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

0219 GMT - Earnings at Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and other major Japanese shipping companies are likely to benefit from continued disruption in the Middle East, Jefferies analysts say in a note. Tanker markets remain exceptionally strong, supported by rerouting demand and constrained effective supply, they say. The outage of a critical oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia adds another layer of uncertainty to already tight tanker markets, the U.S. bank says. Meanwhile, containership markets also remain firmer than expected, benefiting from disruption in the Red Sea, congestion and resilient demand, the bank says. Jefferies raises its target price on Mitsui O.S.K. Lines to 9,400 yen from Y8,600 and maintains a buy rating. Shares are up 2.4% at Y7,322. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)

0219 GMT - Malaysia's construction demand could remain supported by committed data-center investments, though the surge in Brent crude prices raises the risk of margin pressure, AmInvestment Bank's Tan Wai Wern says in a note. The analyst prefers contractors with cost-recovery provisions, shorter project durations and stronger balance sheets to manage higher input costs. He expects data centers to experience continued demand due to enterprise cloud migration, data storage and AI services, limiting the near-term impact from any slowdown in frontier AI development. The sector could also benefit from the 2027 budget due Oct. 9 if government allocations provide clearer infrastructure project timelines, he adds. AmInvestment Bank maintains an overweight rating on the Malaysian construction sector, with Sunway Construction as its preferred large-cap pick. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0216 GMT - If the Federal Reserve raises interest rates as markets project--more than three hikes by the middle of next year--rate differentials between the U.S. and Japan will narrow little under the current policy path priced in for the Bank of Japan, says Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities strategist Keisuke Tsuruta. The wide rate gap has been a major driver of the yen's weakness. Investors are likely to stay sensitive to the possibility of faster BOJ tightening, given that some board members have pointed to global monetary shifts when considering Japan's own policy, he says. The yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds was last down 0.5 bp at 2.990%. (megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com)

0159 GMT - Morgan Stanley analysts remain watchful for any signs of deteriorating credit quality across construction and property following a large Sydney developer's entry into a form of bankruptcy protection. MS analysts tell clients in a note that Bathla's voluntary administration poses limited direct risk to Australia's major banks, but warn that second-order impacts could emerge through stress to small and medium-size enterprises, tighter funding conditions, and weaker property valuations. History shows credit quality can deteriorate quickly, they add. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0143 GMT - YTL Power International's reservation of four additional Siemens Energy gas turbines gives it an advantage in bidding for new gas-fired projects, amid tight global supply and lead times exceeding five years, TA Securities analyst Hafriz Hezry says in a note. YTL Power and Ganda Power have now reserved seven SGT-9000HL units, supporting potential projects in Malaysia and the region with combined capacity of about 5.25GW. If fully deployed, the capacity could add an estimated 450 million ringgit-500 million ringgit to annual profit, he reckons. The projects could also add about 6.7 billion ringgit to equity value, which isn't reflected in current valuation, he adds. TA Securities maintains its buy rating on YTL Power International, keeps target price at 6.53 ringgit. Shares are 5.3% higher at 5.80 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0135 GMT - Atlas Arteria's new bull at Macquarie sees value in the toll-road operator despite negative traffic trends. Raising their recommendation to outperform from neutral, an analyst at the investment bank tells clients in a note that the 2.2% drop in traffic for July and August was in line with expectations, given slowing manufacturing activity and soft consumer confidence. They concede that the operating environment in France is tough and that dividends will likely be lower in 2027, but point to several positives. They see only limited sensitivity to interest-rate moves, little value being ascribed to concession extensions, and an 8.7% yield. Macquarie trims its target price 3.1% to 4.75 Australian dollars. Shares are up 0.7% at A$4.47. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0128 GMT - Chinese manufacturers' expanding scale and deeper supply-chain integration are raising the competitive bar for Malaysian glove makers, Public Investment Bank analyst Hailey Chung says in a note. Intco Medical is increasingly setting the benchmark for pricing and operational efficiency. While recent increases in Chinese glove average selling prices have allowed Malaysian manufacturers to raise prices, their structural cost disadvantage continues to weigh on competitiveness. Specialty gloves could offer higher margins, but increasing competition may limit pricing power, she reckons. Malaysian players could face further market-share erosion if they continue to compete mainly on volume and price, highlighting the need for greater innovation and product differentiation to defend margins, she adds. Public IB downgrades the Malaysian rubber glove sector to underweight from neutral. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0121 GMT - Reliance Worldwide loses its bull at Macquarie, with Brookfield's binding offer for the plumbing supplies maker locking in value. Lowering their recommendation to neutral from outperform, one of the investment bank's analysts tells clients that most of the deal value is captured by the stock at current levels. The analyst writes in a note that there is still scope for a superior proposal from a rival suitor. That would most likely be a strategic buyer interested in synergies, they add. Macquarie has an unchanged target price of 4.75 Australian dollars on the stock. Shares are up 1.0% at A$4.525. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0107 GMT - Eco-Shop Marketing's product affordability and broad appeal to consumers should keep sales momentum stable in FY 2027, Maybank IB analyst Jade Tam says in a note. Store traffic and sales volumes could benefit from more cost-conscious consumers down trading, she says. Same-store sales growth is forecast at 5% in FY 2027, she says. However, rising product, freight, logistics and labor costs could pressure margins if the company is unable to fully pass on higher costs to consumers, she adds. Tam cuts Eco-Shop's FY 2027-FY 2029 earnings forecasts by 1%-10% to factor in lower gross profit margins and higher operating costs. Maybank lowers Eco-Shop's target price to 1.60 ringgit from 1.70 ringgit, while maintaining a buy rating on the stock. Shares are unchanged at 1.45 ringgit.(yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0106 GMT - Infratil's bull at Jefferies calls out upgraded growth ambitions at its partially owned U.S. renewable energy developer as the biggest surprise of the infrastructure investor's investor day. Analyst Roger Samuel thinks that rising power-purchase agreement prices probably prompted dual-listed Infratil to upgrade its target operating fleet at Boston-based Longroad to 14.3 gigawatts from 11.5 GW. However, he tells clients in a note that there are few details regarding Infratil's contention that 5 GW of its 10 GW data center-related opportunity is immediately actionable. Jefferies keeps a buy rating on the stock and raises its target price on Infratil's Australia-listed shares by 1.4% to 15.00 Australian dollars. Shares are up 0.8% at A$11.41. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0058 GMT - U.S. interest rates are likely to remain elevated going into 2027, says J.P. Morgan Asset Management's Tai Hui in a note. While forecasts from Federal Open Market Committee members didn't change much at the Federal Reserve's September meeting, the updated median projection implies one more increase by the year-end, says the strategist. The Fed remaining hawkish going into 2027 could prompt investors to reassess asset valuations, particularly those of relatively expensive technology stocks that could be sensitive to interest-rate movements, he says. A catalyst to extend the equity bull market therefore looks unlikely in the foreseeable future, he says. Still, the possibility of the U.S. policy rate returning to above 5.0% remains limited, he adds. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0015 GMT - Japanese stocks are higher, supported by bargain-hunting, as recent rising momentum in crude oil eases. Pharmaceutical and machinery stocks are leading gains. Eisai is up 2.4% and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is 3.2% higher. The dollar is at 155.87 yen, up from Y155.10 as of Wednesday's Tokyo stock market close, following the Fed's rate increase overnight. Investors are focusing on bond yields and crude oil prices. The Nikkei Stock Average is up 1.0% at 64548.75.