The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0937 ET - Investors prefer companies to use their cash flow to improve their financial positions, according to 38% of respondents in the Bank of America global fund manager survey for September. A total of 33% of respondents would like companies to return cash to shareholders and 19% would like firms to improve capital spending, the survey shows. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0907 ET - WPP is likely to keep the Coca-Cola account now that Publicis has PepsiCo, Berenberg analysts Anna Patrice and Davide Amorim write. New business was a standout key performance indicator at the advertising firm's recent sales briefing, they say. Earlier this month WPP reported a smaller-than-forecast drop in like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs for the first half year and said account wins and retentions with existing clients were boosting momentum across the business. "Pitch momentum is improving, and most of the pipeline now involves integrated solutions rather than defensive retention," the analysts say. Berenberg has a buy rating on the stock and 470 pence target price. Shares are down 0.3% at 384.90 pence, but up 14% over the year to date. (ian.walker@wsj.com)
0905 ET - While on stage at a tech summit, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang puts President Trump on speakerphone, giving the president a chance to push back on recent safety concerns over AI. "It's all a hoax," Trump says. Trump defends AI and data centers as an economic driver for the U.S., forecasting that AI will be "the oil of the next 20-25 years--it's bigger than the internet." Huang, who has said that the AI warnings are aimed at boosting business for cybersecurity firms, tells Trump he agrees with his views. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
0830 ET - The EU's proposal to revamp its public contracts rules marks a "paradigm shift" away from procurement policy principles since the Maastricht Treaty--a foundational accord for the bloc, according to Luca Picotti, a lawyer, author and fellow at Italian foreign investment research group Osservatorio Golden Power. Under the plans, public bodies would put a greater focus on factors such as sustainability, security and European preference when selecting a bid. It also highlights that they can exclude some bids from non-EU countries that lack reciprocal procurement agreements with the bloc. "What we are seeing is an unprecedented emphasis on risks such as excessive supply-chain dependency or the interference of third-country legislation requiring the disclosure or transfer of information," he says. (edith.hancock@wsj.com)
0759 ET - Bitcoin falls as expectations for a U.S. interest-rate rise weigh on risk sentiment and as investors await a pivotal U.S. Senate procedural vote on cryptocurrency legislation. Money market pricing shows a 91% chance of a 25 basis points rate rise by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, according to LSEG. The vote on the Clarity Act, which would establish a broad regulatory framework for digital assets, will be held later in the day. "Chances of approval remain split, with a likely failure potentially triggering a significant downleg in cryptos," XM analyst Achilleas Georgolopoulos says in a note. "Specifically for bitcoin, the sizeable August price gains could be under threat." Bitcoin drops 2.8% to $76,896, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0749 ET - A total of 79% of fund managers polled in Bank of America's global fund manager survey for September say they don't expect any of the AI companies to announce a cut in capital expenditure this year. This is up from 71% of fund managers in the August survey. Only 14% of respondents said they expect an AI capex reduction this year, BofA says. The survey was conducted between Sept. 4 and Sept. 10, before Dario Amodei, Sam Altman, and Elon Musk, chief executives at massive AI companies, called for a slowdown in AI development. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0747 ET - Inflation expectations reversed in September, with investors anticipating lower instead of higher global consumer prices over the next 12 months, according to the latest Bank of America global fund manager survey. A net 4% of investors expect global inflation to ease, flipping from a net 3% expecting higher inflation in August. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0740 ET - The level of cash held by fund managers rose to 3.9% in September from 3.5% in August, according to the latest Bank of America global fund manager survey. This finding comes as the survey also shows investor sentiment weakened in September, after optimism seen in August. "Investor sentiment pulled back from the very bullish August survey (the 3rd most bullish survey since 2022) to the least bullish in 3 months." (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0737 ET - The dollar is considered overvalued by slightly fewer investors in September, Bank of America's global fund manager survey shows. A net 37% of investors say the dollar is overvalued, compared to 39% in August. Meanwhile, a net 13% of investors think sterling is overvalued, up from 8% last month. A net 3% say the euro is undervalued, down from 5% last month. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0656 ET - AtkinsRealis Group's nuclear opportunity is bigger than the market currently appreciates, says TD Cowen analyst Michael Tupholme. He says that the company's proprietary Candu nuclear reactor opportunity is quite large, especially for new builds. Tupholme points to Ontario, where in the province alone new builds alone represent a revenue opportunity of around C$38 billion compared with its current nuclear segment backlog of C$4.2 billion. The analyst says that a catalyst to look out for will be a favorable Ontario nuclear-technology selection decision, expected in 2H. "We expect strong Nuclear results over our forecast horizon (even before considering new build upside), while we see a favourable nuclear tech. decision for Ontario new builds as a re-rating catalyst," Tupholme says. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
0646 ET - More than four in 10 fund managers expect European and U.S. equities to perform in line with each other over the next year, according to a Bank of America survey. A net 5% of investors globally have underweight ratings for Europe, while 8% expect to put the region on underweight over the next year. BofA says a net 39% of respondents expect stronger growth over the 12 months, while a quarter foresee near-term economic acceleration. It adds that a net 39% of fund managers surveyed anticipate market gains in the months ahead. (ian.walker@wsj.com)
0630 ET - Sales of branded goods outpaced own-labels in the U.K. grocery market in August, reversing a defining trend from earlier in the year, Barclays analysts say in a note. For the four weeks to Sept. 6, sales of branded goods grew 3.7% while own label sales grew 2.9%, according to data from Worldpanel by Numerator released Tuesday. However, shoppers still have a strong appetite for promotions, the data provider said.
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