The latest Market Talks covering Financial Services. Exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1006 ET - U.S. pending home sales fell 3.5% week-over-week to their lowest level in almost three years, Redfin says. Declining homebuying demand is giving buyers breathing room. It means less competition and more room to negotiate for the house hunters who are still shopping. New listings fell slightly, -0.5%, from a week earlier, but they're still up 1.5% year-over-year, and there are still hundreds of thousands more home sellers than buyers in the market. More homes on the market equals less pressure on buyers to rush into a decision or pay more than they want. Home-sale prices are holding steady. The median home-sale price rose 2% year-over-year. That stability means prices aren't soaring, and that sellers aren't in immediate danger of home values dropping. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

1007 ET - Emirates NBD raises its year-end Dubai inflation forecast to 5.6% as elevated oil prices persist for longer than previously expected. Inflation accelerates to 5.5% in August from 5.3% in July, with prices rising 0.3% on month, the bank says. Housing remains the largest contributor to inflation, although price growth in the category has moderated, while higher petrol prices and airfares drove the latest acceleration. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)

1002 ET - Abu Dhabi leads major Gulf stocks higher, with its benchmark index rising 0.5%. The Dubai Financial Market General Index gains 0.3% and Qatar's QE Index adds 0.2%. The gains come despite a potentially more challenging interest-rate backdrop after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to a 3.75%-4.00% range, the National Bank of Kuwait says. The Fed's projections signal another increase by year-end as inflation remains elevated, while most Gulf central banks followed the move with 25-basis-point increases under their dollar-pegged currency regimes, putting further upward pressure on regional borrowing costs. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)

0938 ET - The Federal Reserve's rate increase will raise borrowing costs for Gulf issuers, though investor demand for regional bonds and sukuk remains resilient. Saudi banks could face particular pressure as loan growth continues to outpace deposits, making sukuk an increasingly important source of longer-term funding. Recent Saudi and Kuwaiti sukuk deals priced tighter than initial guidance, indicating demand remains healthy despite higher rates. Spreads are holding up, but overall funding costs are set to rise, potentially encouraging stronger issuers to accelerate borrowing ahead of further possible Fed increases. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)

0540 ET - Man Group's share price doesn't reflect positive recent performance across its quantitative trading strategies, UBS analysts write. The investment management group's AHL strategies are up 7% over the past six weeks, outperformance that will drive an upgrade to earnings-per-share in the third quarter. Over the longer term, Man Group has a sustainable competitive advantage over its peers, while the analysts also expect the group's liquid alternative and credit strategies to attract more institutional investments. The analysts raise their outlook for Man group from hold to buy. Shares rise 5.4% following the upgrade.(josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0152 ET - The Federal Reserve had no choice but to give the market a hike or risk a much bigger bond market selloff, which is shown in the 12-0 vote, Laffer Tengler Investments' Byron Anderson says in a note. "The Fed is trying to calm the bond market rather than signaling a hiking cycle," the head of fixed income says. The market narrative is on a collision course with the Fed from here on out, which means more volatility, he says. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

0107 ET - The bigger question after the Federal Reserve's 25bp rate increase Wednesday is whether the move will be "one and done" or mark the beginning of another tightening cycle, TruStage chief economist Steve Rick says. "Higher oil prices stemming from continued conflict in the Middle East could keep inflation elevated, but monetary policy works with long and variable lags, and additional increases would put more pressure on consumers and businesses already facing elevated borrowing costs," he says. The Fed should give the increase time to take effect before determining how much additional restraint is necessary, Rick says. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

0106 ET - Malaysian banks could face weaker fixed-income securities portfolio valuations in 3Q as local bond yields remain elevated following the U.S. rate hike, but the impact is expected to ease in 4Q,Kenanga Investment Bank analyst Peter Kong and his team say in a note. Malayan Banking, Hong Leong Bank and Alliance Bank Malaysia are viewed as relatively less exposed to bond-market swings. "This is a short term view," they say. Fundamentally, banks with good control of funding costs are expected to be able to tap a healthy loan growth pipeline, supporting their preference for Malayan Banking and Hong Leong Bank. Kenanga expects Bank Negara's policy rate to remain unchanged for now.(yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0051 ET - Westpac's belief in the support that artificial intelligence offers the Australian bank represents one view of the future: Jefferies analysts have another. The analysts acknowledge the argument that incumbent banks should be able to harness new tech to streamline processes, redesign value chains, improve controls, and speed up decision making. "If well executed and appropriately funded, owners and customers will share in the returns of this opportunity," they write in a note. However, they also see a scenario in which bots disrupt banks' engagement with customers, scanning for products and executing transactions. "A bank customer may never again open their bank app, contact a call centre, or visit a branch," the Jarden analysts warn. Jarden keeps a sell rating on the stock and target price of 31.00 Australian dollars. Shares are up 1.5% at A$34.955. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0008 ET - Netwealth's acquisition of workflow and automation platform Paradino looks strategically sensible to Jarden analysts, who reckon it will strengthen the wealth manager's prospects with advisers over the medium term. With an unchanged neutral rating on the Australia-listed stock, the analysts tell clients in a note that the platform productivity benefits touted by Netwealth should allow advisers to take on more clients and drive stronger inflows. Less positively, they say they can't tell whether the acquisition materially moves Netwealth ahead of peers or how sustainable the offering will be in the face of artificial-intelligence-driven competition. Jarden trims its target price 1.0% to 24.20 Australian dollars. Shares are down 1.3% at A$18.71. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2251 ET - Markets risk overinterpreting the tone of Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's press conference after its meeting, says BlackRock Investment Institute's Jean Boivin in a note. The Fed helped reestablish the new chairman's credibility with its decision to hike rates, Boivin says. He notes the emphasis on the strength of the U.S. economy was a notable feature of the post-decision press conference, which markets interpreted as hawkish. The head of the BlackRock Investment Institute notes--against the backdrop of stronger economic growth--the rate hike may not be bad news for risk assets. "We think it is important to distinguish the need to safeguard the Fed's credibility from the start of a sustained hiking cycle," says Boivin. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

2216 ET - 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%.