The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
1204 ET - Kneat.com likely won't receive a better offer than the $466 million from Thoma Bravo, says TD Cowen's David Kwan. The analyst notes that the C$6.50-a-share offer is "near its all-time high and at an attractive valuation," which will take the life-sciences software company private at a 40% premium to its May 8 close, and 20% to Friday's close. "We think the probability of a superior bid is relatively low given the strategic review and 'comprehensive sale process,' attractive valuation, and shareholder support, among other things," Kwan says. He downgrades the stock to sell, recommending investors tender to the offer, and raises the target price to C$6.50 from C$6. Shares are up over 18% to C$6.42. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1122 ET - Uber's partnership with Nvidia addresses one of the biggest bottlenecks left for scaling autonomous-vehicle commercialization, Deutsche Bank analysts say in a research note. The ride-hailing company doesn't want to become the self-driving vehicle manufacturer or software developer, it just wants to handle the logistics and day-to-day operations, the analysts say. Nvidia meanwhile can be the standardized technology backbone for autonomous vehicles that Uber can utilize and monetize, they say. That pairing can give carmakers and fleet owners confidence that their self-driving vehicles will be seeing demand from day one, the analysts say. (dean.seal@wsj.com)
0939 ET - After a sizable decline that brought bitcoin to under $60,000 last week, it and others within the crypto space are rebounding--with BTC up 3.2% to $63,804, ethereum rising 3.9% to $1,691, XRP climbing 2.8% to $1.16 and solana advancing 3.4% to $66.89. Driving last week's selling was the reaction to "a persistently restrictive macro backdrop," says Bitfinex in a note. This is what sparked ETF outflows, with a streak totaling over $1 billion last week alone. From here, any rebound in prices may meet selling, says Bitfinex. "Rallies are increasingly being sold rather than accumulated, signalling that the market remains in a structurally defensive phase until spot demand meaningfully returns," says the firm. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
0831 ET - Nokia is well positioned as a leader in data center optical networking and is set to see a ramp-up of orders for data center switches, Bank of America Securities analysts write. Switches manage the flow of data between servers, storage and cloud systems. BofA hosted Nokia's head of investor relations David Mulholland at the bank's global tech conference, where he said the company's AI/Cloud order intake of 1 billion euros in the first quarter isn't viewed as an exception. However, he said that orders might be lumpy given customer demand and component constraints, according to the bank. It lifts its price objective on the stock to 14.40 euros from 11 euros and keeps its buy rating. Shares fall 2.1% to 12.80 euros. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
0637 ET - Telenor's deal to acquire GlobalConnect's Norwegian fiber business for residential customers looks positive, ING's Jan Frederik Slijkerman writes in a note. The transaction has been approved by regulators, subject to a series of conditions that must be implemented by the Norwegian telecommunications provider and GlobalConnect. Telenor is set to increase its fiber market share to 29% as a result of the deal, he notes. Shares are up 1% at 150.30 Norwegian kroner. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
0604 ET - Orange CEO's comments support view that French telecom M&A would have only limited effect on Spanish telecommunications-infrastructure company Cellnex, ING's Jan Frederik Slijkerman writes in a note. The French telecommunications company said in a call that it doesn't anticipate a large-scale dismantlement of towers at this stage after agreeing on a deal with peers to buy SFR. "This fits with earlier remarks by Cellnex that it has a relatively solid market position in France, as it has an agreement with Altice France to expand coverage in less dense regions," he says. In March, Cellnex's Chief Executive Marco Patuano told the WSJ in an interview that the company should benefit from current consolidation in Europe's telecommunications sector, as mergers among operators tend to spur investment and should boost demand for the telecoms infrastructure provider. Orange shares are up 1.3% and Bouygues is down 1.9%. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
0535 ET - Taiwan's May exports likely remained strong amid sustained AI demand. The island's exports likely rose 42% on year after April's 39% increase, according to a Wall Street Journal poll of five economists. Demand for semiconductor and server exports continues to be robust, supported by the rising adoption of agentic AI and increased AI infrastructure spending by hyperscalers, DBS economists write. ANZ notes that elevated chip prices and Taiwan chip makers' focus on high-precision chips have contributed to a surge in the value of Taiwanese exports, likely keeping them above US$70 billion a month. With strong export growth offsetting higher import bills resulting from elevated oil and LNG prices, ANZ expects Taiwan's trade surplus to remain stable at around US$14 billion in May. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
0534 ET - Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Free-iliad Group's deal to acquire SFR is set to be positive for France, ING's Jan Frederik Slijkerman writes in a note. The three major French telecommunication operators agreed to acquire most of Altice's French business, SFR, for 20.35 billion euros. Following the transaction, the French telecom market is expected to remain competitive, he says. Additionally, "operators will gain the necessary scale to deploy leading 5G networks across France," he adds. Orange shares are up 1.4% and Bouygues shares are down 1.6%. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
0512 ET - U.S. tech stocks are likely to continue surging despite Friday's sharp selloff, UBS Global Wealth Management's Mark Haefele writes. "Despite renewed anxiety over rates, equity issuance, and geopolitics, we expect the rally to resume," Haefele says. The positive share price performance is underpinned by strong business fundamentals, the chief investment officer writes. AI spending is likely to remain elevated as absorption of the technology continues, he says. Markets are also overstating central banks' willingness to raise policy rates, Haefele adds. Higher interest rates typically weigh on equity markets. U.S. tech stocks rise premarket, with Nasdaq futures up 0.5%. Chip makers Micron Technology and Marvell Technology rise 4.5% and 7%, respectively. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0458 ET - Orange doesn't anticipate a large-scale dismantlement of cell towers at this stage, Chief Executive Christel Heydemann says in a call. The telecommunications company, along with French peers Bouygues Telecom and Free-iliad Group, agreed to buy most of Altice's French business, SFR, in a deal set to reshape the country's telecoms sector by cutting the number of majors to three from four. Heydemann says that the number of cell towers will not be reduced. Instead, the number of electronics on every single tower will be cut back, "because three operators are not four." Additionally, there will be spectrum reallocation that requires optimization by existing electronics that are now physical sites, she adds. Orange shares are up 1.4% and Bouygues shares are down 1.5%. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
0417 ET - Shares of European semiconductor companies are mixed on Monday, days after a selloff in stocks linked to the artificial-intelligence boom due to concerns that investments in the technology might not yield the expected returns. Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International are down 1% and 2.2%, respectively. Shares of BE Semiconductor Industries, the Dutch supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment, are down 1.6%. Meanwhile, German chip maker Infineon Technologies is up 1.3%. STMicroelectronics shares are up 1%. The mixed performance comes as Israel and Iran exchanged volleys of fire, renewing tensions in the Middle East. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)
0355 ET - Unlike Vodafone's merger with Three in U.K., Orange doesn't anticipate offering massive incremental network-investment commitments as behavioral remedies to appease regulators, Orange Chief Executive Christel Heydemann says in a call. Bouygues Telecom, Orange and Free-iliad Group's deal to buy most of Altice's French business, known as SFR, in a 20.35 billion-euro deal is justified by synergies, network efficiencies, and the need to secure financial capacity to sustain future investments, she says. The parties will focus investments on resilience, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. "The transaction is absolutely not based on any form of market repair or price increase," she adds. Orange shares are up 1.9% and Bouygues shares are down 0.8%.(najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 08, 2026 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments