The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1803 ET - Jefferies doesn't share EML Payments's confidence in achieving its FY 2028 financial targets. EML Payments recently reaffirmed goals that include a 35% underlying Ebitda margin, EPS of A$0.13, and a cost-to-income ratio of less than 40%. "We are cautious on these targets, given EML remains modestly behind in FY26, and there is still a risky implementation required in migrating customers to the new tech platform, which may not be completed by FY28," analyst Roger Samuel says. Its price target falls 22% to A$0.78/share. Still, Jefferies retains a buy call on the stock. EML Payments ended Monday at A$0.59. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1757 ET - Packaging company Amcor's margins are likely to be squeezed by attacks on Middle East energy infrastructure that have disrupted raw-materials supply, Jefferies says. It highlights a 15%-30% rise in resin prices compared to levels before the conflict began. Resins account for around half of Amcor's raw-materials costs, or US$6 billion. Jefferies doesn't expect a sustained drag on margins, but cuts its adjusted EPS forecast by 1% to the bottom of Amcor's guidance range of US$4.00-US$4.15/share. It also projects Amcor's free cash flow at US$1.75 billion, missing company expectations. Jefferies's price target falls by 9.6% to A$75.27/share. Amcor ended Monday at A$55.24.(david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1609 ET - Canadian PM Mark Carney's efforts to drum up demand for the country's oil and gas, and receptiveness to resource-project development, is pushing energy valuations on the main Toronto stock market to near-decade highs, says National Bank Financial. The firm says valuations in the S&P/TSX energy component have climbed to 24 times forward earnings. That's sharply higher than in 2022, when energy prices surged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, former PM Justin Trudeau played down expectations of Canada ramping up energy production to meet new demand in Europe. Carney's tone stands in contrast, NBF says, adding that might help explain why Canadian energy stocks are trading at a roughly 20% premium relative to their U.S. counterparts. (paul.vieira@wsj.com; @paulvieira)
1606 ET - U.S. stocks rise sharply and oil prices tumble after President Trump says the U.S. will postpone strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure as the countries are in talks over a potential deal to end the war. The announcement was a sharp reversal of escalating tensions over the weekend. All S&P 500 sectors and every member of the Magnificent 7 stocks rose. Consumer discretionary shares are the best performers as investors added risk. DJIA rises 631 points, or 1.4%, to 46208, the S&P 500 gains 1.2% to 6581 and the Nasdaq rises 1.4% to 21946. (patrick.sullivan@wsj.com)
1605 ET - As artificial-intelligence agents become an increasingly widespread enterprise tool, Microsoft may be missing its window to capitalize on the shift, Melius analysts write in a note. The company's thesis is that AI agents will buy Microsoft seats en masse, and that its Fabric data analytics platform gives it an additional moat. But the notion that Microsoft would be the AI gateway of choice is slipping as customers turn to tools like OpenClaw or derivatives like Nvidia's NemoClaw, the analysts write. "Microsoft in reality is still a seat-first SaaS company," they write. "Microsoft may end up a credible reseller of frontier models, but customers may soon demand commodity margins for this service, not the toll booth margins of today - and it is hard to believe that customers will like their agents being charged a full seat for access to 365." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1549 ET - Microsoft's cloud revenue from Azure is likely to post a much smaller beat, if any, than Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, as the company's efforts to improve its Copilot product pressure its cloud capacity, Melius analysts write in a note. "Fixing Copilot is key to survival," the analysts write. "However, in order to fix it, Microsoft needs to use more of its own Azure capacity to train its own models now and later it will need to allocate more capacity for inference if customers actually use it." The company's drive to develop superintelligence through its own frontier models will also demand billions in computing capacity, the analysts write - all of which will be unavailable to Azure customers. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1534 ET - Microsoft may be at risk of losing ground to its own artificial-intelligence supplier, Meilus analysts write in a note, warning that "the fox is in the henhouse." Among Microsoft's key selling points for Copilot is its integration with Anthropic's Claude models.But enterprises can buy access to Claude directly, while Claude Cowork, unlike Copilot, can run on local devices or be routed through cloud services other than Microsoft's Azure. Microsoft "is now on pace to spend $500M annually licensing Anthropic's models just to keep Copilot competitive," the analysts write. "The best thing in Microsoft's flagship $99 AI bundle is Anthropic IP, which raises an obvious question - what happens to Microsoft as Anthropic's capabilities increasingly become 'the product' rather than just an integration?" (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1507 ET - Microsoft's Copilot artificial-intelligence tool has struggled to gain traction in both the commercial and enterprise segments, Melius analysts write in a note. They write that only 3% of Microsoft 365 commercial users pay for Copilot, while the company's paid subscriber share among enterprise users fell to 11.5% from 18.8% in six months, according to data from Recon Analytics. The reorganization of Microsoft's Copilot teams and the retirement of Rajesh Jha, a key executive for the Office and 365 ecosystem, suggest that CEO Satya Nadella is unhappy with Copilot's progression thus far. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1449 ET - There's potential for Nike's fiscal 4Q guidance to come in well below Wall Street's estimates, weighing on already-subdued investor sentiment, Deutsche Bank analysts say in a note. "With year two of the turnaround coming to an end, we suspect 4Q26 guidance will test investor patience," the analysts say. Nike has some encouraging signs, with growing relevance in the running category and its Jordan retro sneakers in high demand, but there's no meaningful catalysts ahead that would help estimates or valuation move higher, the analysts say. They cut their estimates across the board, noting their fiscal 2027 earnings-per-share forecast is now about 30% below consensus estimates as they anticipate slower growth ahead. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1444 ET - Deutsche Bank analysts say they're paring back expectations for quarterly results from Nike amid lingering concerns. Investors are worried that Nike could be facing structural demand issues in China and at its Converse brand, and that the company's wholesale channel is driving an outsized portion of its resurgence, the analysts say. "Our intraquarter checks largely corroborate these arguments," and show that trends in Europe have deteriorated, the analysts say. Newer running products, like the Vomero Plus, are also increasingly showing up in off-price stores, they say. "Taken together, these indicators temper our expectations for a robust update from NKE," they say, particularly given the company's recent disclosure of a $300 million restructuring charge that will be mostly recognized in the fiscal third quarter. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1425 ET - Despite the AI jitters that have hit software companies in recent weeks, DesCartes Systems still has a proprietary network mote that sets it apart. "DesCartes continues to support its considerable data advantage across over 170,000 trade parties in 140 countries providing meaningful opportunity to embed AI capabilities," William Blair's Dylan Becker says in a note. The analyst notes that roughly 65% of global trade flows through the company's network, so it retains an "unparalleled" proprietary data asset that continues to compound, which will support its ability to drive customer value. Since global supply chains continue to grapple with dynamic challenges, Becker says the company is well-positioned to continue layering value-added services, keeping it financially viable over the next several years. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1341 ET - Travel demand is remaining steady despite geopolitical unrest, Melius Research analysts say. Part of the reason companies aren't seeing more of a dent is because they are comparing with March 2025, when tariffs dragged down consumer sentiment and spending, the analysts say. Additionally, business travel is still strong, as companies appear willing to look past mounting energy prices due to the Iran conflict, they say. Airline data also suggests forward booking trends have accelerated following the Iran conflict. The analysts say consumers and businesses may be pulling forward spending to stay ahead of price hikes. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2026 18:03 ET (22:03 GMT)
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