The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0818 GMT - SAP shares are gaining ground on Monday, extending a rally from last week after the German business-software group surprised investors with strong revenue figures that showed the resilience of its cloud business. The group's current cloud backlog--a closely watched measure of sales that SAP expects over the coming year based on existing contracts--grew 26% at constant currencies in the second quarter, above expectations of around 24%. Shares in Frankfurt closed 9.3% higher on Friday and are up 5.4% at 147.74 euros on Monday. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)
0801 GMT - CXMT's spectacular debut shows that the strategic bid for chip exposure remains powerful, Tickmill Group's Patrick Munnelly says in a research note. CXMT's shares soared 466% in its Shanghai trading debut, making it the most valuable listed company in mainland China. The robust performance shows how aggressively domestic investors are chasing national semiconductor champions tied to the artificial-intelligence theme, Munnelly says, even as global investors continue to question whether AI capex could justify valuations. While this robust performance doesn't relieve concerns about AI spending, it shows that investors still want chip exposure, especially when national policy and the AI infrastructure build-out align, he adds. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
0757 GMT - Portuguese energy company Galp Energia could be taking the first step toward selling its solar and wind portfolio, RBC Capital Markets analyst Biraj Borkhataria writes. Galp is buying 15 onshore wind farms in Spain in a 420-million-euro deal. It follows the acquisition of another portfolio in April in a 320-million-euro deal. Galp previously held a predominantly solar portfolio and the wind acquisitions could be the first step to selling the entire portfolio, he says. This is because the combination of wind and solar would likely achieve a better valuation than a solar-only portfolio, Borkhataria says. Shares fall 3.6% to 19.31 euros. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0752 GMT - Chinese memory maker CXMT could capture an 18% global DRAM market share by the end of 2028, say Nomura analysts. The company currently holds around a 10% market share, they say in a note. Its major U.S. competitor, Micron, currently holds a market share of over 20%, but CXMT is expected to approach Micron's levels over time, they add. The overall global memory usage is expected to increase more than seven-fold between 2026 and 2030, driven by the evolution of artificial intelligence, they say. CXMT's stock surged 466% to 49 yuan on its market debut Monday. Nomura initiates coverage on the stock with a buy rating and a CNY116 target price. (jie.yang@wsj.com)
0749 GMT - European energy stocks fall in opening trade after President Trump paused a major escalation in the military campaign against Iran. The U.S. military had been ready Friday to launch an intensive series of strikes against Iran, which could have lasted up to two weeks, officials said. The pause and renewed focus on diplomacy sends Brent crude futures sliding 5.8% to 86.37 a barrel while WTI drops 3.9% to $76.25 a barrel. In London, BP falls 3.5% and Shell slips 1.8%. France's TotalEnergies falls 2.7%, Spain's Repsol is down 2% while Italy's Eni drops 4%. Portugal's Galp, which also reported second-quarter results Monday, was down 4.6%.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0741 GMT - Asia economies may face higher inflation pressure from elevated oil prices, according to Goldman Sachs in a research note. GS maintains its oil-price forecast of $80 per barrel for Brent in 4Q, although the price can go even higher given renewed U.S.-Iran military strikes and potential for a new bottleneck in the Red Sea. "Import prices and producer prices rose sharply across Asia in recent months (though implicit or explicit subsidies have moderated or capped retail fuel prices in some countries)," they say. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)
0734 GMT - SK Hynix is likely to post record 2Q earnings, driven by one-off investment gains and higher semiconductor prices, Meritz Securities' Kim Sun-woo says. The analyst estimates the South Korean memory-chip maker's April-June pretax profit at more than 100 trillion won--comprising 60.1 trillion won in operating profit and 41.6 trillion won in gains from its stake in Japanese chip maker Kioxia through U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital. That would surpass the company's record operating profit of 58.8 trillion won in 1Q. Bain sold part of its Kioxia stake recently, Kim notes. He adds DRAM and NAND memory chip prices rose 30% and 49%, respectively, in 2Q. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)
0734 GMT - Gold prices rise after the U.S. paused military strikes against Iran, sending Brent crude below $90 a barrel and easing concerns over inflationary pressures. In early European trading, New York gold futures are up 0.9% t $4,107.10 a troy ounce. "The easing in geopolitical tensions has reduced inflation concerns and could lessen pressure on the Fed to tighten policy further, providing near-term support for gold ahead of this week's closely watched Fed meeting," says Soojin Kim, analyst at MUFG. With a hold largely priced in, investors will focus on Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's remarks for clues on the policy outlook and the likely path of interest rates for the remainder of the year.(giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0729 GMT - Portuguese energy company Galp Energia hikes its dividend in a shift away from share buybacks, RBC Capital Markets analyst Biraj Borkhataria writes. The company made no changes to its buyback guidance. The 10% dividend hike accelerates recent growth following a 4% rise last year and 3% the year before, he adds. The company has completed over 90% of its 250 million euro buyback program for 2026, which suggests there will be limited share repurchases in the second half of the year, Borkhataria says. Overall, the group's second-quarter performance was in line with expectations but divisional performance was mixed, he says. Shares fall 3.9% to 19.25 euros. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0713 GMT - AstraZeneca's solid results should allay investor fears about the U.K. drugmaker's long-term targets, Intron Health's Naresh Chouhan and Dominic Rose say in a research note. The company reiterated its guidance for this year and its 2030 target despite the failure of a clinical trial for its Wainua drug earlier this month, the analysts say. AstraZeneca also said experimental treatment sonesitatug vedotin showed positive overall-survival results--but not on survival without the disease getting worse--in a late-stage study for gastric cancers, which should contribute to ease some fears about its pipeline strength and ability to innovate, they add. Shares rise 1%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0712 GMT - European stock indexes jump as a sharp fall in oil prices prompts gains across all sectors except energy. The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 adds 0.85%. London's FTSE 100 rises 0.5% as energy intensive Rolls-Royce jumps 3.4% while British Airways-owner IAG adds 4%. Index gains are tempered by falls for oil majors, with BP down 3.8%. The German DAX jumps 1.35%, led by software giant SAP--up 3.1%. In Paris, the CAC 40 is up 0.9% with defense group Thales up 3.1%, while luxury stocks gain. Spain's IBEX 35 gains 1%, while the Italian FTSE MIB is 0.55% higher. The Dutch AEX rises 0.4% as ASML adds 0.8%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0650 GMT - Central Pattana's earnings stand to benefit from new shopping malls and condominiums, Maybank Securities (Thailand)'s Wasu Mattanapotchanart says in a research report. Its two mall and four condo projects launched during September-October 2025 are scheduled for completion in 2027-2028, prompting the brokerage to lift its 2027-2028 core profit forecasts for the Thai company by 1%-2%. The property developer's core-profit growth should also be underpinned by factors including a 15% increase in its net leasable area during 2Q 2025-4Q 2027 and annual 3% rental increase. The brokerage raises the stock's target price to 77.00 baht from 75.50 baht with an unchanged buy rating. Shares are 3.9% higher at 67.00 baht. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 27, 2026 04:19 ET (08:19 GMT)
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