, established in 2018, is a fairly young company with a team from Silicon Valley, the analysts note. Daiwa estimates that China's 2025 CMP demand is around 9.5 billion yuan, with a localization rate close to 40%. Hwatsing is the CMP leader in China, with a large market share in memory and legacy nodes. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
0332 ET - European indexes are largely flat at the open as investors process a sweep of economic data. The U.K. FTSE 100 is up 0.05%, dragged by housebuilders and miners. Consumer sentiment in Germany hit a near two-year low as retailers head into Christmas, though the index nudges up by 0.05%. Spain's IBEX 35 gains 0.1% as banks continue their strong run, while financials also spur the Italian FTSE MIB to climb 0.2%. Telecom Italia is the biggest riser in the index, climbing 2.25%. Gains for Renault and banks were partially offset by losses for luxuries in the French CAC 40, with the index up 0.1%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0314 ET - Bitcoin rises after a tech-led rally in U.S. stocks overnight, although the cryptocurrency continues to trade below $90,000. Micron shares jumped after forecasting sharply higher profits on strong AI demand, lifting semiconductor peers, IG analysts say in note. Stocks were also boosted by Thursday's lower-than-expected U.S. inflation data that cemented expectations for further interest rates cuts by the Federal Reserve. However, data for October are missing due to the recent government shutdown, meaning investors are unable to draw any concrete conclusions about the inflation outlook. Bitcoin rises 2.9% to $88,080, LSEG data show.(renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0117 ET - Techtronic Industries' revenue growth outlook could prompt a re-rating of its shares, Citi analysts Eric Lau and Alice Cai say in a note. The company expects revenue to rise by a high-single-digit rate next year, accelerating from a mid-single-digit increase this year. The analysts attribute the stronger outlook to favorable point-of-sale demand trends for the cordless tool maker. Hong Kong-based Techtronic also said its exit from its HART tools business should be margin-accretive, further supporting its outlook next year. Citi maintains its buy rating and HK$125.00 target price. Shares rise 0.55% to HK$91.75. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0114 ET - Tencent and NetEase appear poised for robust game launches in 2026, though their approaches differ, Daiwa analyst John Choi says in a research note. Tencent plans to launch a range of titles across mobile, PC, and console, focusing on shooting and action titles, the analyst notes. However, NetEase's lineup is centered on a few high-profile flagship games such as "Ananta" and "Sea of Remnants," he says. Both companies will emphasize on global expansion of these titles, building on lessons from recent successes, such as the strong overseas launch of NetEase's "Where Winds Meet." Tencent's shares are 1.65% higher at HK$615.00 and NetEase's are up 1.8% at HK$215.00. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
2153 ET - Earnings and expectations for stimulus measures should remain key drivers for Chinese tech stocks in 2026, Daiwa analyst John Choi says. Hong Kong and China stock markets are unlikely to see a significant liquidity boost from global funds in 2026 unless China makes another DeepSeek-like tech breakthrough, the analyst says. Any concerns about a U.S. AI bubble could negatively impact sentiment toward Chinese AI names, he adds. Among Chinese large-cap names, Daiwa thinks Tencent and Alibaba are well-positioned to benefit from AI adoption. The brokerage also likes Baidu given its strong AI-native revenue streams, including robust growth in cloud services. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
2125 ET - Chinese AI large language models are likely narrowing the gap with U.S. peers at a faster pace than market expectations, Daiwa analyst John Choi says in a note. Daiwa estimates the gap is narrowed from more than a year--down to a few months. China's open-source models have grown from negligible usage in late 2024 to around 30% of total global LLM token usage in some weeks of 2025, the analyst says, citing OpenRouter data. China's LLM makers could target overseas expansion in 2026 as they gain traction, the analyst says. The models are increasingly used for code generation and infrastructure workloads, which serves as an indication of increasing sophistication in AI development, he notes. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
2109 ET - Malaysia's tech sector outlook appears positive, supported by expanding global semiconductor up-cycle and resilient front-end capital expenditure outlook, Kenanga IB analyst Cheow Ming Liang says in a note. Despite the positive view, Kenanga IB's confidence has softened due to rising risks in 1H 2026, including weaker AI monetization, tighter memory supply lifting device costs, as well as lingering auto supply-chain uncertainty, he adds. Kenanga maintains an overweight rating on Malaysia's tech sector, and pegs Kelington Group and UWC Bhd. as top picks. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 19, 2025 16:50 ET (21:50 GMT)
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