The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0854 GMT - Auction Technology Group's revenue decline in its industrial & commercial segment is a large concern, RBC Capital Markets analyst Ross Broadfoot says in a note. This is despite an in-line statement which may, on the surface, reassure some investors, he says. Although it is positive that arts & antiques saw growth in its take-rate--revenue as a percentage of gross merchandise value--it appears the business is becoming more reliant on arts & antiques to offset weakness in industrial & commercial, Broadfoot says. Shares are up 1.6% at 345 pence and are down 42% over the past 12 months. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
0827 GMT - European indexes open to a sea of green, recouping some of this week's losses after President Trump backtracked on his threats to impose tariffs in relation to his plan to control Greenland. Sectors that investors expected tariffs to hit most severely, like luxury and automakers, gain. In Frankfurt, the DAX jumps 1.25% as auto makers surge, with Volkswagen gaining 5.1%. The French CAC 40 and Italian FTSE MIB rise 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively, both spurred higher by recovering luxury stocks. Kering gains 2.6% in Paris, while Brunello Cucinelli is up 3.1% in Milan. Spain's IBEX 35 climbs 1.1% The FTSE 100 gains 0.7% even as miners fall back, while the Dutch AEX rises 1% as semiconductor stocks rally. BE Semiconductor is up 2.2%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0810 GMT - Infosys sees a good outlook for artificial intelligence services, Chief Executive Salil Parekh tells CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Indian technology company has identified six areas of new types of opportunities and growth, such as software development, he says. This momentum in AI is partly why Infosys raised its revenue guidance for the year, Parekh adds. Nevertheless, there are some areas of compression because of AI and some industries like retail or high tech don't have an outlook as clear as financial services does, the CEO says. A key risk for investors remains that India is still without a U.S trade deal and subject to significant tariffs. Tariff discussions are however more on goods rather than on services, Parekh says. (nina.kienle@wsj.com)
0758 GMT - Nordic markets are seen opening higher, with IG calling the OMXS30 up 1% at around 3018. President Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte yesterday reached agreement on the Greenland issue, with Trump telling CNBC that NATO's participation in the Golden Dome and mineral rights for the U.S. will be included. It also means that the U.S. will not impose tariffs on several European countries on Feb. 1. Trump's announcement was received positively on the U.S. stock exchanges, where both the S&P and Nasdaq gained 1.2%, SEB head of analysis Karl Steiner writes. In Asia, stock markets are generally higher and stock market futures point to positive openings in Europe and the U.S. Norges Bank is expected to keep the policy rate at 4.00% today. U.S. PCE inflation data are also due. OMXS30 closed at 2988.02, OMXN40 at 2656.17 and OBX at 1646.61. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
0752 GMT - United Overseas Bank's credit costs are likely to have normalized in 4Q, says Macquarie Capital's Jayden Vantarakis in an email. The Singapore lender built sufficient buffers in 3Q, lifting its general allowance and specific coverage to levels that are comparable with peers, he says. Credit card fees are typically strong in 4Q and UOB is more exposed to this segment than other local banks, he adds. He also views UOB's wealth business as an opportunity, given it is underweight in that segment relative to peers. Macquarie upgrades its rating on UOB to outperform from neutral and raises its target price to S$41.00 from S$31.91. Shares rise 2.1% to S$37.54. (megan.cheah@wsj.com; amanda.lee@wsj.com)
0750 GMT - Malaysia's central bank appears set for a prolonged hold, keeping the policy rate unchanged at 2.75% throughout 2026 as growth remains firm and inflation stays contained, Capital Economics senior Asia economist Gareth Leather says in a note. Bank Negara's latest announcement signals it's in no rush to adjust rates. With December's headline inflation standing at 1.6%, a level policymakers are likely comfortable with, despite BNM not operating with a formal target, he says. With advance estimates showing an "impressive" 5.7% GDP growth in 4Q 2025, CE thinks policymakers are likely to see little urgency to cut rates further, with 2026 growth expected at around 5%. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
