The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0915 GMT - Shares in European semiconductor companies edge lower as the Iran war shows no sign of abating after attacks on Middle Eastern energy infrastructure. Shares in Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International are down 2.6% and 3.1%, respectively. German chip maker Infineon Technologies falls 4.6%. STMicroelectronics--which supplies Apple, Samsung Electronics and Tesla--drops 2.3%. The declines in Europe follow losses in Asian stocks like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which closed 2.9% lower. South Korean memory-chip maker SK Hynix--which supplies Nvidia--closed down 4.1%. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)
0913 GMT - Vonovia's deleveraging plan is ambitious, ING analysts Francesca Ferragina and Michiel Vereycken say in a research note. The German real-estate company is targeting to lower its loan-to-value ratio to around 40% by 2028 and its net debt/Ebitda multiple to below 12. For 2025, Vonovia posted a loan-to-value ratio of 45.4% and has a current multiple of 13.8. "We estimate that to pursue such a deleveraging around 8 billion euros in disposals would be needed," the analysts say. While this looks like a sizeable amount, Vonovia was able to sell around 7.9 billion euros of assets during the difficult years of 2023 and 2024, the analysts say. This is a good track record, they add. Shares trade 10.3% lower at 22.06 euros. (nina.kienle@wsj.com)
0911 GMT - Shares in Air Astana lose ground after cofounder BAE Systems sold off its remaining stake in the Kazakh airline at a discount. The U.K. aerospace-and-defense group on Wednesday listed for sale its remaining roughly 6.9% stake in Air Astana at a price of $5.10 per global depositary receipt, a discount to the previous day's closing price of $6.02. BAE Systems cofounded the airline alongside the Kazakh wealth fund at the start of the century, taking it public in 2024 before selling off its stake in a series of disposals. Shares in Air Astana lose 7% to $5.60. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)
0853 GMT - Silver and platinum prices tumble, pressured by a firmer dollar and mounting concerns that high energy prices will fuel inflation. Silver futures dive 8.3% to $71.14 a troy ounce, while platinum falls 6.7% to $1,918.19 an ounce. Both metals tracked losses in gold, with New York futures down 3.7% at $4,712.70 an ounce as hopes of further U.S. interest-rate cuts in the near term dimmed further following Powell's remarks on Wednesday. While geopolitical tensions would typically bolster safe-haven demand, the inflationary impact of rising energy costs is weighing on precious metals by pushing real yields higher and limiting upside. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0849 GMT - Xiaomi's shares rose sharply in Hong Kong as investors watch for the new SU7 launch event Thursday evening. Its shares closed 3.4% higher at 36.32 Hong Kong dollars, outperforming the Hang Seng Index's losses of 2.0%.The gains come as investors closely watch for the new SU7 sedan that Xiaomi is about to release Thursday night. The company's CEO said in a livestream in February that the new SU7 had rolled off the production line. Although China's auto sector has faced slowing demand in January and February, analysts are expecting a recovery in March with new model releases from multiple automakers.(jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)
0840 GMT - IG Group's earnings and 125 million pound share buyback are expected to be well received by the market, RBC Capital Markets analysts Ben Bathurst and Jude Neanor say in a note. The online-trading company is making demonstrable progress as it keeps its generous capital return policy, the analysts say. "Messaging around accelerating customer growth and raising ambitions will be well received, in light of management's reputation for conservatism." Shares are up 4.5% at 1,421 pence and are up 49% over the past 12 months. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
0838 GMT - Kingboard Holdings' investments in artificial-intelligence upstream materials and chemicals are likely to boost 2027 earnings, say Citi analysts in a note. The Hong Kong-based copper-foil manufacturer's 2026 core earnings could fall, particularly as the company is placing shares in subsidiary Kingboard Laminates and therefore reducing the unit's profit contribution. The analysts cut their 2026 core earnings estimate by 11%. After 2026, the first contributions from new AI-related and chemical projects should come in, leading the analysts to raise their 2027 earnings projection by 4.0%. Still, Citi prefers Kingboard Laminates to Kingboard Holdings as the former is a pure AI upstream materials play. Citi raises its target price on Kingboard Holdings to HK$48.00 from HK$45.00 and maintains a buy rating. Shares closed 5.3% lower at HK$37.50. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0827 GMT - London's mining stocks slide in opening trade as precious metal prices fall. Gold futures are down 3.2% to $4,741.10 a troy ounce as the Iran war causes the dollar to rise and diminishes the prospect of interest-rate cuts in the near term. A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for overseas buyers while lower borrowing costs typically support non-yielding assets like gold. Meanwhile, silver futures tumble 7.5% to $71.755 an ounce. Precious metal miners Fresnillo, Hochschild Mining and Endeavour all trade down more than 5%. Diversified miner Anglo American is down nearly 5% with Rio Tinto down 3.5%. Commodities giant Glencore falls 2.8%. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0822 GMT - European indexes tumble at the open as oil surges above $110 a barrel and the Middle East conflict deepens. Basic materials stocks slide steeply, with miners pulling the U.K.'s FTSE 100 down 1%. Banks also fall, with Standard Chartered falling 4.9% and NatWest down 5.2%. The industrials-heavy German DAX loses 1.5%. Real estate stocks in the index tumble 5.7% as fears of an ECB rate hike this year intensify. France's CAC 40 is down 1.2%, dragged by basic materials and consumer-sensitive stocks like luxuries. Hotel group Accor slides 4.4%. Spain's IBEX 35 and the Italian FTSE MIB fall 1.5% and 1.25%, respectively, as banks and industrials sell off. ASML slips 1.6% in Amsterdam. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0810 GMT - U.K. jobs market data signals that the market is stabilizing, Deutsche Bank's Sanjay Raja says in a note. However, high energy prices due to the Middle East war could stall any labor market recovery, Raja says. "Hiring plans may get shelved," he says. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.2% in the three months to January, in line with the consensus forecast by economists in a WSJ poll. Average wage growth, excluding bonuses, slowed to 3.8% in the three months to January from 4.2% in the three months to December. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0800 GMT - As geopolitical uncertainties have made it difficult for policymakers and economists to predict the inflation outlook, the Bank of Japan is planning to release new indicators to help them understand core price trends. Gov. Kazuo Ueda says the central bank will release price data that strips out temporary factors--such as the impact of government subsidies--before the summer. However, Ueda says there is "no intention to move policy in either direction immediately" based solely on such data. (megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com)
0739 GMT - Adidas is delivering on its promised turnaround, but sentiment toward the sector remains very low, Berenberg analysts write in a note to clients. The German sporting-goods company reported the strongest consecutive two years of organic revenue growth in nearly a decade, while margins are closing in on its 10% goal, they say. "However, we see limited investor interest in the sector, no matter the strength of the stock narrative," the bank says. After a challenging period, sentiment toward the industry remains low, compounded by concerns about whether Adidas is still fashionable, the analysts say. Shares closed at 138.05 euros. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2026 05:15 ET (09:15 GMT)
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