The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0211 GMT - Samsung Electro-Mechanics' new investment to expand chip-substrate production capacity in South Korea and Vietnam could boost its 2027-2028 earnings, says SK Kim at Daiwa Capital. The analyst notes that the planned 6.8-trillion-won investment is aimed at keeping up with rapidly growing demand for Ajinomoto Build-Up Film substrates used in data-center central processing units and artificial-intelligence accelerators. Kim assumes that the majority of the investment is backed by customers. Kim also expects the company to increase its multilayer-ceramic-capacitor production capacity by 20%-30% amid a shortage of MLCCs for AI servers. "We expect a significant earnings improvement through 2027-28, driven by strong AI demand for ABF substrates and the company's active response to AI server MLCC demand," Kim says in a note. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)
0152 GMT - At first glance, Pantoro Gold's FY 2026 fiscal results are better than expected, says MA Moelis Australia. It attributes the beat to significantly lower exploration expenditure and a larger reversal of share-based payments, among other things. The company's annual mineral resource and ore reserve update is positive, with resources and reserves rising after depletion, it says. MA says the annual result "reinforced PNR's cash-generating potential." It says "the early FY27 production update is more encouraging, however, sustained delivery is still required to rebuild credibility." MA has a buy rating and 3.65 Australian dollar target on the stock. Shares are up 2.1% at A$2.91. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)
0147 GMT - Wilmar International should be able to navigate a challenging operating environment, says UOB Kay Hian's Amerul Iqmal in a note. While elevated commodity prices could pressure the agribusiness' margins in the downstream consumer and tropical oils business, its plantation segment could benefit from stronger palm oil and sugar prices, he says. The company is also using cost efficiency and hedging to manage volatile commodity prices, he says. Still, he flags that the company expects the impact of the stronger El Nino weather pattern on its oil palm fresh-fruit-bunch production to emerge next year. UOB Kay Hian raises its target price to 3.80 Singapore dollars from S$3.50 but maintains a hold rating. Shares rise 0.3% to S$3.62. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0126 GMT - City Developments is likely able to address the concerns around its strategic review as it adopts some of its key initiatives, says Citi analyst Brandon Lee in a note. Shares fell Monday after the release of the review details, which Lee attributed to factors such as the lack of a return on equity target and 30% capital allocation to China and Japan. However, he expects CDL's return on equity to exceed Citi's current forecast if the company achieves its goal of 1.0 billion Singapore dollars in divestment gains. Geographical impact from CDL's China and Japan plans is negligible as it is likely to sell certain existing projects there before undertaking new investments, he adds. Citi has a buy rating and S$11.53 target price. Shares are down 1.8% at S$7.45.(megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0104 GMT - Synlait Milk's latest update contains so many positives that its previous bear at Macquarie is now a bull. Raising the investment bank's recommendation on Sylait's New Zealand-listed stock to outperform from underperform, one of Macquarie's analysts points to recent operational stabilization, new customer contracts, and the prospect of balance-sheet improvement. The analyst tells clients in a note that the new contracts are set to mitigate the impact of insourcing by major customer and shareholder A2 Milk by year three, potentially supplemented by other new customers. The dual-listed dairy product manufacturer's recovery looks solid, they add. Macquarie lifts its target price on the NZX-listed stock 8.7% to 0.50 New Zealand dollar. Shares are up 3.6% at NZ$0.435. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
0059 GMT - Pinnacle Investment Management's underlying momentum seems intact and the recent pullback in its share price is seen by its new bulls as a buying opportunity. Raising their recommendation on the Australia-listed stock to buy from neutral, UBS analysts tell clients in a note that valuation looks attractive at 12.7 times fiscal 2028 earnings, which represents a 40% relative discount to its historical multiple. They acknowledge some risk from changed valuation assumptions at the listed vehicles managed by private lender Metrics, which is 35% owned by Pinnacle, but believe that any impact has been more than priced in. UBS trims its target price 5.6% to 17.00 Australian dollars. Shares are up 8.4% at A$14.01. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
0025 GMT - Japanese stocks are lower in early trade as uncertainty about the Iran conflict and higher borrowing costs continues. Auto, steel and financial stocks are leading declines. Toyota Motor is down 2.6%, Nippon Steel is 3.3% lower and Nomura Holdings is down 2.8%. The dollar is at 157.45 yen, compared with Y157.63 as of Monday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching developments in the Middle East, oil prices and bond yields. The Nikkei Stock Average is down 0.8% at 65373.77. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)
2345 GMT - Australian stocks look set to edge higher as investors wait on what is widely expected to be a resumption of interest-rate rises by the country's central bank. ASX futures are up by less than 0.1% ahead of Tuesday's session, suggesting that the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index could lightly add to its week-opening 0.2% rise. Economists and traders expect the Reserve Bank to raise the cash rate by 25 basis points later Tuesday. Ahead of the open, REA Group said it had agreed to buy a 35% stake in an Ireland-based counterpart. Cochlear said it would defend a class action representing shareholders aggrieved at its profit forecasting over its last fiscal year. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
2341 GMT - Japanese stocks mighty remain rangebound as uncertainties about the Iran conflict and higher borrowing costs continue. Nikkei futures are up 0.1% at 65795 on the SGX. The dollar is at 157.37 yen, compared with Y157.63 as of Monday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are focusing on developments in the Middle East, oil prices and bond yields. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.7% to 65877.62 on Monday. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com)
2301 GMT -- Retailers in the U.K. have maintained promotions and reduced prices to help drive demand, keeping inflation lower than a year ago, according to a report by the British Retail Consortium and Nielsen IQ. For the period from Sept. 1 to Sept. 7, shop price inflation dropped to 1.4% compared with 1.5% in August. "Retailers have absorbed wave after wave of extra costs, but there is a limit to what businesses can shoulder," BRC's chief executive, Helen Dickinson, says. These include rising employment costs, energy bills and packaging taxes, she adds. The retail sector will still need to absorb cost increases wherever possible, as household budgets will get tighter in the final quarter of the year, the report says. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)
2121 GMT - AMD's $8.2 billion acquisition of World Labs, a developer of spatially intelligent AI models, speaks to Silicon Valley's growing interest in robotics and applying AI to the physical world. Nvidia is making specialized chips for physical AI and has projected that its physical AI revenue will grow tenfold over the next decade. Elon Musk's Tesla is hard at work developing a fleet of humanoid Optimus robots. And Amazon, which is already among the world's biggest makers of robots, has said it plans to build two new robotics hubs in Indiana and Texas. "As AI expands into reasoning, robotics, simulation and physical AI, the demands on compute infrastructure become more diverse," AMD says in its announcement of the World Labs deal. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
2119 GMT - Vail Resorts highlights recent executive changes in its latest quarterly report, as it faces pressure from an activist investor about its leadership team. Activist DKR Oasis Management earlier this month bought stake in Vail and said the company needed to reconstitute its board. "In addition to appointing a new CEO, we have brought on a new Chief Revenue Officer and a new independent board member with hospitality and operations expertise, with an ongoing search for a second director," Vail says. Vail's revenue chief started in January, while returning Chief Executive Rob Katz started in May 2025.
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