The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1036 ET--Nike needs to get newer both in its products and its leadership team, say Piper Sandler analysts Anna Andreeva and Noah Helfstein. Frequency of footwear purchases is at all-time highs and if the consumer backdrop remains fragile, competition could increase, "with share gains increasingly driven by innovation (which we have yet to see from NKE at scale outside of Running) as opposed to a rising tide," the analysts say. Meanwhile, the average Nike tenure among its senior leadership team is about 20 years. "We worry if correct execution of the turnaround requires more outside perspective as opposed to NKE veterans," the analysts say. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)
1028 ET--Specs, the augmented-reality-glasses subsidiary of Snap, enters a multi-year partnership with Qualcomm Technologies. The upcoming Specs glasses will be run using Qualcomm's Snapdragon system-on-a-chip, and both companies will collaborate to bring on-device artificial-intelligence, advanced graphics, and other features to Specs. Qualcomm's Snapdragon platforms powered multiple generations of Snap's Spectacles, the precursor to Specs. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon says the integration into Specs will "deliver agentic experiences that feel natural, intuitive and integrate seamlessly into daily life." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1020 ET -- Fashion trends currently boosting Nike could be peaking, which could challenge growth, say Piper Sandler analysts Anna Andreeva and Noah Helfstein. Frequency metrics for athleisure are peaking and the space "is becoming more mature, with many brands looking similar and demand driven more by new entrants...as opposed to legacy players," the analysts say. Fashion footwear declines are also moderating and the "return of the dressy cycle could shift some of the demand from Athleisure." Nike is also a quarter away from lapping big gains in its running business, the analysts say. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)
1017 ET -- ServiceNow has been better-positioned within the AI era relative to other application software companies, but that positioning is weakening, UBS analysts say in a research note. While customers haven't been expressing a desire to fully replace ServiceNow, they have begun expressing desires to have AI models take over some of its work, the analysts say. That includes finding ways to manage a larger portion of the service management tickets currently handled by ServiceNow in a more agentic way. "Given that our confidence has weakened and we're hearing more anecdotes of non-AI apps software budget pressure, we're moving to a neutral rating," UBS says, downgrading the stock from buy and cutting its price target to $100 from $170. Shares are down 6.5%. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
1000 ET - Intel's announcement that it's joining Elon Musk's Terafab AI chip project lacked concrete numbers, but it has clear symbolic importance, says Benchmark analyst Cody Acree. "Given the nascency of the Terafab project, we would still caution investors to avoid over-annualizing near-term foundry revenue from Terafab alone," Acree says. "But at the stock level, we believe the signaling value matters." Acree says that the announcement serves as external validation that Intel has made enough progress on its 18A technology and manufacturing execution "to be taken seriously again in advanced-node conversations." (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)
0950 ET--MTY Food Group is feeling the strain of a weakened consumer, and that pressure isn't likely to ease up in the near term. High living costs and broader macroeconomic headwinds have been curbing discretionary spending, leading diners to cut back on restaurant visits, even in malls and plazas where the majority of MTY's quick-service and fast-casual restaurants are located. TD Cowen analyst Derek Lessard notes that same-store sales missed expectations in both Canada and the U.S. as demand softened in 1Q. The analyst expects the trend to persist, even as management points to some improvement in March. "With ongoing trade and geopolitical uncertainties, we do not think the current environment is constructive on consumer spending for out-of-home dining," Lessard says. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
0935 ET - The expansion of its partnership with Google shows that Intel is still squarely involved in the AI chip game, says Benchmark analyst Cody Acree, who raises the price target to $76 from $57. Even though Google already deploys a variety of chips including Nvidia GPUs and its own internal silicon, it is committing to multiple generations of Intel's Xeon CPUs. The partnership shows "that CPUs remain central in heterogeneous AI systems and that x86 still has a durable role inside hyperscale infrastructure," Acree says, adding that it's confirmation "the market is increasingly appreciating AI as a full-system architecture problem rather than a GPU-only story." (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)
0858 ET - Concerns are growing that prolonged Middle East tensions could prompt some central banks to sell gold to manage liquidity and currency volatility. However, such sales are unlikely to derail the broader stockpiling trend, analysts at ANZ say. Gold is typically treated as a last-resort reserve asset in liquidity crises compared with foreign exchange reserves, swap lines and other liquidity tools, according to the firm. Turkey's decision to offload 50 to 60 metric tons of gold, for example, largely reflects short-term liquidity management. Much of this activity involves gold-currency swaps rather than outright liquidation, meaning reserves are expected to be rebuilt as transactions mature. "Central bank gold purchases are here to stay," the analysts say. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0818 ET - The Easter bunny came early this year, with the holiday falling in early April versus late in month last year. The shift will skew year-over-year restaurant traffic and same-store sales comparisons, at least until the calendar normalizes, Benchmark analyst Todd Brooks says in a research note. Early readouts show full-service chains with broad appeal and brunch exposure--such as First Watch Restaurant Group, BJ's Restaurants, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Cheesecake Factory--saw material jumps in traffic around the holiday. On the other hand, fast-casual and quick-service chains including Cava Group and WingStop that were closed for Easter saw disruptions. Brooks cautions that the data will remain difficult to interpret until full-month trends come into view. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
0809 ET - Carlsberg remains on track to deliver at the upper end of its organic earnings growth guidance, Citi analyst Simon Hales writes. The brewer targets organic EBIT growth of 2% to 6% for 2026. Increased uncertainty caused by the Middle East conflict and the potential knock-on effects to future commodity costs and consumer demand have weighed on beer stocks over the last month, Citi says. But looking forward, a sustained cease-fire or permanent resolution would be supportive for all beer names. Continuing cost synergies will support earnings and the brewer trades at an attractive valuation, Citi adds. Shares rise 2.1% to 865.40 kroner. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
0807 ET - Nouveau Monde Graphite has a new Italian partner. Italian energy major Eni invested $70 million as part of the company's latest capital raise, giving it an 11.5% stake in the Canadian graphite and battery-materials developer. The deal anchors a broader private placement that also includes major Canadian institutional investors, Canada Growth Fund and Investissement Quebec, backed by the Canadian federal government and Quebec provincial government, respectively. In total, it has raised $297 million. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
0757 ET - AstraZeneca's first-quarter results could show increased spending to support upcoming launches of new drugs camizestrant for breast cancer and baxdrostat for blood pressure, analysts at UBS say in a research note. Spending for diabetes drug Farxiga--for which the U.S. last week approved the first generic versions--has probably been shifted to support pre-launch activities for baxdrostat, UBS says. Meanwhile, Farxiga inventory reductions ahead of the patent expiration could weigh on the drug's sales, the analysts say. On the bright side, key oncology growth drivers at AstraZeneca such as Imfinzi, Tagrisso and Calquence are expected to deliver strong performances, they add. Shares rise 0.75% to 153.90 pounds. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 10, 2026 10:36 ET (14:36 GMT)
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