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

1048 ET - Hasbro doesn't expect to feel much pain from the evolving global tariff war in the short-term, since it doesn't expect to have a large number of deliveries here in the first four to five months of the year, CEO Chris Cocks says on a call with analysts. There would however be incremental tariff exposure coming next year if the tariffs that are currently in place aren't changed or eliminated, he says. The toymaker is diversifying its product sourcing to deal with the potential headwinds and expects to move from eight sourcing countries to about nine or 10 in the very near term, Cocks says. Shares rise 15% to $60.92. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

1036 ET - Merck's struggles with Gardasil aren't easing up. The drug maker disclosed 1Q sales of the treatment, which prevents cancers caused from the human papillomavirus, declined 41% to $1.33 billion, due primarily to lower demand in China. Gardasil's challenges were on display in the prior quarter when the company's guidance came up short of Wall Street's estimates and said it was pausing shipments to China of the treatment from February through at least the middle of the year. Gardasil is Merck's biggest-selling franchise behind blockbuster cancer therapy Keytruda, which saw sales increase 4% to $7.21 billion in the quarter. (denny.jacob@wsj.com; @pennedbyden)

1028 ET - PepsiCo is looking to its international markets to be a growth driver as uncertainty pervades the U.S. economy, though some of those markets are seeing slowdowns too, CEO Ramon Laguarta says on a call with analysts. Chief among them is China, where the consumer seems to be hurting to a degree, the CEO says. The market in Mexico appears to be impacted by the U.S. in terms of weakening consumer sentiment and consumer disposable income, Laguarta says. Conversely, Europe appears to be navigating the uncertain global economic environment well, and India and Brazil are showing positive signs too, the CEO says. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

1026 ET - Home shoppers hoping to buy their first home may be in for serious sticker shock. While the typical starter home nationwide is worth an attainable $192,514, there are more than 230 cities where a starter home comes with a price tag of $1 million or more, Zillow says. A typical "starter home" is worth at least $1 million in 233 cities. Five years ago, there were only 85 such cities. This latest number has slipped slightly from 239 at the start of this year, as sellers have so far made a stronger return to the market than buyers, causing home values to soften. Many young households are postponing homeownership--the median age of a renter has risen to 42 years old--driving demand and prices for single-family rentals to new heights. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

1010 ET - Merck is signaling a confident vision with its largely maintained outlook for 2025. The drug developer continues to expect total sales between $64.1 billion and $65.6 billion, though it reduced its adjusted EPS range to between $8.82 and $8.97 to reflect an expected impact of 6 cents related to a license agreement. Critically, Merck said its outlook absorbs an estimated $200 million of additional costs for tariffs implemented so far. The unknown for Merck and companies at large will be what direction the Trump administration goes with tariffs amid its on-again, off-again approach. (denny.jacob@wsj.com; @pennedbyden)

1002 ET - The median home-sale price declined year over year in 11 of the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas during the four weeks ending April 20, according to Redfin. The last time home prices dropped in that many metros was in September 2023. Prices declined most in San Antonio, Oakland, and Jacksonville, Fla. Nationwide, the median home-sale price rose 2.1% year over year, the slowest growth rate since July 2023. Home prices are falling in many major metros because many house hunters are backing off, but the number of homes for sale is holding up. Home tours are slowing, mortgage-purchase applications are falling, andwould-be buyers are ultra-cautious amid high housing costs and widespread economic uncertainty. Pending home sales are down 0.3% year over year. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

0951 ET - In just the latest sign of the uncertainty thrown up by the Trump administration's approach to trade and tariffs, the volume of cargo carried by Canadian railways has fallen sharply. Total volume reached 26.7 million metric tons in February, down 12.9% on-year for the steepest annual decline in three years, Statistics Canada data shows. While freight transport typically slows in the winter months and February had one fewer day this year, the threat of U.S. import tariffs has introduced wariness into business planning. Volume in February was at its lowest level since 2019 and below the five-year average of 28.2 million tons for the month, the data agency says. It notes sharp declines were reported in the loadings of many commodities, including iron ores, wheat and potash. (robb.stewart@wsj.com; @RobbMStewart)

0935 ET - Keurig Dr Pepper drinks are largely going down easy with consumers. The maker of 7UP and K-Cup coffee pods said 1Q sales for its refreshment beverages in the U.S. increased 11% to $2.3 billion, benefiting from higher volume and prices. It noted that the segment growth reflected market-share gains in carbonated soft drinks, energy, sports hydration and its acquisition of energy-drink brand Ghost. Coffee in the U.S., however, is a little stale--sales there decreased 3.7% to around $900 million as higher prices were offset by a sharper decline in volume. Shares of the company were off 1.8% in early Thursday trading even as profit and revenue climbed in the quarter. (denny.jacob@wsj.com; @pennedbyden)

0934 ET - Unilever's first-quarter update was broadly as expected and is unlikely to change consensus expectations or investors' views on the company much, RBC Capital Markets' James Edwardes Jones and Wassachon Fon Udomsilpa say. RBC cuts its target price on the U.K. consumer-goods company to 38 pounds from 40 pounds due to currency changes. "We don't imagine that either bulls or bears will have changed their views on the basis of Unilever's [first quarter] sales," the analysts say in a note. "We remain amongst the latter, reflecting our belief that Unilever's portfolio is not best in class while its valuation is there or thereabouts." Shares fall 0.5% to 47.92 pounds. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0928 ET - Unilever will rely on the second half to deliver an improvement in profitability this year, Jefferies analysts say in a research note. The U.K. consumer-goods group confirmed its expectations of a modest improvement in its underlying operating margin this year relative to the 18.4% it reported last year, and said margins in the first and second half will be more balanced than in 2024. This implies Unilever will experience a bigger margin decline in the first half than the consensus estimate of 19.3%, according to Jefferies. "Arguably, this is just a clearer wording on prior guide, but still leaves more to do later in the year," the analysts say. Shares fall 0.5%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0924 ET - The cost of certain Procter & Gamble products may go up in the near future. The household brand company is still sorting through what tariff rates are going to be, plus any potential retaliatory tariffs from other countries, says CEO Jon Moeller in an interview with CNBC. "We're going through all of the options, we have to make this as painless for consumers as possible. There will likely be pricing," says Moeller. He adds that it's unclear at the moment how high such increases will be, but says any pricing that needs to take place will occur next fiscal year. (denny.jacob@wsj.com; @pennedbyden)

0919 ET - Unilever's ice cream business set a positive tone ahead of its spinoff later this year, turning in a good performance for the first quarter, AJ Bell's Russ Mould says in a market comment. The U.K. consumer-goods company reported underlying sales growth of 4% for its ice cream business in the first quarter, ahead of the 3% recorded by the group overall. "There has been plenty of product innovation to excite shoppers and a lot of work has been done to improve operations before the division is set free from its parent," Mould says. Unilever said the separation of the ice cream unit--which will be called The Magnum Ice Cream Co.--remains on track for the fourth quarter. Shares fall 0.3%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 24, 2025 10:48 ET (14:48 GMT)

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