The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0801 GMT - Mony Group has delivered a strong set of results in the first half, RBC Capital Markets' analyst Ross Broadfoot writes in a note. The price-comparison website said it had a strong start to the year, with revenue up 6% on a like-for-like basis. The company has shifted its strategy in recent months as it moved toward the provision of financial services products such as savings, investments and business banking, he notes. The group keeps making progress, he adds. Shares are down 4.1% at 1.96 pounds. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0708 GMT - RELX is likely to maintain its full-year and medium-term guidance for improved growth, J.P. Morgan analysts write in a note. The London-listed information-and-analytics group is set to report its first-half results on Thursday. The analysts anticipate 7% organic growth and 0.3 percentage points of margin improvement, with subscription growth in the scientific, technical & medical unit up to 6% in the first half. Looking ahead, the U.S. bank expects organic growth to accelerate to 8% from next year, partly boosted by an AI-driven acceleration to legal and scientific, technical & medical divisions. Shares are down 1% at 24.92 pounds.(najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0648 GMT - The implied valuations of Anthropic and OpenAI continue to come under pressure, says Tony Sycamore, senior market analyst at IG. A collective $392 billion has been wiped off their expected valuations since the release Friday of Chinese startup Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 model, he says. Kimi K3 is said to already be competitive with America's best closed systems. What makes Kimi K3 particularly disruptive is that it is an open-weight model, he adds. Kimi's emergence is therefore raising serious questions around the business models of OpenAI and Anthropic, Sycamore says. (james.glynn@wsj.com; X @JamesGlynnWSJ)

0631 GMT - Indian auto parts makers are starting their transformation journey into adjacent supply chains, including semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment, Goldman Sachs' equity research analysts say in a report. This shift is driving investment in capacity and skill-building into precision machining and tooling, they say. Global industrial, automotive and semiconductor original-equipment-manufacturer initiatives to derisk supply chains are further supporting momentum. GS initiates coverage of Sansera Engineering and Craftsman Automation with buy ratings and target prices of 4,130.00 rupees and 11,600.00 rupees, respectively. GS also initiates coverage of Samvardhana Motherson International and Bharat Forge with neutral ratings and target prices of 148.00 rupees and 2,120.00 rupees, respectively. Shares of Sansera Engineering, Craftsman Automation, Samvardhana Motherson International and Bharat Forge last at 3,302.90 rupees, 9,276.00 rupees, 144.80 rupees and 2,200.70 rupees, respectively. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0249 GMT - South Korea is expected to post softer but resilient 2Q growth, supported by robust chip exports fueled by the artificial intelligence boom. Gross domestic product likely grew 0.4% on quarter, slowing from the revised 1.8% expansion in 1Q, according to the median forecast from a WSJ poll of 15 economists. On an on-year basis, GDP growth likely remained solid, with a 3.4% expansion following 3.8% growth in 1Q, the poll shows. "With the AI-driven semiconductor boom rolling on, exports will again do the heavy lifting," Moody's Analytics says in a note. Citigroup has raised its 2Q and 2026 growth forecast, citing strong chip exports. The 2Q GDP data are due Thursday. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

0218 GMT - Fears of Chinese memory makers expanding capacity aggressively are unlikely to materialize this year and next, Citi analysts say in a research note. They note that many U.S. investors are worried CXMT would increase capacity aggressively and pressure DRAM pricing. However, CXMT's main facilities at Hefei are already at full capacity, and it needs to build new fabs, which could come online in 2027, the analysts note. For NAND flash maker YMTC, Citi thinks it will expand capacity prudently to sustain NAND pricing until its IPO. Both CXMT and YMTC have enjoyed strong profitability, comparable to international memory makers, as they sell memory at close to market prices amid a severe supply shortage, it adds. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0112 GMT - Maxis could see core net profit rise 6%-8% on year in 2Q, supported by steady service revenue growth and further cost savings from efficiency initiatives, says CIMB Securities analyst Choong Chen Foong in a note. Core net profit is forecast to grow 4% in 2026 before easing 3% in 2027 due to the full-year impact of Digital Nasional's losses following the ownership transition, he says. Maxis is a shareholder of Malaysia's state-backed 5G infrastructure firm Digital Nasional. Digitalization efforts and lower capital spending are expected to support earnings resilience, he adds. CIMB maintains a buy rating on Maxis and keeps target price at 4.35 ringgit. Shares are 0.3% higher at 3.61 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

1830 GMT - Front-month silver finishes higher for the second consecutive session, even though for the month it's off 4.5%, and down 19% year-to-date. Analysts with Forex.com say AI demand may help silver turn the corner. "Selling pressure could eventually give way to renewed structural demand if investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure regains momentum," the analysts say in a note. "The current correction therefore represents more than a short-term price move because it may determine where long-term buyers begin rebuilding positions." Front-month silver closes up 1.4% to $56.802 a troy ounce, while gold loses 0.1% to $4,010.30/oz. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1729 GMT - Disney is about to go from one cinematic mistake to another, Benchmark's Mike Hickey says in a note. After the live-action "Moana" remake flopped, Disney's next major movie catalyst looks to be "Avengers: Doomsday" on Dec. 18. But that film will compete with "Dune: Part Three," which Hickey says "represents a significant strategic mistake" on Disney's part. The two films are competing for overlapping audiences and, crucially, premium-format screens, Hickey says. Dune's three-week IMAX window, supported by an IMAX 70mm rollout, is likely to overshadow Disney's own new Infinity Vision large format technology, which lacks consumer awareness, an installed brand advantage, and a differentiated technology proposition, he adds. "Sacrificing IMAX availability for Disney's most important remaining 2026 release was a major miscalculation that could constrain ticket pricing, opening-weekend capacity and total box-office performance." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1603 GMT - Deutsche Bank isn't so worried about the bear case for Microsoft that has pressured shares ahead of the company's 4Q earnings. Investors have concerns about rising prices for memory and other components, returns on artificial-intelligence investments, and concentrated exposure to OpenAI. "While all valid concerns, we believe fears around each of these areas have become overblown and are more fully reflected in shares now," they write. Microsoft has levers to offset higher component costs, including a strong pricing environment for AI infrastructure. They expect attractive returns on AI spending and note that even if OpenAI's contracts need to be reallocated, overall AI infrastructure demand remains strong. Shares rise 1.3%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1018 GMT - Global shipments of light detection and ranging technology are expected to surge to 40 million units in 2030, compared with 5 million in 2025, UOB Kay Hian analyst Ken Lee writes in a note. Lidar, which is essential for advanced driver-assistance systems, autonomous driving and robotics, is dominated by China with 90% of the market share, Lee says. Technological and manufacturing breakthroughs helped Chinese companies slash lidar costs to less than $300 from over $9,000, Lee notes. Hesai and RoboSense make up 60% of market share and are entering an earnings inflection point; RoboSense is expected to swing to a net profit this year, while Hesai's earnings are projected to grow through 2028, Lee says. UOBKH initiated coverage on China's lidar subsegment with buy ratings on Hesai and Robosense. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)

0949 GMT - Global trade growth could slow if artificial intelligence-related demand weakens, HSBC economists write in a note. Trade remains closely linked to the AI cycle, with related goods driving 80% of global export growth in nominal terms, they write. These goods account for around 80% of Taiwan's total exports and 27% of U.S. imports. Exports excluding tech show a softer picture, they note, with export growth of other goods having largely flat-lined since 2024. AI is also helping support services trade, they note. Still, based on capital expenditure forecasts of the top hyperscalers, the AI boom likely still has further to run even if the pace of growth moderates next year, they say. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 21, 2026 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)

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