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

1210 ET - Human-resources and payroll company Deel says artificial intelligence is creating jobs, not just replacing them. The company's annual State of Global Hiring report shows a rapid uptick in the number of AI-training jobs. "Over 70,000 workers now train AI systems across more than 600 organizations, performing tasks from basic data annotation to expert-level feedback in medicine, economics, and translation," the report reads. AI training roles barely existed a few years ago. Now, the number of these jobs nearly quadrupled last year, making it the single fastest-growing cross-border role on Deel's platform, the company says. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

1207 ET - Sales across the alcohol industry have taken a beating due to consumer health concerns, the expanding legalization of cannabis, the use of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and a generational shift toward less alcohol consumption. But Brown-Forman CEO Lawson Whiting says at the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference that the spirits industry may have bottomed out last fall, and is now headed toward growth. Total distilled spirits takeaway in the U.S. hit a low in November, and there have since been several consecutive months of improving trends, he says. "If you want to be an optimist, or you want to find a greenshoot, that's probably the best one out there," Whiting says. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

1203 ET - Molson Coors is well-positioned in a market in which beer drinkers are looking for value, says Chief Executive Rahul Goyal at the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference. "Everybody knows about the K-shaped economy, but there [are] consumers looking for value products at the right price point," Goyal says. "This is a big part of our business." Goyal says that the company is looking to defend its position in the value category. "We're not trying to find a way to grow that part of our portfolio. We just need to make sure…it doesn't decline as fast as it has been," Goyal says. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)Magnum Ice Cream's cost exposure to fuel is estimated at roughly 400 million euros for all petroleum-based inputs across its supply chain, Barclays analysts write in a note. "Magnum Ice Cream Could See 400 Million-Euro Hit From Middle East War, Barclays Says -- Market Talk," at 0915 GMT, incorrectly said Magnum Ice Cream was expected to incur roughly 400 million euros in overall additional costs due to the Middle East conflict.

1135 ET - Legal & General's management is clearly trying to address questions about the sustainability of its capital generation, BNP Paribas analyst Dominic O'Mahony says in a research note. The British insurer and asset manager introduced a new solvency II operating range target of 160% to 190%. Below that range, the company will still pay out dividends. Surplus above the upper end will be used for investments or to return capital to shareholders. "We feel this gives a more comforting message on the sustainability of future share buybacks even if these are not covered by net surplus generation," J.P. Morgan analysts write in a separate note. Shares trade 6% lower on the back of a mixed update. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

1122 ET - Nike's progress in managing inventory, executing a reset and prioritizing brand health and margin stabilization gives Barclays confidence to upgrade the stock to overweight from equal weight, despite peak investor skepticism, the analysts say. They believe investor concerns miss evidence of Nike's turnaround already bearing fruit and ignore stabilization in North America while overemphasizing priced-in risks in China. Consensus estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 are probably too high, the analysts say, but Nike can reset expectations by providing a longer-term outlook that includes fiscal 2027, giving the company breathing room to execute the turnaround. "With each consensus reset coming in closer to our estimates, we believe downside risk is increasingly limited, while the setup for future beat-and-raise dynamics improves as expectations reset to more realistic levels." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1121 ET - Cocoa's drastic selloff since the beginning of the year--in which prices fell by over 50%--could be overdone, analysts at Citi write. Huge stockpiles drove the tumble in cocoa prices, but "significant supply risks are still there and could intensify at certain times," the analysts say. Cocoa farms could suffer from drier conditions ahead while CSSV, a cocoa shoot virus common in Ghana, could harm cocoa pod development, the analysts say. They also expect grinding data--a key measure of cocoa demand--to strengthen over the first quarter of 2026, particularly in Asia. Cocoa prices are expected to stabilize at around $3,500 a metric ton over the next three months, nudging up to $3,700 in 12 months, the analysts say. Cocoa futures trade down 1% at $3,413 a ton in New York. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

1104 ET - Concerns about high energy prices and their long-term impacts on the global economy are driving market sentiment, Moneyfarm's Richard Flax says in a note. The Middle East war has renewed fears about inflation, leading to reduced expectations of central bank interest-rate cuts. Developments in the Middle East will play a key role in shaping monetary policy in the near term, Flax says. Markets price in a high probability of the Bank of England keeping interest rates unchanged at 3.75% this year, LSEG data show. Market pricing shows a possible interest-rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in September or October. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

1103 ET - Shake Shack announced its 2026 fiscal guidance before war broke out in the Middle East, but CEO Rob Lynch remains confident in his expectation despite the growing global economic shocks. "There is nothing but volatility right now in everything," Lynch says at an investor conference. Lynch says rising gas prices could hurt fast-food rivals more because their business skews to drive-through customers, whereas about 10% of Shake Shack stores have drive-throughs. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)

1038 ET - Microsoft has a lot at stake in Anthropic's fate, likely contributing to its decision to support the artificial-intelligence company amid its ongoing fight with the Pentagon. Microsoft previously agreed to invest $5 billion in Anthropic's latest fundraising round. As part of that investment, Anthropic also agreed to buy $30 billion worth of cloud services from Microsoft. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

1028 ET - In a filing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Microsoft is rallying behind Anthropic, urging the court to issue a temporary restraining order that blocks the Pentagon's designation of the artificial-intelligence company as a supply-chain risk "for all existing contracts." Such a move would "enable a more orderly transition and avoid disrupting the American military's ongoing use of advanced AI," Microsoft says in the filing. Without an order, Microsoft warns that it and other technology companies will need to "act immediately to alter existing product and contract configurations" used by the Department of War. "This could potentially hamper U.S. warfighters at a critical point in time," the filing reads. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

0926 ET - Brown-Forman's portfolio of spirit brands spans whiskey, tequila, rum, gin and liqueur. But it has no interest in adding vodka back into the mix. "Vodka is a very difficult category," CEO Lawson Whiting says at the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference. He notes that vodka prices are generally low outside of the U.S., and that the company isn't looking to add another vodka brand to its portfolio anytime soon. The maker of Jack Daniel's whiskey divested its vodka brand, Finlandia Vodka, in 2023. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 11, 2026 12:10 ET (16:10 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.