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

0204 GMT - Sembcorp Industries' earnings are expected to be supported by its expansion in renewable capacity and incremental stake in Senoko Energy, OCBC Investment Research's research team writes in a note. The industrial conglomerate plans to continue growing its renewable energy portfolio and efforts to lower its carbon intensity, OCBC says. The higher stake in Senoko Energy also reinforces Sembcorp Industries' commitment in supporting Singapore's energy security and ensuring the delivery of reliable energy solutions, OCBC says. OCBC has a buy rating on the stock and raises its fair value estimate to S$8.45 from S$7.20. Shares are up 1.2% at S$7.60.(amanda.lee@wsj.com)

0157 GMT - Malaysia's palm oil export volume may rise in July, supported by a recovery in the oil's price competitiveness versus other vegetable oils, UOB Kay Hian analysts Lester Siew and Anas Fitri Ahmad say in a note. With the peak production cycle still ongoing, July's output is expected to increase, though inventories may stay flat as export growth is likely to outpace production, they say. They also flag potential risks from U.S. trade policy and weather changes. UOB KH maintains a market weight rating on Malaysia's plantation sector, citing limited near-term catalysts, and expects CPO prices to remain range-bound until 3Q. It rates Hap Seng Plantations at buy, given its attractive valuations and strong dividend yields. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0147 GMT - Charoen Pokphand Foods' earnings are poised to soften in 2H as swine prices are likely to fall from 1H, UOB Kay Hian analysts say in a research report. Swine prices in Thailand at the start of July have fallen 11.7% quarter-to-date, while those in Vietnam have dropped 2.2% quarter-to-date, the analysts note. Drivers of a potential swine-price slowdown are the rainy season, a gradual recovery in supply and weaker consumer spending. Also, the allowance of pork imports from the U.S. could pose a major threat to Thailand's swine industry, in which the conglomerate is involved. The brokerage lowers the stock's rating to hold from buy and the target price to THB21.00 from THB32.50. Shares last closed at THB22.10. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0127 GMT - TSMC is unlikely to raise its 2025 revenue guidance despite strong 1H results, Citi analysts say in a research note. The world's largest contract chip maker is due to report 2Q results on Thursday. It should beat its previous revenue guidance of mid-20% growth in 2025 and could guide mid-single-digit on-quarter revenue growth for 3Q, the analysts say. However, considering tariff uncertainties and front-loading ahead of the tariffs, the analysts think the chip giant is unlikely to raise its 2025 guidance. Investors should focus on its advanced node demand and AI order visibility into next two to three years, they add. Citi maintains a buy call on TSMC with an unchanged target price of NT$1,280.00. Shares are last at NT$1,090.00. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0121 GMT - Malaysia's new requirement for trade permits on U.S.-origin AI chip exports is seen as a proactive step to close regulatory gaps and prevent tighter U.S. restrictions, according to Public Investment Bank analyst Chong Hoe Leong in a note. The move may help ease U.S. concerns over potential transshipment of chips to China and reduce the risk of Malaysia being caught in future export bans, he says. Following the latest initiative, Chong believes the risk of a U.S. chip export restriction on Malaysia is low. Channel checks suggest that five multi-billion-ringgit data center tenders from a U.S.-based hyperscaler are expected in coming months, he adds. Public IB maintains an overweight rating on Malaysia's tech sector, pegging Cloudpoint Technology and Mi Technovation as its top picks. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0111 GMT - Malaysia's new permit rule for U.S.-origin AI chip exports shows its intent to take responsibility over outbound chip movement, MIDF Research analyst Royce Tan says in a note. The measure aims to curb potential smuggling into China via intermediaries and signals Malaysia's effort to stay off Washington's radar amid expected U.S. export curbs under the Trump administration, he says. Tan believes the rule won't affect domestic data center development, as local chip use remains unrestricted. He expects companies like Gamuda, IJM Corp., Sunway Construction and Tenaga Nasional to benefit from rising data center demand and energy usage. MIDF maintains a positive view on Malaysia's construction and utilities sectors. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0047 GMT - First Resources' stock price appears bullish on technical charts, Phillip Securities Research's Zane Aw says in commentary. Since the beginning of July 2025, the stock price has retested the S$1.52 resistance level of its current consolidation range multiple times, the analyst notes. The moving average convergence divergence indicator shows increasing upward momentum and is holding above the zero line, supporting the bullish view. Should the stock price break above S$1.52, it could extend gains and reach S$1.61, a previous horizontal support breakdown level seen at the start of April 2025, Aw adds. Shares last closed at S$1.51. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0035 GMT - Australian outdoor advertiser oOh!media could struggle to deliver significant fiscal 2026 earnings growth following the loss of its contract with Auckland Transport, E&P analyst Entcho Raykovski warns. He acknowledges that the market was aware that the contract was due to expire end-September, but doesn't think that the loss was necessarily incorporated into consensus estimates. The company says that the contract represented about 4% of group revenue and that it planned for the eventuality, but Raykovski writes in a note that the contract was higher margin than the rest of oOh!media's portfolio. E&P has a positive rating and A$1.80 target price on the stock, which is down 1.9% at A$1.6925. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0021 GMT - HMM's shares are likely to trend higher on its plan to buy back 2 trillion won of shares and pay dividends aggressively, iM Securities analyst Bae Se-ho writes in a note. The stock has risen roughly 40% this year, outperforming its global peers, Bae says. The South Korean shipping company stands to benefit from lower fuel costs in 3Q, he notes. The company's 2Q operating profit likely fell 40% on year in 2Q due to lower freight rates but still beat market consensus. iM Securities upgrades the stock to buy from hold and raises the stock's target by 48% to 31,000 won. Shares are 0.8% higher at 25,700 won. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

