The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1854 ET - Air New Zealand is exposed to an additional daily fuel cost of NZ$4 million-NZ$5 million after jet fuel prices rose on the Iran conflict, and this for a business that is loss-making, estimates Forsyth Barr. "The risk to its near-term losses is materially to the downside if current oil market conditions persist,'" says analyst Andy Bowley, who rates the carrier at underperform. Air New Zealand purchases around 22,000 bbls of jet fuel daily. Its 2H fuel cost guidance is based on a crack spread of US$20/bbl. Forsyth Barr notes that crack spreads rose to US$140/bbl, from an already elevated US$45/bbl after Iran was attacked. Air New Zealand is down 6.4% at NZ$0.51. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1850 ET - Gap says it expects limited help from changing tariff policies this quarter. Finance chiefKatrina O'Connell says the company's guidance does not reflect the Supreme Court's ruling striking down President Trump's global tariffs last month, which set the stage for a Wednesday ruling by a New York federal judge that may pave the way for companies to collect refunds. Gap is waiting for more clarity before changing its plans, O'Connell says. "We expect any benefit to Q1 to be minimal based on the timing of receipts," O'Connell says during a call with analysts. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1846 ET - Japanese stocks may decline due to continued concerns about higher energy costs and a shortage of petrochemical products amid the Middle East conflict. Nikkei futures are down 1.5% at 54660 on the SGX. The dollar is at 157.52 yen, compared with Y157.16 as of Thursday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are focusing on any developments on Iran and crude oil prices. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.9% to 55278.06 on Thursday. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com)
1844 ET - Morgan Stanley analysts see their suggestion that Life360's new pet tracker could attract an additional one million subscribers as increasingly realistic. The MS analysts, who floated the scenario last year, observe that users have already registered five million pets with the location-app provider. With the company prepared and able to subsidize tracking devices, the MS analysts write in a note that their scenario is now "very realistic". They caution that Life360 is optimizing its model and expansion over a long time horizon but see a willingness to push for dominance that helps support a continued overweight rating. MS has a A$50.00 target price on Life360's Australia-listed stock, which is up 0.4% at A$21.62. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
1832 ET - Surging refining margins due to the Iran conflict might provide a meaningful tailwind for both Ampol and Viva Energy in 1H, Macquarie says. Refining margins are higher on perceived risk and by Iran targeting facilities in the Middle East, with 550,000 barrels/day temporarily offline at Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura plant. "Adding further upward pressure to margins, China's government is imposing a ban on the export of diesel and gasoline by state-owned enterprises during the current Strait of Hormuz crisis (despite having 4-5 months of strategic reserves cover)," Macquarie says. Its price target on Ampol rises 11% to A$36.00/share. Viva Energy's price target is unchanged at A$2.70/share by Macquarie, which has outperform calls on both stocks. Ampol is up 1.2% at A$32.45 and Viva Energy is 3.4% higher at A$2.14 today. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
The best-performing Australian tech and telecommunications stocks belong to those companies showing that they are using AI to lower costs or raise revenues, Macquarie analysts say. They point out that enterprise-software provider Technology One, logistics-software developer WiseTech Global and telecommunications operator Telstra are the only companies to see their market capitalizations rise on the announcement of their most recent financial results. Every other stock they cover fell, they write in a note. It seems clear to them that, for stocks to re-rate, companies must prove that they their risk of AI disruption is limited and that AI can provide economic value. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
1756 ET - Marvell Technology's management is confident data center demand will remain strong through fiscal 2028. Chief Executive Matt Murphy tells investors he is expecting the rate of capital expenditures from AI hyperscalers will moderate in fiscal 2028 compared with the current fiscal year, but still stay high. He anticipates Marvell's overall revenue in fiscal 2028 will grow close to 40% year-over-year, reaching about $15 billion. That is $2 billion higher than the outlook Marvell provided during its December earnings call. The outlook is based on demand the company is seeing now, as well as designs that are already in execution, Murphy says. Shares climbs 15% after hours. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1754 ET - Costco sold a $150,000, emerald cut 5.8 carat diamond ring in the second quarter, Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip says on an analyst call. Other notable sales included a $20,000 baseball with Babe Ruth's autograph and nearly 200 luxury Whisper golf carts. "Unique items continue to play an important role in creating excitement for our members," Millerchip says. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1750 ET - Further supply disruptions stemming from the Iran conflict are likely to benefit Woodside Energy more than Santos when driving prices of liquefied natural gas higher, Citi says. Asian LNG prices have surged since hostilities began. The Japan Korea Marker, a key pricing benchmark, has risen above US$20/mmbtu as incentive pricing attempts to attract cargoes to replace impacted volumes, analyst Tom Wallington highlights. "We estimate Woodside's hub-linked LNG exposure to be 27% in 1H, seasonally lower than the 30% guided for 2026 but still higher than Santos's 17% gas hub exposure," Citi says. Woodside's share price ended Thursday at A$30.45, hovering close to a two-year high. Santos ended at A$7.32.(david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1734 ET - The latest commentary by competitors of Nufarm supports Bell Potter's buy call on the crop-chemicals supplier. "Recent peer reporting has highlighted continued margin recovery, with trade flows indicating a solid level of inventory rebuild ahead of major selling windows," analyst Jonathan Snape says. Bell Potter expects Nufarm's 1H to show a continuation of the margin recovery story that became evident in 2H of FY 2025 in its crop protection business. It also expects a material turnaround in Omega-3 earnings. "The foundations for 2H selling windows look positive with the potential for prolonged Middle East conflict to elevate crop protection pricing," the bank adds. It retains a A$3.60/share price target on Nufarm, which ended Thursday at A$2.09. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1720 ET - Boss Energy needs record 4Q output if it's to achieve annual guidance of 1.6 million pounds of U3O8, a common compound of uranium. That's after rain restricted access to its Honeymoon mine in South Australia, temporarily halting supplies of reagents and other goods needed for production. Boss forecasts 240,000-270,000 lbs of uranium in 3Q. To achieve its guidance, Boss needs to produce 488,000-518,000 lbs in 4Q, Jefferies says. It retains a hold call on Boss and A$1.60/share price target. Boss ended Thursday at A$1.74. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1651 ET - Australian stocks are poised to resume their downward slide after oil prices rose and U.S. equities fell. ASX futures are down by 1.4% ahead of Friday's session, suggesting that the S&P/ASX 200 will add to the 2.8% decline accumulated so far this week. The benchmark index bounced 0.4% Thursday but remains on course for its largest weekly fall since April 2025. In the U.S., the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.6%, the S&P 500 lost 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3%. Australian oil stocks should rise after Brent crude, the global energy benchmark, climbed above US$85 a barrel. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 05, 2026 18:54 ET (23:54 GMT)
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