The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0808 GMT - Maersk has recorded a strong freight-rate performance this year, especially in the second and third quarter, Citi analyst Arthur Truslove writes. The bank increases its 2026 Ebitda forecast to $11.86 billion from $9.8 billion after management raised its Ebitda guidance to $10.5 billion-$12.5 billion from $8 billion-$10 billion. Citi retains its neutral rating on the stock and lifts its target price to 20,864 Danish kroner from 17,543 kroner. Shares rise 4.6% to 21,650 kroner. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
0802 GMT - The Hong Kong IPO market is expected to moderate in 2H, Sidley Austin partners write in a note. A significant portion of investor attention and appetite were diverted to SpaceX towards the end of 1H, which might have impacted fundraising efforts of other companies planning global listings, including in Hong Kong, they say. Hong Kong regulators dedicated efforts since late 2025 to improve the quality of the pipeline IPOs, such as prospectus and due diligence work, and such enhanced requirements slowed down the overall IPO pace, they add. Still, "China's hard-tech and AI sectors are still buzzing with new breakthroughs" with its rivalry with the U.S., and such companies are expected to continue tapping into the capital markets in Hong Kong, they say. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)
0756 GMT - China's latest batch of economic data suggest that growth is becoming more visibly policy-driven, says Yuhan Zhang, principal economist at TCB China Center. The figures earlier showed slower but continued growth in retail sales and industrial production, and a steeper decline in fixed asset investment. The emerging pattern is one of selective strength amid broad softness: policy is increasingly determining where growth occurs, while underlying private demand remains subdued," Zhang says. That means the question is not simply whether China can sustain economic momentum, but whether policy-supported pockets of activity can eventually generate a broader recovery in household spending and private investment. (fabiana.negrinochoa@wsj.com)
0752 GMT - Hapag-Lloyd recently reported second-quarter results, on the back of which Citi has raised its forecasts. The bank expects stronger freight rates and demand to offset higher fuel costs. Citi models a 16% quarter-on-quarter increase in third-quarter freight rate with EBIT at $941 million. Citi's 2026-27-28 EBIT forecast stands at $1.25 billion, $35 million and a loss of $480 million respectively, above company 2026 EBIT guidance of $100 million to $1.1 billion, reflecting the improved rate and demand environment. Consensus EBIT stands at $821 million for 2026, a loss of $63 million in 2027 and a loss of $149 million in 2028. The bank retains its sell rating on the stock and lifts its target price to 115 euros from 101 euros. Shares rise 3.8% to 137.40 euros. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
0751 GMT - Thailand's economic growth is expected to rebound in 3Q before slowing in 4Q, Citi economist Wei Zheng Kit says in a note. Citi expects the economy to expand 3.1% in 3Q on year from 1.9% growth in 2Q, supported by government measures to support consumer spending. Still, growth is expected to slow in 4Q, as the scheme is scheduled to conclude at end-September. Citi maintains its 2026 GDP growth forecast at 2.2%. However, with a possible extension of the government measures being considered, this may imply small upside risks to Citi's growth forecasts, they add.(amanda.lee@wsj.com)
0738 GMT - Universal Music Group continues to benefit from higher minimum per-subscriber payments, Citi analysts write in a note. The world's largest music company shows sustainable growth driven by increases in minimum per-subscriber payments from online music streaming platforms, they say. The group also has growth potential related to AI-generated playlists, given the potential launch of this service by Spotify in the second half of the year or early 2027, they add. The U.S. bank resumes its coverage with a buy rating and a target price of 20 euros on the stock. Shares are up 0.9% at 15.08 euros. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
0739 GMT - Swissquote Group Holding's target for 2028 looks ambitious due to weakness in cryptocurrency trading, Berenberg's Christoph Greulich says. The Swiss financial services firm reported a 66% fall in net crypto assets income in the first half, which offset progress in other income streams, Berenberg notes. The firm is also exposed to crypto price changes as well as customers' activity levels. Swissquote lowered its 2026 guidance but confirmed its forecast to reach pretax profit of 500 million Swiss francs in 2028. "We continue to view this goal as ambitious and forecast 2028 pretax profit to come in 8% below the target," Berenberg says. The shares closed at 37.54 francs on Friday and are down 25% year to date. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)
0728 GMT - European markets started the new week mostly higher after most ended the previous week lower, except for Germany's DAX, which closed at a new record. The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 index was up 0.2% and boosted by technology and pharma stocks. SpaceX supplier STMicroelectronics was up 3%, while Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International were up 2.35% and 2.7%, respectively. Dutch pharmaceutical company Argenx was leading the index risers--up around 7.7%--after reporting positive trial results. Germany's DAX and London's FTSE 100 indexes were up 0.02% and 0.3%, respectively, while France's CAC 40 was down 0.1%. (ian.walker@wsj.com)
0728 GMT - Citic Telecom's mobile services and international telecommunications services are likely to remain key growth drivers, says DBS Group Research's Tsz Wang Tam in a note. The company's 1H earnings were largely stable, buoyed by its resilient mobile and international segments, the analyst says. The company is also budgeting a higher capital expenditure of 145 million Hong Kong dollars to support its artificial-intelligence infrastructure investments, he adds. The completion of its Hutchison Telecom Macau acquisition is likely to strengthen Citic Telecom's market leadership in Macau. DBS projects 4.3% and 5.2% earnings growth for 2026 and 2027, respectively. The bank retains its buy rating and HK$3.30 target price. The stock is up 3.3% at HK$2.515. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0650 GMT - Liquid cooling penetration among AI chips is projected to approach 60% by 2027, as next-generation AI hardware continues to push power and thermal requirements higher, according to research firm TrendForce. The firm says adoption is expected to rise from approximately 33% in 2025 to 53% in 2026, driven by continued investment in AI infrastructure and the rollout of new high-performance AI chips from Nvidia, AMD and Google. AMD is expanding its AI platform strategy with the Helios rack-scale solution, which is expected to enter large-scale shipments in 2027, while the next-generation MI500 platform is being developed to compete with Nvidia's Rubin Ultra, TrendForce says. (jie.yang@wsj.com)
0648 GMT - Questions remain over Rheinmetall's midterm targets, analysts at J.P. Morgan caution. The German defense group trimmed its sales guidance for the year this month after the German government cancelled a major frigate order. Along with lower planned capex, sales over the longer term are likely to be lower than expected, according to JPM's calculations. "We remain bullish on European defense but see more upside in several other names," the bank says. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com' @joshualeokirby)
0644 GMT - HelloFresh's ability to achieve its guidance will depend on its marketing performance during the back-to-school season, Berenberg analyst Trion Reid writes in a note. The German meal-kit company maintained its full-year outlook when it reported its first-half results. "The poor conversion of new customers in the first half of 2026 means that we expect a weak organic revenue performance in third quarter 2026," he says. The company needs to deliver a material improvement in the fourth quarter to reach the low end of its guidance for a 3% to 6% organic revenue decline, but this seems unlikely unless the conversion rate for new customers improves from September, he adds. Shares closed at 3.15 euros on Friday.
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