The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0802 GMT - European natural-gas prices break above 50 euros a megawatt-hour as traders see little sign of a resolution in the Middle East. "We have highlighted several times that the gas market is underpricing the scale of the supply impact from the Persian Gulf," analysts at ING say. "Asian buyers will need to enter the spot market to replace disrupted contracted cargoes from the Persian Gulf, increasing competition between Asian and European buyers." Meanwhile, storage across the European Union is at 36% of capacity, significantly below the five-year average of 50%. In early trading, the benchmark Dutch TTF front-month contract rises 2.4% to 51.36 euros a megawatt-hour. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0759 GMT - Indonesia's central bank is expected to keep its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate steady at 4.75% on Wednesday, according to five out of nine economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. Four economists forecast Bank Indonesia to raise the policy rate by 25 bps to 5.0%. Bank Indonesia has since its previous meeting signaled a preference to adjust monetary instruments to attract foreign inflows, while recent data shows stronger inflows into central bank securities, Goldman Sachs economists say. Despite the still-weak rupiah, 1Q GDP growth exceeded expectations and inflation came in softer, reducing the urgency for a rate hike. The rate decision is due Wednesday. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
0744 GMT - Frasers Property could book strong gains in the coming quarters, after its Australian unit signed a deal to sell its Eastern Creek Quarter retail development, says DBS Group Research's Tabitha Foo in a note. The exit price of the asset seems favorable relative to several large Australian retail transactions even though Eastern Creek Quarter isn't a dominant super-regional mall, according to some real-estate service providers, the DBS analyst says. "The sale reflects Frasers' ability to develop, stabilize and monetize assets, while freeing up capital and supporting balance sheet flexibility," she says. The asset's sale also suggests that high-quality retail assets still offer liquidity despite a higher interest rate environment in Australia, she says. DBS maintains its buy rating and S$1.50 target price. Shares fall 0.9% to S$1.12.(megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0741 GMT - Malaysia's export steadily grew in April, according to the median estimate of six economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. Exports are estimated to have risen 8.9% on year, slightly higher than March's 8.3% increase. Imports likely increased 0.6%, leading to a trade surplus of 16.29 billion ringgit. Exports likely stayed resilient in April despite the ongoing Middle East conflict, supported by robust semiconductor demand and possible front-loading orders to capitalize of lower U.S. import tariffs, Barclays economists say in a note. The data is due Wednesday. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
0731 GMT - European and U.K. airline stocks slumped in early morning trading as oil prices were up and Ryanair warned of weaker-than-expected summer pricing trends. Ryanair also fell short of providing profit guidance for the year. Higher oil costs stemming from the war in Iran and uncertainty around fuel supply are weighing on airline stocks. The price of Brent crude is up 1.6% at $110.90. Ryanair's stock fell 2.7%, TUI fell 2.2%, and Air France-KLM dropped 2.3%. (aimee.look@wsj.com)
0723 GMT - London's miners decline on inflation and rate-hike concerns. Continued disruption of the Strait of Hormuz fuels inflation concerns that weigh on demand for non-yielding gold, MUFG's Soojin Kim writes. Gold fell nearly 4% last week with prices down around 15% since the U.S.-Iran conflict began, she adds. Silver futures are down 1.5% at $76.41 an ounce while gold falls 0.2% to $4,551.70 a troy ounce. Hochschild Mining is down 2.8% while Fresnillo slides 1.6%. Copper miner Antofagasta slips 1.2%, while diversified miner Anglo American slides 1.6%. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0724 GMT - Europe's blue-chip stock indexes fall in early trade as oil prices rise further and investors increasingly price in extended U.S-Iran tensions. Luxury, construction and technology stocks falter with the Europe-wide Stoxx 600 dropping 0.8%. France's CAC 40 is 1% lower, extending a four-week run of losses. Luxuries weigh on the index, with sector bellwether LVMH dropping 2%. The sector also drags on the Italian FTSE MIB, which falls 2%. The German DAX is 0.6% lower, with building materials group Heidelberg Materials sipping 2.8%. Losses for London's FTSE 100 are less severe, with the index losing 0.2% as oil majors help counter losses for housebuilders. The Dutch AEX is down 0.5% as semiconductor stocks falter with ASML--Europe's most valuable company--dropping 2.4%.(josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0718 GMT - Puregold Price Club's gross profit margin is likely to decline amid cost headwinds, SB Equities' Andrea Marielle Oliveros says in a research report. At an analysts' briefing, management said it expects supply of newer merchandise to arrive at higher costs and anticipates GPM for the Philippine operator of supermarket and hypermarket chains to soften, the analyst notes. Following the recent rally of the company's share price, SB Equities downgrades the stock's rating to hold from add, partly because the rally has shifted risk-reward to neutral. It also lowers the stock's target price to 47.20 pesos from 48.00 pesos to reflect updated valuation inputs. Shares are 1.7% higher at 46.65 pesos. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
0714 GMT - European energy stocks trade higher in opening trade as oil prices climb. U.S.-Iran peace talks remain deadlocked and market watchers are increasingly fearful the energy shock triggered by the conflict could worsen as oil reserves deplete. Brent futures rise 1.7% to $111.14 a barrel, while WTI trades 2.1% up at $103.12 a barrel. In London, BP rises nearly 2% and Shell 1.1%. Spain's Repsol is up 2.5% and Italy's Eni rises 1.8%. France's TotalEnergies is up 1.4%. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0704 GMT - China's emphasis on "strategic stability" during U.S. President Trump's visit to Beijing may matter more for investors than the headline trade pledges, BNP Paribas says. The visit suggests both sides are trying to make bilateral divergence more predictable rather than chaotic, says William Bratton, head of cash equity research. This could reduce geopolitical risk premiums on Chinese assets, he says. While tangible outcomes remain limited and many trade details unresolved, BNP notes improving structure around the relationship could encourage U.S. investors to revisit Chinese equities. BNP continues to favor Chinese technology, industrial and materials stocks on stronger earnings momentum, while staying cautious on consumption-linked sectors. (jihye.lee@wsj.com)
0653 GMT - Apollo Tyres faces risks to demand for tires as rising fuel prices impact operators' profitability, Nomura analysts say in a research report. The brokerage cuts its FY 2027 assumption for the tire manufacturer's sales-volume growth in India to 7% from 8%. Also, steep raw-material cost inflation will probably have an impact on the Indian company's near-term profitability, the analysts say. Moreover, Apollo Tyres' substantial capital expenditure of INR35 billion and INR30 billion planned for FY 2027 and FY 2028, respectively, could affect its free-cash-flow generation. Nomura lowers the stock's target price to INR452.00 from INR543.00, with an unchanged neutral rating. Shares are 4.3% lower at INR377.55. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
0632 GMT - Asahi Intecc's annual guidance looks too conservative following strong third-quarter sales growth, Jefferies analysts say in a note. The Japanese medical-device maker's quarterly sales rose 38% on year in China and 27% in North America, leading overall sales growth, the U.S. bank says. Nine-month operating profit margin improved despite higher research and development expenses and U.S. tariff costs, it says. The company continues to expect full-year operating profit to grow 40% to 42.22 billion yen, following nine-month operating profit of Y37.41 billion. Jefferies maintains its buy rating and a Y4,200 target price on the stock. Shares rise 5.1% to Y3,568. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 18, 2026 04:02 ET (08:02 GMT)
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