The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.

0734 GMT - Centurion Corp. stands to benefit from its acquisition of two assets in Western Australia, CGS International analysts say in a research report. Its acquisition of worker-accommodation assets in Karratha and in South Hedland mark a strategic pivot into a higher-yielding market, the analysts say. With around 90% financial occupancy supported by mostly corporate leases and net-property-income margins of roughly 70%, the assets are expected to generate low double-digit yields, the analysts estimate. Beyond earnings accretion, these acquisitions establish a strategic beachhead in Western Australia. The brokerage raises the stock's target price to S$1.89 from S$1.84 with an unchanged add rating. Shares are unchanged at S$1.63. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0729 GMT - Persimmon reiterating its guidance as being in line with market consensus is unlikely to materially affect analyst expectations, Quilter Cheviot analyst Oli Creasey says in a note. The U.K. home builder continues to buck sector trends by seeing growth across key performance measures, Creasey says. The group's order book has grown, with private sales up 7% to 1.8 billion pounds and average sale prices up 5%. This outpaces peers that have struggled to match their 2025 performances, Creasey says. Shares are up 2.4% at 1,052 pence.(anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

0725 GMT - Repsol's decision to keep its 2026 guidance unchanged is prudent given the volatile macro environment, RBC Capital Markets analyst Biraj Borkhataria writes. It will likely use its second-quarter earnings release to offer an update on its shareholder distribution plan, he adds. The Spanish energy company will get its first Venezuelan cargo next week and upstream production has recovered, which combined offer improved cash flow generation, Borkhataria says. Shares rise 2.5% to 22.5 euros. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0718 GMT - Puma's finance chief replacement is a good move, RBC Capital Markets analyst Piral Dadhania says. The German group said that Mark Langer would join Puma as its new CFO effective May 1, replacing Markus Neubrand. "We view this as a positive development," the analyst writes in a research note, citing Langer's previous professional experience at Douglas Group and Hugo Boss, where he held senior roles. The stock trades 2.7% higher at 25.35 euros. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)

0717 GMT - Zhipu AI's stock may rise further, according to Morgan Stanley analysts in a research note. The Chinese AI company, officially known as Knowledge Atlas Technology,showed "exceptional near-term momentum" with a surge in its annual recurring revenue, MS says. The company's ability to raise prices signals high recognition of its foundation model intelligence by consumers, it says. Key catalysts include model upgrades, potential inclusion into stock indexes and an A-share listing. MS has a target price to HK$990 on Zhipu. Shares last traded at HK$875.50. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0716 GMT - Glencore's trading unit is unlikely to top its 2022 performance but the potential is there, RBC Capital Markets analyst Ben Davis writes. The commodities company says full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes could be comfortably ahead of its long-term guidance range of between $2.3 billion and $3.5 billion a year. Its traders are capitalizing on dislocations across the crude oil markets, and the conflict could start impacting gas and coal markets too, Davis writes. This would offer even more opportunities for Glencore's traders. Shares rise 0.4% to 555.30 pence. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0716 GMT - Europe's blue-chip stock indexes fall at the open as higher oil prices weigh on industrials and consumer-sensitive stocks. A raft of corporate earnings also drive single stock moves. Germany's industrials-heavy DAX falls 0.9%, with automakers falling sharply after Volkswagen reported a drop in revenue over the first quarter. In Paris, the CAC 40 falls 1.2% as banks slide, with Credit Agricole falling 4.7%. Renault-owner Stellantis drops 7.4% after earnings. London's FTSE 100 is flat, as gains for oil majors counter losses elsewhere in the index. Spain's Ibex 35 tumbles 5.9% at the open as banks in the index slide, with Santander falling 2.7%. Banks also weigh on the Italian FTSE MIB, which falls 1.2%. The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 is down 0.5%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0710 GMT - SIA Engineering's risk-reward profile seems improved after a recent share-price correction, leading DBS Group Research's Jason Sum to turn bullish on the stock. The operating environment for the Singapore aircraft-services provider appears supportive, he says in a note, citing resilient traffic and utilization. The market to service aircraft engines remains strong as aircraft retirements remain below historical levels, which should underpin SIA Engineering's earnings visibility, the analyst adds. DBS raises its rating to buy from hold, but cuts its target price to S$3.80 from S$4.00 to reflect compressed sector valuations. Shares fall 1.0% to S$3.08. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0710 GMT - Alibaba Group is likely to become a key China artificial intelligence winner with its comprehensive full stack offerings, from chips, infrastructure, model to applications, according to Morgan Stanley analysts in a research note. The company has been stepping up its AI development recently with the establishment of a AI-focused unit and key AI model launches and updates, they note. The newly launched Qwen3.6 has topped daily and weekly OpenRouter leaderboards, MS point out. MS values Alibaba's AI business Qwen at US$27 billion and expects it to generate US$1 billion in annual recurring revenue. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0706 GMT - While BASF's headline guidance for the year remains unchanged, the German conglomerate acknowledged underlying assumptions might not hold, Bernstein analyst James Hooper says in a research note. "There are hints about strength in the second quarter," Hooper says. With Asia materially disrupted, the chemical company's continuing operations provides an opportunity to generate very strong profits, he says. First-quarter volumes in China were strong, and BASF acknowledged that pricing is likely to improve in the second quarter as the Zhanjiang Verbund site project delivered positive Ebitda in March, the analyst adds. (nina.kienle@wsj.com)

0702 GMT - Bitcoin recovers only slightly after reaching a one-week low Wednesday as investors digest U.S. tech earnings overnight and the latest developments in the Iran war. Alphabet and Amazon shares rose after strong earnings while Microsoft was steady and Meta fell on concerns about returns on significant AI spending. Regarding the Middle East conflict, Axios reported the U.S. is preparing renewed strikes to break the negotiation deadlock with Iran. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday and Fed Chair Jerome Powell confirmed he would stay on the board after his chairmanship ends next month. Bitcoin rises 0.1% to $75,733 after falling to as low as $74,962 Wednesday, LSEG data show.(renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0700 GMT - Unilever's home-care category and Latin America businesses were winners in organic sales growth for the first quarter, analysts at RBC Capital Markets say in a note after the results. Organic sales grew 6.1% and 6.2% on year, respectively. Home care's growth was wholly driven by volume. Meanwhile in Latin America, both volume and price growth contributed to organic growth. "Unilever's actions to restore its performance in these areas bore fruit," analysts James Edwardes Jones and Wassachon Fon Udomsilpa write. (aimee.look@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 30, 2026 03:34 ET (07:34 GMT)

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