The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0920 ET - Swedish miner Boliden's potential acquisition of Votorantim's 64.7% stake in Nexa Resources could create a dominant player in the global zinc market, UBS analyst Daniel Major writes. A combination of Nexa's and Boliden's operations would create the third largest zinc miner and smelter globally, he adds. Adding scale and diversification in both mining and smelting could generate some synergies from things like marketing, but UBS sees limited potential operational synergies between Boliden in Europe and Nexa in Latin America. Nexa's current consensus valuation is cheaper than Boliden's, and Nexa has more financial leverage and lower asset quality, the bank says. Nexa has $1.7 billion market capitalization, implying a current equity valuation for Votorantim's stake of around $1.1 billion, equating to around 7% of Boliden's market capitalization. Shares in Boliden rise 0.5%. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
0904 ET- Alberta's new data-center and power market frameworks create meaningful upside for TransAlta and Capital Power, with TransAlta positioned to benefit the most. CIBC's Mark Jarvi notes the Alberta Electric System Operator Phase 2a rules and new "bridging options," which enable data centers to come online faster and allow underused assets to serve demand. The analyst notes this shift "accelerates timelines and shifts part of the opportunity toward earlier, capital-light monetization," especially for TransAlta given the scale of its coal-to-gas fleet. He points to TransAlta's identified capacity that could be repositioned and says tightening Alberta power pricing supports both companies. Jarvi sees "material upside" for both TransAlta and Capital Power as data center commitments develop. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
0848 ET - Ipsen made two acquisitions this week, but this happened more by chance than planning, Chief Business Officer Philippe Lopes-Fernandes says in an interview. The French drugmaker said it would buy Kartos Therapeutics, a company developing a drug for a rare blood cancer, for up to $1.75 billion and Memo Therapeutics, which is working on a treatment for a kidney infection, in a separate deal that could exceed 700 million euros. "We've been working on that for months. That's why [the coincidence] is more serendipity than planning," Lopes-Fernandes says. Both deals complement Ipsen's existing work in oncology and rare diseases, and the company is looking for more, Lopes-Fernandes adds. Shares fall 1.1%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0834 ET - Portugal's Galp stands out as the most defensive mid-major European energy stock, Morgan Stanley analysts write as they lower their commodity price forecasts. They upgrade Galp to overweight from equalweight. Galp has high-quality upstream and downstream assets and can generate cash in a weaker oil price environment, they write. Additionally, it has a lighter pipeline of projects that require capital expenditure, they say. The stock has near-term catalysts including a potential merger with Spanish refiner Moeve, they write. Shares rise 1.7% to 19.045 euros. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0823 ET - Pharmaceutical groups have room of maneuvering to make biotech acquisitions work despite a rebound in valuations of biotech companies, according to Ipsen's Chief Business Officer Philippe Lopes-Fernandes. "Things are a bit more expensive than three years ago. But, on the other side, if you address the deals in the right way, you can you can still get good value and this good value is also creating more money for funds to reinvest in early innovation," Lopes-Fernandes says. "I don't think that there's therapeutic area that is overvalued, there are still tremendous unmet needs." The Nasdaq Biotechnology index is up 19% since the start of 2026, and up 55% compared with a year ago. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0820 ET - Bitcoin rises as scaled back U.S. interest rate rise expectations provide support to risky assets. U.S. nonfarm payrolls data on Thursday were weaker than expected. Tempered speculation that the Federal Reserve could raise rates more than once before year-end improved sentiment toward bitcoin, Trade Nation's David Morrison says in a note. "Lower borrowing costs can often support risk-sensitive assets such as cryptocurrencies by improving liquidity conditions." Bitcoin trades up 0.8% at $62,062, having reached a one-week high of $62,128 Thursday, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0821 ET - European equity investors want to broaden their holdings beyond artificial intelligence-linked stocks, Morgan Stanley analysts write. Investors should look to broaden into stocks that aren't dependent on AI and those which provide income in order to reduce volatility in their portfolios, the analysts say. In addition, investors should hold stocks with improving fundamental themes, such as those benefiting from the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, they say. "Europe offers plenty of scope for diversification, improving fundamentals and structurally rising stock dispersion." U.K. defense group Rolls-Royce and British Airways-owner IAG are among stocks the analyst think will benefit from the strait reopening. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0807 ET - Big pharmaceutical companies' flurry of drug-licensing deals in China means the country's assets are no longer cheap, Ipsen's Chief Business Officer Philippe Lopes-Fernandes says. China attracted big pharma in the first place because of the amount of innovative research being produced there, the speed at which it was being developed, and low costs, Lopes-Fernandes says in an interview. "In the past it was cheaper to do deals in China. That's not the case anymore," he says. "Because of the competition with large pharma, it's even becoming more expensive than in some other geographies." Ipsen shares fall 1.6%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)0756- Canadian construction company Aecon has tapped into a new growth driver tied to accelerating data center demand. Raymond James' Frederic Bastien upgrades the stock rating to outperform from market perform after it was selected to build a multibillion-dollar power generation facility aimed at serving a major data center development. "The contract adds another growth vector to what we believe is already the most significant power infrastructure opportunity set for ARE in our more than two decades covering the stock," Bastien says. From here, the stock is poised for growth, and the analyst notes that any additional announcements will serve as further growth catalysts. He also raises the price target to C$60 from C$52. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
0748 ET - The European Central Bank could remain biased towards raising interest rates further, supporting the euro, as inflationary risks remain elevated, MUFG Bank's Derek Halpenny says in a note. While crude oil tanker traffic is picking up, the same cannot be said for liquefied natural gas shipments, he says. "The ECB will be monitoring energy prices and the scale of retracement since the [U.S.-Iran] ceasefire extension was agreed and the Strait of Hormuz reopened is not yet enough to eliminate energy-related inflation risks." The euro rises 0.2% to $1.1452. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0722 ET - Sterling's recent recovery reflects a weaker dollar but also an easing in the political risk premium, Ebury's Matthew Ryan says in a note. Andy Burnham is almost certain to succeed Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and his commitment to fiscal rules is alleviating risks of a weaker sterling, he says. A critical risk factor for sterling, however, is who Burnham appoints as Treasury chief, he says. Ed Miliband remains bookmakers' favorite to become Treasury chief, which is a "clear negative for the pound given his preference for expansionary fiscal policy." Sterling rises 0.1% to $1.3357 after reaching a two-week high of $1.3384 Thursday, LSEG data show. The euro rises 0.1% to 0.8569 pounds, having hit a one-year low of 0.8544 Thursday.(renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0704 ET- Algonquin Power is building a regulatory momentum that is setting the course for a "back-to-basics" turnaround. National Bank of Canada's Baltej Sidhu trims his estimates slightly to reflect timing adjustments, but says that the quarter was active on the regulatory front, with new rate filings across New York Water, Empire Electric, and EnergyNorth Gas. Sidhu notes these proceedings now represent around $250 million in pending revenue requests, supporting Algonquin's focus on timely capital recovery and improved return on equity. Farther on the horizon, Sidhu says he sees "attractive growth opportunities through AQN's regulated capital program, including transmission investment and data center-related load growth." (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 03, 2026 09:20 ET (13:20 GMT)
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