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

1100 GMT - Tech investors are reassessing their investments in artificial intelligence, despite the technology being a positive long-term driver, ING's Jan Frederik Slijkerman writes in a report. Technology companies' revenues and Ebitda are set to rise, but investors remain nervous, he says. Investors might experience a slowdown in earnings per share growth and a decline in valuation multiples as infrastructure spending leads to higher depreciation costs and reduced share buybacks, Slijkerman adds. Free cash flow is expected to be lower than in previous years as the positive effects on revenue growth could take time to materialize, he adds. "This reduces the scope for large shareholder returns in the form of share buybacks," he says. Microsoft and Alphabet shares are up 1.4% and 0.6% premarket, respectively. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

1052 GMT - Nvidia's ability to maintain its profit margins is uncertain as tech giants build their own chips, ING's Jan Frederik Slijkerman writes in a report. "Major customers such as Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon are developing their own custom chips to help manage AI infrastructure costs (capex efficiency)," he notes. Therefore, Nvidia's pricing power could face tougher competition than in recent years, which would make it more difficult to keep its current exceptionally high margins over the long term, even as the company expands into new business lines, he says. Nvidia shares are down 1.3% premarket.(najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

1048 GMT - Dollarama and new dollar-store entrant Flying Tiger should be able to live in harmony in the Canadian market, Vishal Shreedhar of National Bank of Canada says. The Danish variety retailer recently opened its first store in Canada. Flying Tiger is "geared more towards novel/discretionary merchandise, versus DOL's needs-based everyday value assortment." This isn't the first time Dollarama's position was challenged either, according to Shreedhar. "In the past media reports suggested that Temu, Amazon, Miniso, among others were deemed to be competitors to DOL; notwithstanding, DOL continues to gain market share," he says. While Flying Tiger has plans to expand in Canada, Shreedhar says that Dollarama's offer remains differentiated. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1036 GMT - Carlsberg's Southeast Asia joint venture with Sapporo Breweries raises the prospect of the Danish brewer announcing a new share buyback later this year, Citi analysts Simon Hales and Sunny Wadhwani write. Carlsberg and Sapporo will form a new joint venture across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, while also expanding their collaboration into the U.K. The JV will be 75% owned by Carlsberg and 25% by Sapporo and will include Carlsberg's existing operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia and the rights to produce and distribute the Sapporo brand in these markets. Carlsberg will receive $643 million in cash from Sapporo. "We expect the deal to be well received by investors." Citi rates Carlsberg at buy with a 1,060 Danish kroner target price. Shares rise 2% to 654.20 kroner. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

1029 GMT - AB InBev is likely to see some dampening trends in beer volumes over the second quarter of the year, despite uplift from the soccer world championship that kicked off last month, Bernstein analysts say. The Belgian-listed brewer of Bud and Corona will likely see a negative effect from continued weakness in U.S. beer demand, tough comparison bases, unrest in Bolivia and bad weather in some other markets, Bernstein says. The exit from the world cup of Mexico and Brazil's national teams will likely weigh on volumes in those markets, the brokerage adds. Shares are up 2.1% at 70.94 euros. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)

1006 GMT - Pernod Ricard's earnings for the fiscal year may come in a little less than previously expected, Bernstein analysts warn. The French distiller, owner of liquor brands like Absolut vodka and Jameson whiskey, will likely see its sales dampened in the most recent quarter by weak demand in the U.S. and Europe and by continued reverberations from the Middle East conflict, Bernstein says. The brokerage cuts its fiscal-year earnings estimates for the company and lowers its target price on the stock to 115 euros from 117 euros. Shares gain close to 5% to 65.5 euros. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com)

0953 GMT - Porsche's long-term recovery path for EBIT margins is becoming clearer, and investors have responded positively, Citi analysts write. Having retested the 43-euro 100-day moving average, Porsche shares have rebounded and may soon test the 50-euro 12-month highs. Citi thinks Porsche's underlying earnings are stabilizing, versus falling peer group margins and consensus. In addition, other German automakers are seeing further deterioration in China, while Porsche doesn't face the same structural competitive threats in the EU and U.S. due to its client positioning. The new Porsche CEO's focus on costs, lower volumes, and higher margins is also a move in the right direction. Citi raises its target price on the stock to 56 euros from 53 euros and reiterates its buy rating. Shares rise 2% to 48 euros. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

0939 GMT - Shares of Singapore's three major banks finished at record highs, leading gains on the FTSE Straits Times Index. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.'s shares gained the most, closing 3.3% higher at 26.34 Singapore dollars. DBS Group ended 2.6% higher at S$68.64, while United Overseas Bank added 2.9% to S$41.69. Citi analyst Tan Yong Hong expects the three banks' profits to grow around 10% each in 2027 after three years of largely stable bottom lines, buoyed by better loan-growth prospects. He expects NIMs to recover toward 2019 levels, as system excess liquidity is consumed. Citi raises its target price for DBS to S$73.50 from S$65.00; for OCBC to S$28.40 from S$24.50; and for UOB to S$41.50 from S$37.40. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0932 GMT - Shell's second-quarter trading statement shows strong operational performance, which helps mitigate some of the impact of the Middle East conflict, JPMorgan's Matthew Lofting writes. The update will likely drive an upward revision to consensus expectations, he adds. The absence of 'loss-making' commentary around its chemicals unit will be welcomed while working capital inflows will help deleverage the balance sheet, he adds. Shares rise 2.8% to 2,994 pence.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0927 GMT - SK Hynix's upcoming ADR listing is a test of investor appetite after the recent memory correction, says Charu Chanana, Saxo Markets chief investment strategist, in a note. Samsung Electronics fell 6.9% and SK Hynix declined 6.1% on Tuesday despite Samsung saying it expects another record quarter on robust demand. SK Hynix's ADR listing "brings a large new block of AI-linked equity supply to market just as investors are questioning whether AI infrastructure stocks have run too far," she says. Meanwhile, SK Hynix raising capital to expand capacity could potentially send memory from shortage to oversupply, the analyst says. Strong demand for SK Hynix's ADRs would indicate global investors still want more direct AI memory exposure, while weak demand would suggest AI enthusiasm is becoming more selective, she adds. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0914 GMT - Investors are likely slightly disappointed by Samsung Electronics' revenue forecast, according to Morningstar analyst Jing Jie Yu. He notes that Samsung's projected operating profit was in line with market expectations, but the revenue forecast of 171 trillion won was slightly below consensus estimates. The miss was likely driven by more moderate DRAM price hikes than expected, he says. That likely spooked investors increasingly pricing in the structural strength in memory prices, Yu adds. Samsung shares ended 6.9% lower as investors grew more cautious, trimming gains this year to just below 150%. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0911 GMT - Saint-Gobain is expected to return to modest sales growth in the second quarter as underlying demand gradually improves following a weak start to the year, Deutsche Bank Research analysts say in a note. The analysts expect Southern Europe and Asia-Pacific to remain the main growth drivers, supported by stronger residential construction activity, while Northern Europe shows early signs of recovery despite continued weakness in the U.K. Recent price increases should benefit the Americas later in the year, they add. The French building-materials supplier's profitability remains positive and recent portfolio disposals should lift margins from 2027 onward, they say. Shares trade 1.4% higher at 80.3 euros. (nina.kienle@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 07, 2026 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT)

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