The latest Market Talks covering Energy markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0819 GMT - Iberdrola enters Finland's power grid market with a new buyout but the deal comes with a high price tag relative to grid asset value and future profits, RBC Capital Markets analysts say. The utility company will acquire an 80% stake in Finland's Caruna for around 2 billion euros. It expects the deal to boost its profit per share by about 1% in the first year, and help shift more of its business toward safe, government-regulated power grids, RBC says. Caruna's network is projected to reach an asset value of roughly 3 billion euros by 2031, backed by a stable regulatory framework granting an 8% return on equity through the decade, RBC says. Shares are down 1.4% at 21.03 euros. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
0807 GMT - Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shares likely offer an attractive risk-reward profile with a potential 6.6% dividend yield in 2027, say CGS International analysts in a note. The Singapore-listed shipbuilder is forecast to deliver robust revenue growth as it is expected to deliver contracts from 2023 and the most of 2024, they say. Stronger revenue recognition and gradual capacity expansion at its Hongyuan yard in China should support its profit, the analysts add. They therefore raise their 2026-2028 earnings estimates by 3.0%-8.0%. CGSI lifts its target price to 5.10 Singapore dollars from S$4.95 and retains its add rating. Shares rise 5.9% to S$3.95. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0759 GMT - The low-yielding Japanese yen and Swiss franc could stay under pressure as higher energy prices prompt markets to price in interest-rate rises for other central banks, ING's Chris Turner says in a note. The fact that equities are relatively firm despite higher energy prices could be weighing on the yen and franc as defensive currencies, he says. However, a far more important factor "appears to be low interest rates and central banks that will be slow to hike." The dollar falls 0.2% to 162.90 yen after reaching a 40-year high of 163.23 Tuesday, LSEG data show. The dollar falls 0.1% to 0.8118 francs but stays near a one-week high of 0.8133 reached overnight. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0757 GMT - Oil prices extend gains, with Brent crude topping $94 a barrel after President Trump minimized the prospect of immediate talks with Iran. In early European trading, the global oil benchmark climbs 4.1% to $94.72 a barrel, the highest in nearly seven weeks, while WTI futures are up 4.1% to $87.78 a barrel. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has declined sharply, while several tankers are moving to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, market watchers say. Meanwhile, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium stopped receiving oil from Kazakhstan after suspending loadings due to attacks on oil tankers at its Black Sea terminal, according to reports. "Factoring in the renewed disruptions from the Persian Gulf, risks to Saudi crude exports from the Red Sea, and developments in the Black Sea, one may argue that Brent at just over $91 a barrel is undervalued," analysts at ING say. "Particularly if these disruptions persist into August." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0732 GMT - Yields on U.K. government bonds rise as soaring oil prices raise the prospects of high inflation and the possibility of the Bank of England increasing interest rates later this year. U.K. annual inflation for June decelerated to 2.6% from 2.8% in May due to a brief drop in oil prices in June following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal. Oil prices have resumed rising after the Middle East conflict resurfaced, with Brent crude rising 2.4% on Wednesday to $93.3 a barrel. Ten-year gilt yields climb 1.3 basis points to last trade at 5.041%, Tradeweb data show. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0723 GMT - Bitcoin falls modestly as investors take profits after the cryptocurrency reached a five-week high in the previous session. Tuesday's gains were driven by renewed institutional demand, regulatory optimism and investors being forced to close earlier bets against bitcoin as the cryptocurrency strengthened, Zaye Capital Markets analyst Naeem Aslam says in a note. However, the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict create uncertainty for bitcoin prices, he says. "Bitcoin may benefit from demand for assets operating outside conventional financial channels, but during sudden geopolitical shocks it often behaves like a high-risk technology investment, leaving it vulnerable to rapid selling when investors reduce exposure." Bitcoin falls 0.8% to $65,870 after reaching a high of $66,919 Tuesday, LSEG data show.(renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0716 GMT - June's fall in annual U.K. inflation to 2.6% all but rules out an interest-rate increase at next week's Bank of England meeting, RSM UK's Thomas Pugh says. While headline inflation came in below the central bank's forecast, the decline was largely driven by lower food, fuel and energy inflation. More importantly for policymakers, services inflation--a key gauge of domestic price pressures--matched expectations. Pugh expects inflation to rebound to around 3.3% in the fall as higher energy costs, supply-chain pressures and increased food prices feed through, with a risk of a higher rate if oil prices surge further. He expects rates to remain unchanged and sees no cuts before 2027. (don.forbes@wsj.com)
0710 GMT - The Bank of England is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75% as it awaits clear signs of the impact of the Middle East conflict, Quilter Cheviot's Richard Carter says in a note. The latest U.K. inflation data shows annual headline inflation moderated to 2.6% in June, from 2.8% in May as oil prices briefly dropped in June in the wake of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. "With events in the Middle East still threatening to erupt back into a full-scale conflict as we saw earlier this year, this will continue to put pressure on the inflation rate." Markets price in a total of 40 basis points of BOE interest rate rises in 2026, LSEG data show. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0709 GMT - International Container Terminal Services is poised for strong 2Q recurring income growth of 30% on-year, says SB Equities' Katrine Eunice Dolatre in a research report. This is driven by sustained volume growth thanks to newly-added Batam and Durban terminals, and higher yield from tariff adjustments and better container mix, the analyst says. The Philippine container terminal operator's 26-year extension of its terminal contract in Melbourne secures its long-term earnings visibility. The brokerage lifts its 2026-2027 net profit forecasts by around 4%. It raises the stock's rating to add from hold and the target price to 1,072.50 pesos from 726.20 pesos. Shares are 3.8% lower at 961.00 pesos. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
0704 GMT - The dollar eases but remains close to a one-week high reached overnight as the U.S.-Iran conflict pushes up oil prices. The rise in oil prices along with natural gas and other commodity prices has lifted near-term inflation expectations, Deutsche Bank analysts say in a note. "That backdrop meant investors priced in more Federal Reserve rate hikes, and speculation even returned about a potential rate hike next week." The DXY dollar index falls 0.1% to 101.127 after reaching a high of 101.210 overnight. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0654 GMT - Eurozone government bond yields open slightly higher as oil prices increase, while lower-than-expected headline U.K. inflation for June has little immediate impact. Brent is up 2% to $92.85 per barrel as hostilities in the Middle East continue. U.K. headline inflation decelerated to 2.6% in June from 2.8% in May, coming in below analysts' expectations of 2.7% in The Wall Street Journal's poll. The 10-year Bund yield rises 1.6 basis points to 3.180%, according to LSEG data. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)
0652 GMT - Despite a slowdown in June, inflation in the U.K. is set to rise again going forward, says Suren Thiru at The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. "June's slowdown is a false dawn as it may have already been reversed this month with higher energy bills, following Ofgem's energy price cap rise, likely to have lifted inflation above 3%." Any second-round inflation effects from higher energy prices will likely be limited by a sluggish economy. But escalating tensions in Iran has put 4% inflation back on the table, Thiru says. Today's data has ended prospects of a rate hike by the Bank of England in June, but high inflation will likely become a more notable economic headache for the government, deepening the cost‑of‑living crisis, he says. (don.forbes@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 22, 2026 04:19 ET (08:19 GMT)
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