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

0842 ET - GSK's plan to open a new research-and-development center in Cambridge, England, looks like a smart move that bodes well for its future prospects, Bernstein analysts say in a research note. "We view this as a sound investment as this site already houses a major [AstraZeneca] R&D hub and two world leading academic hospitals," the analysts say. "We think this should increase GSK's R&D productivity long term due to greater collaborations with academia." The U.K. drugmaker also plans more than 20 late-stage clinical trials to start this year, and is launching a three-year program to cut costs and fund investment in its late-stage portfolio, Bernstein says. Shares rise 1.4%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0833 ET - Supply disruptions from the Iran war are accelerating competition among Gulf states as they pursue national energy strategies. The United Arab Emirates is seeking to raise oil production toward capacity following its exit from OPEC, while Qatar is moving ahead with expansion of liquefied-natural-gas production from its North Field, S&P Global Ratings says in a report. The moves signal a more aggressive effort by Gulf governments to generate returns from their natural-resource endowments, the ratings agency says. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)

0821 ET - Boeing notches 2Q revenue of $24.56 billion, up 8% from last year. Revenue is higher across all of the company's divisions, led by its Defense, Space & Security unit, which logs revenue of $7.48 billion. That marks a 13% gain from last year. Boeing's Commercial Airplanes business posts revenue of $11.75 billion, up 8% from a year earlier, boosted by increased deliveries. Its Global Services arm reports revenue of $5.34 billion, up 1% from last year. Boeing is up 1% premarket. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

0819 ET - GSK's new cost-cutting plan means it is now possible for the U.K. drugmaker to offset the profitability hit from an HIV drug going off patent later this decade, Intron Health's Naresh Chouhan and Dominic Rose say in a note. The company aims to cut annual costs by 1.9 billion pounds by 2029, leading to a stable or improving operating margin coinciding with the patent-expiration period for HIV drug dolutegravir between 2028 and 2030. This suggests consensus estimates could go up by 50 to 100 basis points, Intron says. Still, the company's target of generating more than 40 billion pounds in 2031 sales looks out of reach, the analysts say. Shares trade 0.3% higher. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0811 ET - Boeing posts a 2Q loss of $428 million, or 67 cents a share, on revenue of $24.56 billion. That's a narrower loss than a year ago, as revenue grows 8%. CEO Kelly Ortberg says the company's turnaround is progressing as planned. "Our operations are more stable and key certification programs remain on plan," he says in a statement. "Our focus has been on restoring trust and we are now building on that through a sustained focus on safety, quality, and on-time performance. While there is more work ahead in the second half of the year, the momentum we are building continues to move Boeing in the right direction." Boeing is up 1.5% premarket. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

0757 ET - Coca-Cola says the World Cup gave it a one-of-a-kind opportunity to promote its products across more than 180 markets and boost several brands. The beverage company hosted a tour with more than 70 stops before the tournament began and reached approximately 700,000 customers. The company also says it built consumer connections spanning more than 20 million retail outlets. Coca-Cola says the campaign helped lead to record-setting engagement with Powerade, which saw 8% volume growth. Trademark Coca-Cola meanwhile had 5% volume growth. The company also collected data from more than 25 million consumers which its says it can use to tailor future marketing campaigns. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

0741 ET - Bitcoin stays under pressure as the selloff in chip stocks deepens, weighing on risk appetite. Nasdaq futures point to a 0.8% fall in the tech-heavy U.S. stock index. Investors are cautious with positioning ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision on Wednesday and earnings from major U.S. tech companies amid renewed concerns over the scale of AI-related spending, Capital.com's Daniela Hathorn says in a note. "Investors are becoming increasingly selective this earnings season, with strong revenue growth no longer enough to satisfy markets unless accompanied by evidence that elevated spending is translating into sustainable profitability." Bitcoin falls 2.2% to $63,462 after reaching an 11-day low of $63,038 overnight, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0704 ET - Saipem's margin visibility is being hampered by costs linked to the U.S.-Iran war, Equita analyst Massimo Bonisoli writes. In second-quarter results posted Tuesday, the Italian engineering contractor cut its guidance for 2026 adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization from 1.9 billion euros to around 1.75 billion euros. Costs incurred in the Middle East, where Saipem builds and operates offshore oil and gas facilities, contribute to the guidance cut, the analyst writes. The company's expectations for performance in the second half of the year look modest, Bonisoli says. Saipem shares fall 8.3%, dragging on Luxembourgish peer Subsea 7, which falls 7%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0654 ET - Kuehne + Nagel is delivering the benefits of artificial intelligence, but shares trade at an elevated level, Deutsche Bank analyst Harishankar Ramamoorthy writes. The company's second-quarter EBIT beat consensus by around 8% and full-year guidance was upgraded. Management also highlighted 100 million-150 million Swiss francs of AI-driven productivity benefits by the end of 2027. However, markets treated this as slightly underwhelming, given the AI benefits are gross, not net of costs, and it was unclear how costs could evolve in the future, the bank says. Management also mentioned the benefits could be passed on to clients to gain market share. Deutsche Bank lifts its target price for the stock to 196 francs from 183 francs and reiterates its hold rating. Shares rise 0.5% to 202.70 francs. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

0637 ET - Volkswagen is fully embracing fixed-cost reductions to address production inefficiencies, as uncertainty remains elevated across the automotive sector, Berenberg analysts Romain Gourvil and Tommy Whitfield write. Aside from the much improved recent track record for cash conversion, these efforts are visibly supporting margins at the company's "core" brands with further initiatives yet to come, they add. "China remains challenging, but we think downside risk relative to German peers has reduced, as China expectations are already somewhat derisked for 2026-27." The launch of locally designed products is accelerating in late 2026 and into 2027, which should also help, the bank says. Berenberg lowers its price target for the stock to 100 euros from 113 euros and maintains its buy rating. Shares rise 2.6% to 74.30 euros. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

0619 ET - The dollar rises to a one-month high against a basket of currencies and could remain in demand as a safe haven, XM analyst Achilleas Georgolopoulos says in a note. Ahead of Wednesday's uncertain Federal Reserve decision and a batch of tech earnings, risky assets are in retreat, he says. AI concerns are playing a key role weighing on sentiment, he says. "Notably, the U.S. data calendar is much richer today, with a strong Conference Board consumer confidence index reading potentially adding to Fed rate hike expectations and further denting risk appetite." The survey is due at 1400 GMT. The DXY dollar index rises to a four-week high of 101.573. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0618 ET - Palm oil ended lower, tracking weakness in crude oil, says Abdul Hameed, director of sales at Pakistan-based Manzoor Trading. A lull in fighting between the U.S. and Iran has accelerated diplomacy aimed at a short-term fix for the most contentious issue of the war, he says. Hameed believes this correction will be limited due to strong underlying palm oil fundamentals. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for October delivery falls 30 ringgit to 4,643 ringgit a ton.