The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1106 GMT - Torrid's fourth-quarter results are ahead of expectations, and the plus-size apparel company issues full‑year guidance modestly above consensus, William Blair analysts say in a research note. The company says its turnaround plan is starting to bear fruit, as it closes underperforming stores and is seeing positive results from newly launched sub-brands. While Torrid's initial outlook is encouraging, the efficacy of its turnaround hinges on whether newly-launched products continue to resonate with shoppers, the analysts say. "A limited track record on new product and worsening fundamentals keep us more cautious, noting a handful of false starts over the last two years," they write. Shares climb 16% premarket Friday. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
1103 GMT - U.K. banks are underperforming so far in 2026 as investors balk at higher valuations and macroeconomic concerns weigh on the sector, AJ Bell's Russ Mould writes. After a five-year bull run, some U.K. banks are down steeply so far this year. Though inflation spurred by conflict in the Middle East could support banks' income, "any economic slowdown due to higher energy prices could lead to an increase in loan losses that offsets the extra interest income," Mould writes. Investment banks' troubles are compounded by private credit concerns, with Barclays and Standard Chartered 18% and 15% lower for the year, respectively. NatWest is down 18% for the year, though HSBC--which has significant operations in Asia--is flat. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
1055 GMT - AutoCanada's transition year could stretch longer than investors might hope. The company is entering a "show me period" after a disappointing 4Q in which revenue slipped, profitability tightened and segment performance was uneven, RBC's Sabahat Khan says. The company has to prove that its strategic initiatives can deliver steadier, improved earnings, Khan writes. Part of the challenge is the market backdrop: A weaker consumer is choosing cheaper products, while Canadian EV tax credits that pulled demand forward in 2024 are ending. Gross profit per unit--a key metric--is expected to remain weak through the first half of 2026, with 12-18 months before full recovery. "We remain on the sidelines until there is improved visibility to an inflection in underlying results," Khan says. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1052 GMT - Novartis has made a meaningful move with its proposed acquisition of a breast-cancer drug candidate developed by Synnovation Therapeutics for up to $3 billion, Vontobel's Stefan Schneider says in a research note. The deal supports the Swiss pharmaceutical company's oncology strategy by complementing its pipeline in that therapeutic area, according to Vontobel. "Novartis has already an asset that helps patients with this type of breast cancer. Thus, adding a next generation asset to its pipeline is a meaningful move, in our view," Schneider says. Shares in Novartis rise 0.4% to 117.32 Swiss francs. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
1032 GMT - With Unilever in talks to separate its food business and combine it with McCormick, Marmite might be disposed of another way, says AJ Bell's Dan Coatsworth. "There is a real chance that McCormick might not want Marmite longer term," he says, adding that it doesn't fit into McCormick's portfolio. The spread is more niche outside the U.K., South Africa or Australia, he adds. Meanwhile, McCormick is likely primarily interested in sauces and spices from Unilever, including Knorr seasonings and Hellmann's Mayonnaise. However, Unilever could consider Associated British Foods, Kraft Heinz or Premier Foods as logical buyers for Marmite. Shares are up 0.8% at 46.09 pounds. (aimee.look@wsj.com)
0909 GMT - Smiths Group issues a slightly light outlook, RBC Capital Markets' Mark Fielding writes. To account for the sale of Smiths Detection, the U.K. engineering company now expects organic revenue growth of 3% to 4% over the full year. This compares with expectations of 4.2% growth, he says. Its headline operating margin is forecast at 20%, which is just below the 20.7% RBC expected, he adds. Organic growth for the first half of the fiscal year was also slightly lower than expected, he says. Shares fall 5.7% to 22.16 pounds. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0859 GMT - Unilever's potential divestiture of its food business would be strategically sound, analysts at Bernstein say. The U.K. group said it is in talks with U.S. spice maker McCormick after receiving a takeover offer for the unit. Unilever is possibly the most complex consumer packaged goods business in the world, with a hugely diverse geographical and category footprint, the analysts write. This diversification made sense in the 1990s and early 2000s, but the operating model in the industry has changed, they say. "The benefits of scale across categories no longer outweigh the drawbacks of complexity," Bernstein adds. "That said, the timing of these discussions comes as something of a surprise," the brokerage says. About a month ago, Unilever's CEO Fernando Fernandez said that the group had no urgency to act on a food divestiture, they say. Shares rise 1.3%. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)
0856 GMT - Pub operator J.D. Wetherspoon is likely to see downgrades to full-year estimates after a disappointing set of results, Shore Capital analyst Greg Johnson says in a note. Still, despite an 18% fall in operating profit to 52.9 million pounds, its underlying pub profitability edged up, with the year-on-year decline all down to a marked increase in volatile repair and maintenance, Johnson says. "Spoons is a clear category killer, although we continue to believe its value proposition leaves it uniquely exposed to structural cost pressures, with forecasting remaining very challenging," Johnson says. Shares are down 11% to 555 pence, and are down 7% over the past 12 months.(anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
0848 GMT - London mining stocks rise as precious-metal prices tick upward. Metals came under pressure Thursday amid a selloff across markets as investors worried about the impact of the Middle East conflict on the global economy, ING's Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey write. Metal prices however are up Friday, with gold futures rising 2.7% to $4,731.70 a troy ounce, while silver rises 3.4% to $73.68 an ounce. LME three-month copper futures are up 0.7% to $12,236 a metric ton. Precious metal miner Fresnillo is up 1.7%, while peers Hochschild Mining and Endeavour Mining both rise around 1.2%. Copper miner Antofagasta is up 0.9%. Diversified miner Anglo American rises 0.6%. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0839 GMT - European energy stocks slide in opening trade as oil pares some of its gains. Prices come under downward pressure as Israel says it will no longer target Iranian energy infrastructure and there are suggestions that President Trump may relax sanctions on Iranian oil to ease supply concerns, ING's Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey write. Brent crude falls 1.6% to $106.91 a barrel while WTI drops nearly 2% to $91.16. In London, BP drops 2.25% while Shell falls 1.3%. Norway's Equinor is down 2.7%. Spain's Repsol trades 1.7% lower and Italy's Eni is 0.6% down.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0838 GMT - J.D. Wetherspoon's earnings show little to cheer for as rising costs have made the pub operator struggle to keep its head above water, Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter says in a note. Its operating margin has fallen to 4.86% from 6.3%, with pretax profit slumping 32% despite a 5.7% rise in revenue to 1.09 billion pounds. However, if customer numbers continue to rise, and with food becoming more important to revenue, there could be some glimmers of light yet to come, Hunter says. "A further heavy slump for the shares at the open reflects the caution, with the market consensus of the shares as a hold increasingly vulnerable to a downgrade," he says. Shares are down 10% at 559 pence. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)
0834 GMT - Swedish miner Boliden faces growing risks to its top line from declining metals prices as the Middle East conflict raises global growth concerns, RBC analyst Marina Calero writes. "We see increasing downside risk in Boliden's commodity basket (30% copper, 27% zinc, 18% silver) as lower growth expectations start to get priced in." Energy accounted for 11% of Boliden's cost base in 2025, but thanks to its mostly underground asset base and fixed-electricity contracts, it is better placed than peers to withstand an energy shock, Calero says. Near-term catalysts from project ramp-ups should also prevent material underperformance versus peers. RBC downgrades Boliden to sector perform from outperform and lowers its price target to 600 Swedish kronor from 750 kronor. Shares rise 1.2% to 565.40 kronor. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2026 07:06 ET (11:06 GMT)
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