0749 GMT - Deutsche Boerse's 5.30 billion-euro deal to acquire Allfunds was reached on terms that are different from those first disclosed in November and is expected to boost earnings within the first year, JPMorgan analysts write. The deal should lead to a cash earnings-per-share benefit in the high-single percentage digit range in the full year after completion, JPM says. While European fund-technology company Allfunds is still valued at 8.80 a share, Deutsche Boerse is offering 6 euros in cash, 2.60 in its own stock and a dividend of up to 20 European cents per Allfunds share. In November, the German stock-exchange operator said it would split the cash and stock components equally at 4.30 euros, plus a 20 European-cent dividend, for each Allfunds share. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0708 GMT - Centurion Accommodation REIT stands to benefit from multi-year sector tailwinds, CGS International analysts say in a research report. These include the construction upcycle in Singapore and robust demand for purpose-built student accommodation in the U.K. and Australia, the analysts say. The REIT's portfolio stands at S$2.1 billion as of January 2026, with around 64% comprising purpose-built workers accommodation in Singapore and 36% comprising PBSA in the U.K. and Australia. CGS International likes the REIT for its strong and visible distribution-per-unit growth and potential for inorganic and organic opportunities. It initiates coverage of the REIT with an add rating and a target price of S$1.38. Units are 3.6% higher at S$1.14. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
0647 GMT - The intersection between geopolitics and artificial intelligence is now stronger than ever, says Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Antonio Neri. "Governments are all thinking about how to use AI to protect themselves and also to create sovereignty," he tells the WSJ Leadership Institute at Davos, Switzerland, where he has spent days talking with various governments about how to build sovereign AI clouds. Everyone wants to invest in owning parts of the technology stack, which is essential for sovereignty, but at the same time, they don't want to rely on others like China or the U.S., says Neri. "Understandably, they need to work with both at some point, but the reality is that over time, we're going to see more investment locally to own their own destiny." (fabiana.negrinochoa@wsj.com)
0634 GMT - There will likely be "investment opportunities galore" in 2026, Olga Bitel, global strategist of William Blair Investment Management says in a note, as what she calls a "long investment cycle" has begun. She expects AI infrastructure to be a main growth area, covering data centers, grid investments, and various energy sources including nuclear, renewables and natural gas. In particular, she says the industrialization of data has only just begun and the build-out and proliferation of data centers are likely to continue. Defense industries, including drones, robotics and unmanned vehicles, also present growing opportunities, increasingly across Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan, in addition to the U.S. and Europe. By markets, Bitel sees opportunities in Asian emerging markets as well as in commodities exporters like South Africa, Brazil and Chile.(jason.chau@wsj.com)
0630 GMT - Tariffs have been a cost headwind for Ralph Lauren, but the company has a good toolkit for addressing that, says CEO Patrice Louvet. Part of that is thanks to lessons learned from Covid, he says in an interview with the WSJ Leadership Institute at Davos, Switzerland. Covid proved the importance of agility and diversification, he says. "We realized that we were too concentrated in a limited number of markets and with a limited number of suppliers," Louvet says. "As a result of that, no market now is more than 20% of any of our business. We have dual sourcing across all of our products...and we have the ability to move things around depending on what we're seeing in a given market." (fabiana.negrinochoa@wsj.com)
0618 GMT - India could a key market for Binance as it works towards its goal of reaching 1 billion customers. The country is an "extremely big" market with a tech-savvy, young population where cryptocurrency is being embraced, says Binance Co-Chief Executive Richard Teng in an interview with CNBC at the Davos World Economic Forum. Despite India's population taking to cryptocurrency quickly, its regulators are more wary of the asset class and scrutinize it closely. Binance has therefore been "working closely" with India's policy makers, says Teng. "I think [a] lack of knowledge sometimes causes misgivings," he says, noting former crypto sceptics are turning into believers after gaining "deep understanding" of the asset. The Binance co-CEO believes the company can offer the requisite knowledge to regulators and encourage them to embrace the sector. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 22, 2026 03:55 ET (08:55 GMT)
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