The latest Market Talks covering Financial Services. Exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1033 ET - Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid says the Fed should continue to allow its balance sheet to shrink, which he says will help support a strong banking sector. Speaking at an agriculture conference in Arlington, Va., Schmid says the Fed's balance-sheet holdings are reducing the yields on longer-term Treasury debt relative to those on shorter-dated securities. Banks rely on an upward-sloping yield curve, and reducing the Fed's Treasury holdings will help the curve naturally steepen again, Schmid, a former banker, tells the conference. (matt.grossman@wsj.com; @mattgrossman)

1020 ET - Gold futures fall, continuing to bounce off recent highs. Futures are down 1.4% at $2,889.50 a troy ounce, after hitting a record $2,974 an ounce on Monday's session. The precious metal is under pressure on profit-taking, SP Angel analysts say in a note. Gold has still gained around 8.4% in the year to date on safe-haven demand amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Exchange-traded funds have been trimming their holdings following a recent jump in inflows, SP Angel says. Around 4,639 ounces were sold on Wednesday, though ETF holdings remain up 2.9% in the year to date, SP Angel writes. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

1016 ET - Fixed-income ETFs enjoyed substantial inflows over the last week, CreditSights says in a note. This was particularly true for ETFs representing U.S. Treasurys, high-yield corporate bonds and municipal bonds. In total, fixed-income ETFs were up $10.2 billion in the week to Feb. 26, up 49% on week and reflecting a 7-week high. U.S. Treasury ETFs added $3 billion, almost 50% more than the prior week. Inflows into high-yield corporate-bond ETFs were $1.2 billion, up 16%, while municipal ETF flows increased 38% to $1.1 billion. Investment-grade credit ETFs added $738 million, failing to offset $816 million of outflows the previous week, CreditSights says. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)

0950 ET - Scotiabank's Meny Grauman can spot no red flags in Toronto-Dominion Bank's 1Q results, but nothing exciting either. Overall, his view is neutral, and says TD's roughly 3% adjusted EPS beat to the consensus forecast was hardly headline making in a quarter of sizable beats for the big banks. The analyst says operating leverage was negative and TD delivered overall margin contraction, but that was to be expected as the bank executes on its U.S. anti-money laundering program remediation efforts. Credit was essentially in line with analyst estimates, but missed on impaired provisions and performing credit-loss provisions showed a recovery versus build-ups across the peer group, he adds. (robb.stewart@wsj.com)

0923 ET - Activist investor Elliott Management could publish a letter requesting incremental changes at BP, Jefferies analysts Giacomo Romeo and Kai Ye Loh write. According to media reports, Elliott is dissatisfied with BP's strategic reset, believing it to be insufficient. The investment manager may request that BP spinoff its retail business and BPX, change directors, or initiate a management review, the analysts say. Elliott could also request the board publish a 1,000 word statement in the notice of its annual general meeting asking shareholders to vote against the re-election of board members, they add. The British oil major usually hosts its AGM in late April or early May. Shares trade up 0.9% at 434.90 pence. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0604 ET - Brooks Macdonald's interim results were largely as expected, Peel Hunt analysts write in a note. The wealth-management company delivered a solid performance through a period of change, the analysts say. Alongside a modest increase in revenue, costs were well controlled, and the business delivered an overall pretax profit margin of 29.9%, they add. "The overall message remains that the company still expects full-year underlying profit to be in line with consensus." The U.K. brokerage forecasts 31 million pounds in underlying profit. Shares are down 1.4% at 1,415 pence. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0545 ET - London Stock Exchange Group's guidance for the year ahead looks solid, Jefferies analysts write in a note after the company posted results for 2024. The stock-exchange and financial-information company is targeting organic constant currency total income excluding recovery growth of 6.5%-7.5% and equity free cash flow of at least 2.4 billion pounds. "Overall, we view these results and guidance as a strong platform on which to execute against the market's expectations," the analysts say. Shares are up 2.2% at 113.40 pounds. ( najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0530 ET - London Stock Exchange Group's performance is reassuring, RBC Markets Capital analysts Ben Bathurst and Jude Neanor write in a note. The stock-exchange and financial-information company delivered a good set of results for 2024, the analysts say. "The group has announced a new 500 million pounds buyback to be delivered by July 2025, broadly in line with our expectations that around 1 billion pounds could be returned over 2025," they add. LSEG's detailed 2025 guidance will likely reassure the market, they say. Shares are up 2.7% at 113.95 pounds. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0502 ET - Hiscox reported record profits again in 2024, JPMorgan analysts say in a research note. The Anglo-Bermudan insurance provider delivered a strong combined ratio at the group level, which led to a profit before tax beat of 6%, the bank says. However, the insurer had to process and pay out more claims related to the LA Wildfires than analysts had anticipated, which will likely prompt revisions of 2025 estimates, they note. "The 2025 result will come under pressure but comes from a position of strength, in our view, with strong margins across the group." Shares are up 0.9% at 11.29 pounds. (maitane.sardon@wsj.com)

0500 ET - Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing is likely to see higher average daily turnover through 2026 as market sentiment recovers, Citi Research analyst Michael Zhang says in a note. Citi raises its target price on the stock to HK$410 from HK$370 after its 4Q results, lifting its estimates for average daily turnover by 5%-12% for 2025 and 2026. Trading activity so far this year remains well ahead of consensus estimates, Citi notes, adding that 4Q results were broadly in line with market expectations. HKEX's derivatives segment showed resilience, while cash trading remained robust, including stock listing fees, Zhang says. Key downside risks to the share price would be easing trading volume, halts in the IPO market growth and rising geopolitical risks, Zhang adds. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)

0410 ET - Aviva's 2024 financial results are straightforward and comfortably ahead of expectations, Jefferies analyst Philip Kett writes in a note to clients. The British insurer and asset manager's adjusted operating profit of 1.77 billion pounds beat Visible Alpha consensus of nearly 1.67 billion pounds. Cash remittances of 1.99 billion pounds also beat consensus of nearly 1.85 billion pounds. The Solvency II ratio of 203% remains strong, Kett says, while the dividend of 35.7 pence a share is in line with forecasts. Aviva shares trade 0.9% higher at 529.40 pence. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0312 ET - Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.'s plan to return S$2.5 billion of capital to shareholders over two years via special dividends and share buybacks is a much-welcomed investment thesis for the stock, RHB Research analysts says in a note. It is a good defensive option given the Singapore-listed bank's solid asset quality and capital levels, as well as its connectivity play, where it is well poised to gain from supply-chain shifts, they write. Together with the ordinary DPS, investors can expect total payouts of 60% in 2024 and 2025, they say. RHB upgrades the stock to buy from neutral and raises the target price to S$19.10 from S$16.80. Shares are up 0.8% at S$17.34. (amanda.lee@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2025 12:20 ET (17:20 GMT)

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