2358 GMT - A sharper housing downturn in Australia could weigh on consumer-industry earnings, says Morgan Stanley. It downgrades its view on the industry to cautious from in-line and says it continues to prefer staples over discretionary. MS expects Australian house prices to fall by 5%-10% and turnover to decline by 20%-30%. Tax changes are likely to discourage property investment at a time when rates remain restrictive, it says. "Falling house prices compound headwinds for discretionary retail, and the consumer more broadly," says MS. It cuts its share-price target on JB Hi-Fi to 66.50 Australian dollars from A$68.80 and Metcash to A$3.20 from A$3.40. Its target on Harvey Norman drops to A$4.70 from A$5.40, while Wesfarmers is cut to A$78.70 from A$79.30.(rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 02, 2026 19:58 ET (23:58 GMT)

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