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

1146 GMT - Shares of drink companies fell after the European Union said spirits and wine imported to the U.S. would be subject to a 15% tariff from Friday. Shares of Diageo, the maker of Johnnie Walker whisky, and Louis XIII cognac maker Remy Cointreau, are down 3.3% and 3.1%, respectively. Aperol maker Campari shares are down 1.8% and Absolut Vodka owner Pernod Ricard shares are 3.1% lower. (ian.walker@wsj.com)

1137 GMT - Cigna Group reports fewer total pharmacy customers at the end of 2Q than the prior year, down 0.5% to 121.9 million. Total medical customers declined 5.2% to around 18 million. Behavioral care customers rose to about 23.9 million from 23.8 million and dental edged up to 18.4 million from 18.3 million. Cigna's customer relationship counts are closely watched as healthcare and insurance businesses navigate higher medical costs, with some cutting their forecasts, in part due to a shifting membership base. Cigna ticks up 2% premarket. (denny.jacob@wsj.com; @pennedbyden)

1055 GMT - Prudential PLC appears to have saved hundreds of millions of dollars by settling a legal dispute with a shareholder in one of its main Malaysian businesses, Jefferies says in a research note. The group unexpectedly announced it settled with Detik Ria, who had started proceedings in April and sought $833 million in unpaid dividends plus interest. The settlement shrank the cost to one-tenth of the original amount, saving Prudential at least $717 million--or 2% of its market capitalization--analysts write. "Given that this calculation does not factor in the potential interest that has now been forgone, and that the settlement de-risks both the stock and the use of the proceeds from the impending IPO of ICICI Prudential Asset Management, we are not surprised [the] stock has risen," they add. Shares in London rise 2% to 957.2 pence. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

0940 GMT - Malaysia's MYR430 billion development budget under the 13th Malaysia Plan for 2026-2030 is expected to accelerate public infrastructure spending, especially from late 2025 through 2027, CIMB Securities analyst Mak Hoy Ken says in a note. East Malaysia could see higher allocations, with Sabah and Sarawak set for elections by 2025 and 2027, respectively, she says. Projects like Penang's airport upgrade, Johor transit systems, and solar rollouts are likely to gain traction, she adds. Despite concerns over U.S. AI chip export curbs, contract momentum for major data centers and advanced industrial facilities is expected to pick up soon, supported by revived tender activity, Mak says. CIMB maintains an overweight rating on Malaysian contractors, with Gamuda, IJM and Malaysian Resources as its sector top picks. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0922 GMT - Contemporary Amperex Technology will likely post stronger earnings for the next few years, driven by expanding European shipments, a potentially improving domestic pricing outlook and higher operating efficiency, HSBC Global Research analysts write in a note. The European market is likely to make up nearly 20% of CATL's EV battery volumes this year, thanks to a pick up in Europe's EV adoption and the company's scale advantages, they add. The company's 2Q net profit rose 34% on year to CNY16.5 billion, beating HSBC's expectations, boosted by solid shipments and enhanced operating efficiency. HSBC Global Research maintains a buy rating for the stock and raises its target price to CNY363 from CNY322. Shares last closed at CNY264.62.(jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0913 GMT - Oil market fundamentals suggest OPEC+ has a limited window to push more barrels into the market as demand growth in China remains subdued and U.S. gasoline consumption shows signs of moderation, ANZ analysts say. According to the firm, OPEC+ is expected to approve a 500,000 barrels a day production increase for September, completing the unwinding of voluntary cuts. "This shouldn't be a problem for the moment," analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari say. "Stocks in key markets are similar or below last year at this time." However, ANZ continues to expect a significant inventory build later this year, estimating a fourth-quarter supply surplus of 1.74 million barrels a day. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0912 GMT - China's robotaxi fleet could reach 300,000 to 500,000 vehicles by 2030, according to Barclays analysts. More than 500 million people in the country use ride-hailing services, completing about 16 billion trips a year, they note. Ride-hailing and taxi services account for a roughly equal share of the on-demand transportation market, they add. Robotaxis compete in the on-demand transport market of higher-tier Chinese cities, which includes 4.5 million to 5 million cars, the analysts write in a note. The robotaxi unit economics in the country may already be close to or at break-even today, excluding the upfront development costs, they say. Barclays estimates the current cost of making a robotaxi in China at about $35,000 to $40,000. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0900 GMT - London Stock Exchange Group's results offered no extra surprises beside the bigger share buyback, AJ Bell's Russ Mould says. The stock-exchange and financial-information company announced plans for a further 1 billion pound share buyback over the coming months. The stock still seems fairly valued based on earnings, Mould adds. This is an important point, even after the recent 20% drop from its peak, he says. Shares are down 4.6% at 95.90 pounds. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0845 GMT - Microsoft and Meta Platforms are worth roughly twice as much as the entire FTSE 100 index after shares of both companies jumped premarket following solid quarterly earnings, AJ Bell's Dan Coatsworth writes in a note. "That's quite something and goes to show how the U.K. market's lack of big technology names has left it trailing behind," he says. Microsoft shares are up more than 8% Thursday premarket, adding more than $300 billion to the company's valuation and pushing it through the $4 trillion mark, Coatsworth says. Meanwhile, Meta shares are up more than 11% premarket, giving it an overall valuation of nearly $2 trillion. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0845 GMT - Aeroports de Paris's first-half earnings came in weaker than expected, but the company remains on track for its full-year guidance, Jefferies says. Recurring Ebitda at the French airport operator missed consensus expectations by 1.3% due to weakness across divisions excluding aviation, Jefferies analysts say in a note. Tax charges and currency headwinds weighed on net profit as well, the analysts say. Nevertheless, the company maintained its guidance for full-year growth of more than 7% in Ebitda. While the weaker-than-expected earnings are likely to put pressure on ADP's shares, the big picture is that the company's guidance is unchanged and it introduced a dividend floor of 3 euros a share for 2025, Jefferies says. Shares fall 4.5%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0842 GMT - London Stock Exchange Group's first-half performance is likely to lead to positive revisions to consensus estimates, JP Morgan Cazenove analysts write in a note. The stock-exchange and financial-information company delivered market-beating results and announced plans for a 1-billion-pound share buyback in the second half. The earnings beat, coupled with the larger-than-expected buyback, could lead to a low-to mid-single digit increase in consensus earnings per share, they say. However, the analysts also note a decline in annual subscription value, citing increased competition as a contributing factor. Shares are down 4.1% at 96.46 pounds. ( najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0837 GMT - Air France-KLM is making progress on reining in costs although unit costs rose in the second quarter, Bernstein analysts say in a research note. "The second quarter was supposed to be the weakest performance of the year--at the highest part of the low-single-digit range--so a 2.7% increase in unit costs at least looks like starting to get this under control," Alex Irving and Antoine Madre say. Better fuel and cost management helped the airline deliver a better-than-expected EBIT, they say. Latin America has been a strong point for both Lufthansa and Air France-KLM in the quarter, but "Air France-KLM has meaningfully outperformed Lufthansa on the North Atlantic," Bernstein says. Shares trade 3.75% higher at 11.49 euros. (sarah.sloat@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 31, 2025 07:47 ET (11:47 GMT)

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