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

0850 GMT - The U.K.'s housing market appears to be stronger than what many thought, RBC Capital markets analyst Anthony Codling says in a note. Mortgage approvals rose 31% on year in 2024 to 754,983, he says. Despite higher mortgage rates and with the budget disappointing many business leaders and investors, the number of housebuyers appears to be rising instead of falling, Codling says. "Early commentary from U.K. housebuilders suggests that this positive momentum has been carried over to 2025, and we expect the level of housing market activity to increase again in 2025," he says. Shares in Crest Nicholson are down 1.9%, with Persimmon slipping 0.95%, Vistry down 0.2% and Taylor Wimpey falling 1.4%. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

0842 GMT - Although Avon Technologies delivers a robust trading update with a clear message on the progress it has made being as expected, little change to consensus forecasts is likely, Jefferies analysts say in a note. The protective-equipment manufacturer's performance was in line with expectations, order momentum continued, and its STAR improvement program is being executed well, Jefferies says. "Avon continues to be a business with much improvement potential, and with the current year being one of very heavy lifting, we look for FY 2026 and FY 2027 to be years of very significant margin and EPS growth," Jefferies says. Shares are flat at 1,484 pence and are up 59% over the past 12 months. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

0822 GMT - CapitaLand India Trust appears to be in the advanced stages of several divestments, OCBC Investment Research's Donavan Tan says in a report. The India-focused property trust has expressed confidence in divesting itself of a minority stake in its data centers to a private fund sponsored by CapitaLand Investment, the analyst notes. The divestment will reduce its share of costs for five planned data-center developments to S$670 million from S$1 billion. The trust's management also expects to complete the divestment of the CyberPearl and CyberVale properties in India by end-February. However, OCBC trims the fair value estimate to S$1.27 from S$1.28 to reflect adjustments, including an increase in its risk-free rate assumption to 2.75% from 2.50%. It maintains a buy rating on the units, which are 1.0% lower at S$1.02. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0750 GMT - Novartis's 2025 guidance is constructive and beats consensus expectations, Intron Health analysts say in a note. The Swiss pharma giant's guidance is for mid-to-high single-digit sales growth, which is a 3% lift to consensus sales and EBIT, the analysts say. "Whilst we were worried about the impact of foreign-currency effects, Part D reform [U.S. Medicare drug pricing reform] and [multiple-sclerosis drug] Kesimpta pricing, this guidance looks very strong and appears higher than consensus," they say.(helena.smolak@wsj.com)

0746 GMT - Novartis's significant profit and sales beat could close the gap between its mid-term growth guidance that is clearly above market's expectations, Vontobel analyst Stefan Schneider says in a note. The Swiss pharma giant's key drugs overall exceeded consensus with heart drug Entresto its best-selling medicine, despite prostate-cancer drug Pluvicto being shy of consensus, the analyst says. "This quarterly (and annual) results add on to a continuous streak of results where Novartis beats their own and the market's expectations," he said. (helena.smolak@wsj.com)

0729 GMT - European stocks are expected to open slightly higher, keeping in record-high territory and remaining supported after the European Central Bank cut interest rates on Thursday. European equities have taken the lead among global equities recently, with Europe outperforming the U.S., Danske Bank analysts say in a note. Gains have been broad, with all 25 industries in the Stoxx Europe 600 advancing on Thursday and defensive stocks "performing on par with cyclicals," they say. Germany's DAX index is expected to open 0.15% higher; the U.K.'s FTSE 100 is expected to open 0.2% higher; and the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 is seen up 0.15%, according to IG. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)

0703 GMT - Japanese shares closed higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street and supported by technology stocks. The Nikkei Stock Average ended 0.2% higher at 39572.49. Gainers included index-heavy SoftBank Group, which rose 1.2%, and Panasonic, which added 1.7%. Auto stocks also rose with Toyota Motor up 0.8% and Honda Motor and Nissan Motor adding 0.1% and 1.4%, respectively. USD/JPY was at 154.13 compared with 154.42 as of Thursday 5 p.m. Eastern time. (venkat.pr@wsj.com)

0524 GMT - Singapore data centre REITs will likely benefit from higher AI adoption driven by DeepSeek, analysts at UOB Kay Hian write in a note. Singapore remains the preferred data centre hub in Southeast Asia, and is staying ahead of the competition as it targets investments of at least S$10 billion to double its capacity for international subsea cables and landing sites over the next decade, they say. DeepSeek's techniques reduce the cost to train new AI models, helping boost adoption and demand for data centers, they add. Keppel DC REIT will benefit from its recent acquisitions of two data centers which will start contributing in 1Q, they say. Mapletree Industrial Trust isfocused on diversifying and scaling its data centre portfolio in Asia Pacific, they add. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)

0523 GMT - Bajaj Finance is poised to sustain industry-leading growth after delivering solid performance across metrics in 3Q FY 2025, Nomura analysts say in a research report. The non-banking finance company's gross and net non-performing assets were stable in 3Q, with Bajaj Finance on course to achieve its FY 2025 credit-cost guidance of 200-205 bps, the analysts note. Management is sanguine that loan losses have mostly stabilized, and guides for around 25% assets-under-management growth and less than 2% credit cost in FY 2026, the analysts add. Nomura raises the stock's target price to INR9,000.00 from INR8,560.00 with an unchanged buy rating. Shares are little changed at INR7,900.35. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 31, 2025 03:50 ET (08:50 GMT)

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