The latest Market Talks covering the Auto and Transport sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
0805 GMT - Poste Italiane's $12.5 billion bid to buy Telecom Italia could boost value, while the publicly traded portion of its shares will jump to 15 billion euros, from around 10 billion euros currently, Berenberg analyst Michael Huttner says. Although the deal dilutes the EBIT contribution of Poste's insurance business to 33% from 48% last year, it reinforces its ability to cross-sell on multiple platforms, Huttner says. "We envisage over 20% upside to our price target," he says. This is supported by an attractive 2026 dividend yield of 6.1%, and expected sustainable dividend growth of more than 6% a year, Huttner says.(anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
0750 GMT - XPeng's volume growth is not guaranteed this year, Macquarie analysts write in a note. The company reported its first ever net profit in 4Q though its largely driven by income from services and others of 3.2 billion yuan, supported by carbon credits and Volkswagen technical services on top of 840 million of other income from government subsidies, they say. XPeng also faces broad weakness on uncertainty regarding the success of upcoming models, they add. The brokerage still likes XPeng's physical AI optionality, but the question of solid volume growth this year remains uncertain. Macquarie downgrades its rating for the stock to neutral from outperfrom and cut its target price to HK$73 from HK$93. Shares are last at HK$71.30. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)
0651 GMT - The continuing Middle East conflict, limited visibility on a ramp-off and central banks' preliminary analysis of the stagflationary environment have prompted a revision to Morgan Stanley's central bank calls, rates strategists Luca Salford and Maria Chiara Russo say in a note. Morgan Stanley now expects the European Central Bank to raise rates by 50 basis points in 2026, in June and September, but to unwind those hikes in 2027. Money markets currently price in three ECB rate increases this year, according to LSEG. The strategists also forecast the 10-year German Bund yield ending 2026 at 2.80% and 2027 at 2.70% under their baseline ECB rate-path scenario. The 10-year Bund yield closed at 3.038% on Friday, according to LSEG. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)
0615 GMT - Asia-Pacific's growth is expected to slow this year amid a mix of external threats, Moody's Analytics economists write in a commentary. The Middle East conflict has pushed up commodity prices and raised inflation risks. Most Asia-Pacific economies also rely heavily on energy imports, with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, particularly dependent on imported fossil fuels. Additionally, the region faces tariff uncertainty and has been dependent on exports. "With access to the U.S. market becoming more difficult, the imbalance leaves the region exposed," the economists say. Moody's Analytics expects growth across the Asia-Pacific region to slow to 4% in 2026 from 4.3% in 2025. (amanda.lee@wsj.com)
0241 GMT - Consumer prices in Southeast Asia will likely be pushed higher by surging energy costs, as the region is highly dependent on Middle Eastern oil and gas, Maybank analysts write in a research report. "The Middle East conflict threatens to unleash a stagflationary shock on the global economy and Asia," they say. The Philippines and Indonesia are highly sensitive to persistent oil price shocks, with energy accounting for a significant share of their CPI baskets. Supply disruptions and rising energy costs will also fan inflation, worsen current account balances and intensify fiscal pressures for most Southeast Asian countries. (amanda.lee@wsj.com)
0207 GMT - High oil prices are expected for longer, three members of Goldman Sachs' commodities research team say in a note. GS now assumes that flows through the Strait of Hormuz stay at only 5% of normal levels for a longer six-week period before a gradual one-month recovery. Also, recognition of the risks from high production concentration and spare capacity will likely result in structurally higher strategic stockpiling and long-dated prices, the members say. GS now expects 2026 Brent prices to average $85 a barrel, up from $77 a barrel projected previously, and WTI to average $79 a barrel, up from $72 a barrel forecast previously. Front-month Brent crude futures are 0.1% lower at $112.12 a barrel; front-month WTI crude futures are 0.4% higher at $98.65 a barrel. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
2239 GMT - The impact of the conflict in Iran and disruption to energy supply is "primarily a timing and margin event, rather than a structural reset" for Australian industrial stocks, says Morgan Stanley. Earnings could come under pressure in the near term. Still, analyst Joseph Michael believes medium-term growth drivers are largely intact and investors will increasingly look through disruption in FY 2026. Its top picks are Orica, James Hardie, Qantas and Reece, assuming any disruption is short-lived. Prolonged disruption would like see most stocks trade lower. In that scenario, investors should rotate toward defensive stocks and companies with pricing power. "Qantas would drop in our order of preference in this scenario given higher fuel exposure and demand risk," MS says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2026 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)
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