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.
1422 ET - AT&T's plans to raise prices likely signals easing competition across the wireless industry, BNP Paribas analysts write in a note. The company's move follows price increases from its major competitors, Verizon Communications and T-Mobile US. While the analysts are most positive on T-Mobile's positioning, they see AT&T's price hikes should be meaningfully accretive and help the company hit its own guidance and consensus expectations. "We view the recent price increases across all three MNOs…as a positive for the wireless equities, and a further signal that wireless competition could be moderating," the analysts write. AT&T shares are up 1.3%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1240 ET - A group of 12 state attorneys general sued to block Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, posing a threat to the $81 billion megadeal. The coalition requested Paramount and Warner not close the merger until after the lawsuit concludes or they will file a temporary restraining order to attempt to stop the deal from moving forward. The lawsuit marks the biggest obstacle to the deal the companies have faced since announcing the merger, given the Justice Department and many international territories have already signed off on it. If the states delay the deal, Paramount could also face financial implications, given its required to pay Warner shareholders a quarterly ticking fee if the deal doesn't close by Sept. 30 as part of the acquisition agreement. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1233 ET - In a lawsuit challenging Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a coalition of state attorneys general alleged the deal would violate antitrust law by cutting down on competition in the film distributor market, and in anticipated blockbuster film distribution in particular. That would harm movie theaters, given they rely on competition between the two companies to incentivize creativity and secure competitive prices, the AGs say. The deal would also hurt competition in the market for distributing basic cable channels to cable and satellite providers, they say. As a result, the acquisition "would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S.," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the coalition. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1138 ET - Apple looks like it will continue to buck a slowdown among its smartphone competitors, Citi analysts say in a note. The company has a strong foothold in the mid-range price segment through promotions and subsidies, and its premium brand and loyal customer base should limit any pressure on demand as it raises some prices to offset higher component prices, the analysts say. The company will likely keep gaining market share as a result, the analysts say, while they forecast the smartphone and personal computer market to decline at a mid- to high-teens rate.(kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1111 ET - The market's jitters around Netflix are excessive heading into the company's quarterly earnings, Oppenheimer analysts say in a note. Investors have concerns over weaker viewership, but the company has a stronger content slate set for the second half with 104 releases versus 95 in the same period a year earlier, which should allow viewing to accelerate. Wall Street's fears over churn are also overblown, the analysts say, citing a survey that suggests far more Netflix subscribers are watching more versus less compared to six months ago, even if some ad-supported subscribers have downgraded their subscriptions. Taking those factors into account, the analysts say the stock is likely oversold. They lower their price target to $100 from $120, noting a near-term headwind from lower advertising monetization. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1048 ET - Bitcoin managed to stay rangebound last week, between the $62,000 to $64,000 range, according to data from CoinGlass. That's even with ongoing concerns surrounding the global inflation picture and bitcoin's viability amid sales of bitcoin announced by Strategy, owner of the largest bitcoin treasury in the world. "Bitcoin was tested from every direction last week," says analysts with Bitfinex, noting that the relatively narrow range that bitcoin traded at should be encouraging for investors. That said, the sentiment around inflation globally looks to keep bitcoin's movement to the upside limited, says the firm. Bitcoin is down 2.6% to $62,496. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
0849 ET - Spreads on dollar-denominated credit widened last week, mainly due to increased credit supply, BNP Paribas strategists say in a note. Heavy debt issuance by massive cloud service providers, or hyperscalers, caused a widening in dollar investment-grade credit spreads, the strategists say. Focus will be on further corporate guidance on AI-linked capital expenditure, the strategists say. BNP Paribas strategists have an underweight recommendation on hyperscaler credit. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0844 ET - Siltronic's path to a meaningful earnings recovery would require a broad-based shift in pricing and volumes, MWB Research's Abed Jarad says in a research note. The German manufacturer of semiconductor wafers hasn't shown any material change since the first quarter, the analyst says. However, Jarad expects a sequential improvement in both sales and the Ebitda margin in the second quarter. Additionally, the company's reluctance to lock in long-term business at current spot prices seems like a positive sign that management expects pricing and bargaining power to improve, the analyst adds. Shares trade 5.25% higher at 94.2 euros. (nina.kienle@wsj.com)
0729 ET - Bitcoin falls as U.S. stock futures decline amid renewed weakness in artificial intelligence stocks and a new round of attacks between the U.S. and Iran. "A late rally for cryptocurrencies last week has failed to push on into the new week, a reflection of broader risk-off concerns in global markets," IG analyst Chris Turner says in a note. Crypto markets faces a repeat of May's selloff if the positive momentum over the past two weeks fades, he says. A full-blown resumption of hostilities in the Middle East wouldn't help matters, he says. Bitcoin falls 1.7% to $63,049, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0654 ET - French billionaire Xavier Niel's purchase of a 16.2% stake in Vodafone could prompt investors with short positions to reconsider their strategy, Citi's Carl Murdock-Smith writes in a note. Niel agreed to buy e&'s entire stake in the U.K. telecommunications company for around 4.4 billion pounds in cash through his Vega acquisition vehicle. Investors would likely want to know what level of representation Niel is seeking on the board of directors, Murdock-Smith says. Investors will also look at what happened at Tele2 after a Niel investment vehicle became the largest shareholder in 2024, which included a 15% workforce reduction plan, when considering what to expect, the analyst adds. Shares in Vodafone are up 4.5% at 1.15 pounds. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
0643 ET - SK Hynix's American depositary receipts may continue to trade at a premium over its Seoul-listed shares, says James Ooi of Tiger Brokers. "Companies with both U.S. and home-market listings often trade at a premium in the U.S., benefiting from broader investor access, deeper liquidity and stronger valuation support," he writes. Arbitrage is also made more difficult, as the conversion of South Korean shares into ADRs appears less straightforward than the reverse, the market strategist says. He notes SK Hynix's strong Nasdaq debut amid enthusiasm for AI and memory chip makers, with the offering oversubscribed several times. For investors seeking exposure to high bandwidth memory, SK Hynix could be a new U.S.-listed alternative to Micron, Ooi adds. (farah.elias@wsj.com)
0607 ET - Tencent's stronger AI investment commitment and improved chip supply lead Daiwa to raise its 2026 capital expenditure forecast for the internet company to 181 billion yuan from 108 billion yuan. Daiwa analysts caution that the higher expected capex could weigh on near- and medium-term earnings through higher depreciation. However, it should also enable faster cloud expansion and AI demand monetization from 2H, they say in a research note. Tencent has made solid AI product deployment progress recently, but revenue from these productivity tools remains immaterial, with monetization still at an early stage and largely offset by rising training and inference costs, the analysts note. Daiwa lowers Tencent's target price to HK$670.00 from HK$700.00. Shares fall 0.6% to HK$457.60. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 13, 2026 16:50 ET (20:50 GMT)
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