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

Nike's running business, one of the first areas it prioritized under its turnaround plan, is gaining steam. Running sales were up more than 20% in the company's latest quarter, creating a roadmap of improvement for other sports to follow, CEO Elliott Hill says during a call with analysts. "Running is a proof point," he says. The company says it will now work on getting its soccer business on the right track ahead of the World Cup. It also forecasts its basketball business will return to growth over the next few quarters. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1914 ET [Dow Jones]--Upgrades to West African Resources' 10-year production plan are outweighed by the company's higher cost outlook, according to Macquarie. The bank cuts its target on the stock by 10% to A$4.50/share. It reiterates an outperform rating. The gold miner's production estimate for the coming decade is 12% higher than prior Visible Alpha consensus, says Macquarie. "Kiaka is the key source of the upgrade," it says. However, "higher overall production over the next 10 years is offset by the impact of higher re-profiled costs," says Macquarie. West African Resources' 2026 all-in sustaining cost guidance is 10% higher than expected, it says. Shares are up 5% at A$3.36. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

1914 ET - Nike CEO Elliott Hill says the company's comeback is taking longer than he hoped due to a combination of both internal and external factors. When Nike began its turnaround plan, its markets and channels were performing at various levels, which the company had to take time to assess, he says. Nike also reorganized its teams from a product perspective, he says, and spring of 2027 will be the first time that products from those teams' efforts hit shelves, he says. "We do have some external factors that we're having to deal with while we're in a major comeback, but that's no excuse," he adds. "We're controlling what we can control." (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

Aurelia Metals's new A$150 million financing commitment highlights the strength of its cash flow outlook, says Ord Minnett analyst Paul Kaner. That's illustrated by the due diligence required by tier-one financial institutions, which are backing Aurelia Metals with new debt. Typically they require hedging or cash backing for any loans. "Importantly, there is no cash backing or hedging requirements for the Rehab Bond Facility and therefore A$38 million of restricted cash under the prior facility will be released to the balance sheet," Ord Minnett says. It retains a buy call and A$0.50/share price target on Aurelia Metals, which is up 6% at A$0.265 early. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1904 ET [Dow Jones]--Nike is working to tailor its wholesale approach on a city-by-city basis in an effort to improve sales in its Europe, Middle East and Africa market and in China, CEO Elliott Hill says. In EMEA, the company lacks a fully integrated marketplace, which has been one of its biggest hurdles, he says. "The team is responding with a more complete street-up model, working more closely with wholesale partners to improve point of sale storytelling and seating in the community," he says. "Greater China, too, will benefit from a more local approach and closer connection with the consumer on the ground." (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

Nike's efforts to improve its position in China for the long term have turned into headwinds for the near term, the company says. Nike CFO Matthew Friend points to Nike's work to reduce near-term selling to its wholesale partners to align with full-price demand, as well as efforts to clean up its digital channel and cut down on inventory in the country. Nike expects those efforts to continue throughout fiscal 2027 and remain an obstacle for sales growth in the region, he says. The company projects a 20% sales decline in China in the current quarter, which follows a 7% drop in that market during its most recently completed quarter. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1826 ET - Private-market firms invested $34.8 billion in digital infrastructure--including data centers, fiber networks and telecommunications assets--across developing markets across the prior four years through 2025, roughly 76% more than in the previous four-year period, according to the Global Private Capital Association. The trade group says rising demand for artificial intelligence, streaming and cloud services as well as mobile data drove the buildout. It also cites "data localization, cybersecurity and cloud governance rules that require critical data to be stored and processed locally" in countries such as India, Brazil and Nigeria. Latin America accounted for 31% of the total invested in the most recent period, with investments leaning "heavily toward fiber network consolidation and last-mile connectivity," GPCA says. (luis.garcia@wsj.com; @lhvgarcia)

1817 ET [Dow Jones]--For investors in stocks exposed to Australia's agriculture sector, now is not a repeat of 2022/2023 when the Ukraine war upended markets and Chinese farm chemical production faced setbacks, Macquarie says. Back then, the industry benefited from higher prices and margins across nitrogen products, crop chemicals and grains. It also coincided with a highly favorable growing season across Australia. "The key difference in 2026 is the risk of supply shortages in key inputs (e.g. urea)," Macquarie says. "Supply shortages were not a material factor in 2022/2023." Macquarie retains an outperform call on Elders. It has neutral calls on GrainCorp and Nufarm. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1754 ET - Changes to the way that fees are charged on credit and debit card purchases in Australia are negative for Flight Centre but manageable, says Jefferies. The changes remove surcharging on debit, prepaid and credit cards on designated Mastercard and Visa card networks. Jefferies says travel agents are disproportionately hurt by the changes. That's because the agency model means they effectively collect money on behalf of suppliers. "This makes the impost challenging to recover, but analysis suggests it will be relatively modest," analyst Michael Simotas says. Jefferies retains a buy call and A$17.50/share price target on Flight Centre, which ended Tuesday at A$10.66. It expects the stock will remain weak until the Middle East conflict is resolved. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1747 ET - Beyond Meat highlighted its products' simple ingredients as the Make America Healthy Again movement embraces real meat. "We operate in an upside-down world where protein from peas, lentils, faba beans and brown rice mixed with avocado oil and a limited number of other clean ingredients is disingenuously, though broadly cast as less than healthy," Chief Executive Ethan Brown says during the call. "The incumbent industry did a masterful job of seeding doubt in the mind of the consumer." New guidance from the Health Department prioritizes whole, unprocessed foods and higher protein intake, putting meat at the top of the food pyramid. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1745 ET - Jefferies pares its price target on Qantas Airways by 4.7% to A$12.80/share after the conflict in Iran extended into a fifth week. Analyst Anthony Moulder points to a significant escalation in jet fuel prices. Jefferies lowers its EPS forecasts by 21% and 2% in 2026 and 2027, respectively. The revisions reflect an updated refinery margin for April jet-fuel deliveries, an increase in ticket prices, and some changes to capacity. Qantas could incur an additional fuel cost of A$293.4 million in April, Jefferies suggests. While a higher fuel cost presents a significant near-term headwind, Jefferies sees Qantas's share price "as capitalizing an ongoing earnings impact beyond FY27, which is less likely." Jefferies retains a buy call on Qantas, which ended Tuesday at A$8.37. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1736 ET - West African Resources faces higher costs this year than Euroz Hartleys initially thought. West African Resources has forecast all-in sustaining costs of up to US$1,900/oz. That represents a 31% increase on its costs in 2025. Analyst Mike Millikan highlights a key cost variable at the Kiaka mine in Burkina Faso. The mine relies on diesel back‑up generation in place of available grid power. Under current conditions, this is estimated to add US$300/oz to AISC, driving the higher-than-expected costs. "West African Resources plans to purchase heavy fuel oil back-up power generators for Kiaka, with targeted commissioning of early 2027," Euroz Hartleys says. "Reflecting this, we revise our AISC forecast from US$1,549/oz to US$1,786/oz AISC for 2026." (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 31, 2026 19:25 ET (23:25 GMT)

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