The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1152 ET - Marriott International is set up to gain from newly revised deals with JPMorgan and American Express, Melius Research analysts say in a note. The new terms fuel fee growth in the second half of this year and the first half of 2027 before annualizing and reverting to a typical high-single-digit percentage growth rate, the analysts say. Over the medium-term, the new terms and uplift from Marriott's loyalty program should contribute $100 million to $125 million by 2028. The analysts say positive sentiment had already built around the new credit-card deals bringing growth.(katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1113 ET - Bitcoin is trading up 0.4% to $63,712, managing to trade higher despite several sources of pressure. Strategy confirms a new sale of bitcoin, with 1,638 BTC sold at an average price of $63,957, worth roughly $105 million. This leaves Strategy with a stockpile of 842,138 BTC at an average price of $75,419. That's an unrealized loss of $9.9 billion for Strategy's bitcoin treasury. While previous sales of bitcoin announced by Strategy have pushed prices lower, fundamentals have shifted enough for bitcoin to stand firm this time. "Market conditions continue to improve beneath the surface," says Cex.io in a note, citing ETF inflows and lower liquidations. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1034 ET - Banco BPM's decision to pull out of talks for a potential merger with fellow Italian bank Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena reinforces the industrial and financial rationale of a rival offer from bigger peer Intesa Sanpaolo, Equita Sim's Andrea Lisi says. Intesa's offer continues to represent the option with the greatest value-creation potential for the shareholders of both banks, the analyst says in a research note. While Monte dei Paschi is reportedly looking for alternatives to the Intesa offer, the value-creation potential of that bid will be difficult to replicate through alternative transactions, the analyst adds. Banco BPM shares rise 2.1% and Intesa's are up 1.7%, while Monte dei Paschi shares are little changed. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
1032 ET - Dubai stocks lead major Gulf equity markets higher after President Trump called off planned strikes on Iran and said peace talks would resume Monday. The Dubai Financial Market General Index rises 1.4%, Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index gains 1.1%, Qatar's QE index adds 0.8% and Abu Dhabi's benchmark index is up 0.3%. Easing geopolitical risk, lower oil prices and strong regional earnings are supporting the relief rally, though its sustainability will depend on further stability and continued earnings strength, says Mazen Abou Ismail, head of trading desk at FFA Private Bank Dubai. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)
1007 ET - Ipsen's biggest drug could soon face competition from Sweden's Camurus, Jefferies analysts say. Investors in the French drugmaker have mainly focused on the risk from generic drugs entering the market and eroding sales of Ipsen's cancer treatment Somatuline, its top-selling product, but the greater long-term risk could come from Camurus's experimental medicine CAM2029, according to Jefferies. Results from a late-stage study of CAM2029 for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors are due in late 2026 or early 2027 and there is a reasonable likelihood they will be superior to Somatuline's, the analysts say. Given that Somatuline accounts for roughly 30% of Ipsen's sales and is highly profitable, this could put pressure on the company's earnings, they add. Jefferies cuts its recommendation on Ipsen to underperform from hold. Shares fall 8.2% to 153.50 euros. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0930 ET - Sandoz Group's $450 million agreement with U.S. states to settle antitrust claims over generic-drug pricing comes at a higher-than-expected cost, RBC Capital Markets analysts say in a research note. The amount is greater than the $265 million provisioned in December 2024 and, when added to previous settlements with purchaser plaintiffs, brings total cash payments for this litigation to around $1 billion, according to RBC. Payments for the latest settlement will be spread over seven years, so it only represents a 2% to 3% drag on the company's operating cash flow, the analysts estimate. This hasn't been a major concern for Sandoz investors, but the higher-than-expected settlement cost raises a question on the under-provision of litigation risk, they add. Shares fall 1.7%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
0932 ET - Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour says he believes New York's lawsuit against his company is driven by interests within the gambling industry. In an interview with CNBC, he compares the influence of prediction markets to Uber's impact on the taxi industry and Airbnb's impact on hotels. "You have an industry, the prediction market industry, that is disruptive," he says. "It's disrupting a legacy incumbent industry that is unhappy about that." New York's lawsuit argues that prediction markets are sports gambling disguised as legitimate trading, which would give the state's gambling commission authority to tax and regulate it.(katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
0845 ET - Beiersdorf's Nivea is performing worse than many expected, raising the question whether the German personal care company's guidance cuts will be the last, according to Bernstein analysts. "The magnitude of the cuts is clearly incredibly severe, although perhaps not such a shock in view of the lack of progress that has been made in addressing the incredibly weak Nivea growth performance over the past year," the analysts write in a note. Bernstein asks whether Beiersdorf can return to sales growth next year, and whether the Nivea turnaround plan can be tied up with a return to share gains as soon as 2028--less than 18 months away. Shares trade 3.8% lower at 77.66 euros. (sarah.sloat@wsj.com)
0834 ET - Food inflation will be higher for longer as a result of climate-related supply shocks, lower investment and other factors, UBS analysts write. High welfare standards for livestock, as well as higher labor costs and fast-growing demand will also lift prices. Advances in agricultural technology might reduce costs and improve farm profitability, but would only modestly ease food prices. If food inflation persists, a greater proportion of customer wallets will go toward supermarkets, the analysts say. Such a development means food retailers might benefit from higher food prices, the analysts say. However, consumers might in turn spend less on eating out and on other discretionary, non-food consumer goods. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0819 ET - Beiersdorf's Nivea decline is grim, RBC Capital Markets analysts write in a note. The brand's 6.7% organic sales decline in the second quarter was around double what the market had been expecting, RBC says. But it has evidently pushed management into taking radical action, the analysts add. The German cosmetics company has cut guidance for 2026 to support Nivea's turnaround and plans to increase consumer-facing investments in the brand. "This seems to be the entire reason for the guidance downgrade," the analysts say. Shares in Beiersdorf are down 3.67%. (aimee.look@wsj.com)
0810 ET - Bitcoin and ether fall even as risk sentiment improves after President Trump said he called off an attack against Iran and said talks would begin Monday. "Cryptocurrencies have been left out of the general excitement, and now look at risk of tipping over into a fresh deep correction," IG analyst Chris Beauchamp says in a note. Cryptocurrencies stand or fall on momentum and sellers appear to be getting the upper hand, he says. Bitcoin falls 1.2% to $62,687, LSEG data show. Ether drops 2.1% to $1,842. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0749 ET - Marriott International is relying on more hotel conversions to drive room growth. The hotel company added 17,900 net rooms in 2Q, with conversions remaining "an important driver of growth," Marriott says. Conversions represented more than a third of signings and 40% of openings in the first half of the year. Hotel companies have been turning to conversions to keep their room growth numbers high and satisfy investors, as construction costs create more challenges for building new hotels. Marriott's worldwide development pipeline for new rooms reached a new record in the quarter, totaling 629,000 rooms. Marriott is off 4.4% premarket.
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