0014 GMT - Japan's Nikkei Stock Average is down 0.1% at 39429.41 as weakness among trading houses help offset gains in electronics and auto shares. Itochu Corp. is down 1.3% and Mitsui & Co. is 1.1% lower while Mitsubishi Electric is up 2.0% and Honda Motor is 0.9% higher. Broader market index Topix is up 0.3% at 2832.03. USD/JPY is at 147.70, up from 147.35 as of Monday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching any U.S. tariff-related developments as well as domestic policy-making ahead of the Upper House elections on Sunday. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)

0003 GMT - Paladin Energy is likely to re-rate ahead as the miner shakes off recent negative sentiment, says Bell Potter analyst Regan Burrows. The broker upgrades the stock's target to A$9.20 from A$6.50 previously and keeps a buy rating. Burrows reckons market expectations of Paladin's 4Q result are likely conservative, "creating a low hurdle bar for PDN to exceed." Analysts expect uranium production of roughly 783,000 pounds from Paladin's Langer Heinrich mine in 4Q, according to Visible Alpha. That is in line with Bell Potter's own estimates. "Coming out of the 4QFY25 result we should have a better understanding of mining rates, ore performance and sales contracts, which, when combined with a reshuffle in CEOs, should provide positive sentiment heading into FY26," says Burrows. Paladin is up 2.2% at A$7.29. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

2357 GMT - Hub24's stronger-than-expected net flows are seen as a material positive by E&P analysts, especially when compared with a recent miss by rival wealth-management platform Netwealth. Olivier Coulon and Shankari Thayakaran tell clients in a note that Hub24's net flows of A$5.32 billion were ahead of their A$5.1 billion forecast, and modestly beat consensus on an underlying basis. A key driver was the A$1.2 billion from the migration of EQT funds onto the platform, with the size seen by both analysts as a function of market performance and a small expansion of the underlying migration. E&P has a last-published neutral rating and A$75.60 target price on the stock, which is at A$94.50 ahead of the open. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 14, 2025 22:04 ET (02:04 GMT)

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