The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0812 GMT - European natural-gas prices climb more than 2%, trading just shy of 74 euros a megawatt-hour as supply flows from Qatar remain severely disrupted. "LNG has not been flowing out as much as crude oil, leaving the gas market increasingly vulnerable as we near the 2026/27 heating season," ING analysts say. Qatar, one of the world's largest LNG exporters, recently extended force majeure on liquefied natural gas shipments for Edison--one of its largest European customers--through early November. Meanwhile, gas storage levels across the EU are currently 66% full, below the seasonal average. In early European trading, the benchmark Dutch TTF contract is up 2.4% to 73.73 euros a megawatt-hour.(giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0806 GMT - Singapore's retail sales momentum is likely to moderate through 2026, RHB Bank's Barnabas Gan says in a report. Retail sales grew by 1.5% on year in July, compared to 4.0% in June. Rising geopolitical uncertainty, particularly in the Middle East, could weigh on consumer and business confidence. This would encourage more cautious spending and moderating discretionary demand, Gan says. Tourism-dependent segments, including luxury retail, department stores and jewelry, also face more headwinds if there are fewer visitors in Singapore or softening tourist spending. RHB maintains its 2026 retail sales growth for Singapore at 3.0%. (amanda.lee@wsj.com)
0749 GMT - China's inflation data is likely to be mixed in August, according to Deutsche Bank economists in a research note. The bank expects China's PPI inflation to moderate to 3.2% on year in August from 3.5% in July, DB says. "While the rebound in oil prices over the past two months continued to support price gains in the petroleum sector, price trends across most other industries were largely flat," the bank says. By contrast, DB expects CPI inflation to pick up to 0.8% on year from 0.5%, driven by continued increases in pork and vegetable prices. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)
0744 GMT - Advanced Info Service's recent share sell-off and dividend yield create an attractive entry point for investors, says Maybank Securities (Thailand)'s Wasu Mattanapotchanart in a note. Shares of the Thai mobile network service provider have declined around 8% since its 2Q results, underperforming the benchmark SET Index's roughly 2% drop, the analyst notes. Its above-average 2027 dividend yield of 5.6% and estimated 2026 and 2027 core profit growth of 18% and 7%, respectively, turn the analyst bullish on the stock. Maybank Securities (Thailand) upgrades its rating to buy from hold and raises its target price to 387.00 baht from 369.00 baht. Shares are up 2.9% at 356.00 baht. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0738 GMT - Ashmore Group's fiscal 2026 underlying performance fell short of market expectations, Cavendish's Rahim Karim and Jens Ehrenberg write in a note. The London-listed emerging markets asset manager has delivered mixed results, they say. While the company reported weaker-than-anticipated adjusted Ebitda, pretax profit rose and was broadly in line with consensus expectations, they note. Additionally, "Ashmore's shares have significantly re-rated in the past nine months, which to a large degree was owing to the perceived inflection in Emerging Markets flows seen across the industry," they add. Shares are down 2% at 2.14 pounds. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
0737 GMT - The launch of Isar Aerospace's Spectrum carrying the German Space Agency's Microlauncher Competition CubeSats marks an important milestone for the European space industry, according to analysts at Berenberg. The launch was continental Europe's first commercial orbital success, they say. However, scaling sovereign launch capability will still take some time, so the most sensible option in the near term is for U.S. providers to bring capability to European territory instead, they note. (aimee.look@wsj.com)
0735 GMT - Gold prices fall after surprisingly strong U.S. jobs data and renewed Middle East tensions reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise rates next week. In early European trading, New York futures are down 0.8% to $4,442.40 a troy ounce. "Gold has remained volatile around $4,400 after recovering from July lows near $4,000 an ounce," says Soojin Kim from MUFG. "This week's U.S. inflation data will be critical in determining whether the Fed tightens policy at its Sept. 15-16 meeting, with persistent price pressures likely to remain a near-term headwind." According to CME Group's FedWatch tool, traders are now pricing in a 58% probability of a rate hike this month. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0731 GMT - Oil prices extend gains in early European trading, with Brent crude topping $97 a barrel after the U.S. and Iran exchanged a series of fresh strikes over the weekend. The global oil benchmark is up 0.8% to $97.05 a barrel, while the U.S. gauge WTI rises 0.6% to $91.99 a barrel. "The oil market remains well-supported with little sign of peace between the U.S. and Iran," analysts at ING say. According to the firm, speculators became more bullish on Brent crude last week as renewed U.S.-Iran tensions heightened concerns over prolonged supply disruptions. But the increase in net-long positioning was driven mainly by short covering, suggesting traders were largely closing bearish bets rather than making aggressive new wagers on higher oil prices. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0730 GMT - Repsol, Neste and OMV will be the main beneficiaries of sustained high refining margins, but all integrated oil companies should continue to deliver above-average profits in their downstream units, Barclays analyst Lydia Rainforth writes. Refining margins remain exceptionally tight and margins on diesel continue to accelerate, she says. Damage to refining infrastructure in the Middle East and Russia, and constrained feedstock availability for Asian and European refiners mean the backdrop remains supportive, she says. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0727 GMT - Klinique Medical Clinic's 2026 revenue guidance is raised, but appears already priced in by the market, CGS International's Kasem Prunratanamala says in a research report. The medical aesthetic clinic operator raised its 2026 revenue target to 4.50 billion baht from THB4.15 billion, citing strong cash sales growth in July, the analyst notes. However, the brokerage leaves its 2026-2028 earnings forecasts unchanged, pending greater clarity on growth sustainability amid intensifying competition and geopolitical headwinds. While the company's operating momentum remains healthy, thanks to drivers including resilient same-store-sale growth, its recent share price strength already captures much of this positive news. The brokerage maintains the stock's hold rating and target price of THB28.00. Shares are 1.75% higher at THB29.00.(ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
0726 GMT - Doosan Fuel Cell could return to profit next year as new contract wins boost production and ease its fixed-cost burden, says NH Investment & Securities' Y.S. Jung. The analyst expects the South Korean firm's order backlog to exceed 250 megawatts of fuel cells following its recent 501-billion-won contract with HyAxiom to supply products to U.S. data centers. Doosan could win more contracts in the U.S., with its annual production capacity expected to rise to 350 megawatts in 2027, he adds. NH upgrades its rating on the stock to buy from hold and raises its target price by 71% to 58,000 won. Shares rose 14% to close at 49,900 won. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)
0724 GMT - Memory makers are poised for another quarter of gains, though growth is expected to cool as customers push back against further price increases, according to TrendForce. Global DRAM revenue surged 59.5% quarter-on-quarter to $154.7 billion in 2Q, the research firm says, as booming AI server demand and tight supply drove prices higher. TrendForce expects DRAM prices to rise another 13% to 18% this quarter, albeit at a slower pace. Samsung retained the top spot, while SK Hynix and Micron benefited from strong demand for AI-related products. Smaller suppliers also posted sharp revenue growth as shortages persisted in older-generation memory chips, it adds.
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