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

1911 ET [Dow Jones]--Macquarie is no longer bearish about two of Australia's biggest owners of shopping malls after taking a rosier view of property asset valuations. Macquarie upgrades Scentre and Vicinity Centres to neutral. It previously had underperform calls on both stocks. Macquarie raises estimates of the valuation of major regional malls by 10.4%, with increases to its forecasts for all other property classes. The upgrades to its asset value assumptions reflect "an improved outlook for commercial real estate income fundamentals, stabilizing asset values, improving transaction volumes, falling cost of debt and increased unlisted equity inflows," Macquarie says. (david.winning@wsj.com)

1859 ET [Dow Jones]--Amplitude Energy's A$150 million capital raising looks sensible to Bell Potter. That's because Amplitude's capex commitments will rise after management expanded a drilling program to support its East Coast Supply Project and signaled the potential restart of the Patricia Baleen field in southeastern Australia. Bell Potter says drilling a fourth well, specifically to target the Nestor deposit, could take ECSP capex to A$485 million-A$580 million. "We see the Nestor option further de-risking the ECSP through a portfolio effect," analyst Stuart Howe says. Bell Potter retains a buy call on Amplitude, and trims its price target by 3.4% to A$0.28/Share. Amplitude ended Wednesday at A$0.235. (david.winning@wsj.com)

1900 ET - The sale of Deterra Royalties' gold offtake contracts returns its focus to industrial metals, differentiating the company from gold-royalty peers, Macquarie analysts say in a note. "Those looking to have exposure to the industrial metals complex for lower beta may find DRR an attractive alternative to higher operationally leveraged exposures," say the analysts. They reiterate a "neutral" rating and A$4.20 target. Deterra last traded at A$4.19. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

1857 ET - KB Home is seeing mixed housing demand depending on the geography, executives say. Las Vegas, Houston and Charlotte, N.C., all had strong demand during the fiscal third quarter, as did some parts of inland California. Higher priced coastal California communities had weaker demand, as did Denver and Seattle. In those markets, house prices surged after Covid-19 and incomes didn't keep up, so supply is now outpacing demand, executives say. Housing starts have started to decline, which executives say could help balance out inventory with demand over time. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1838 ET - KB Home is trying to return to its historical reliance on homes built-to-order rather than built on speculation, the company said in its earnings call. Right now, the company is at about 50% built-to-order, but, as recently as 2022, it was at 70%. Supply-chain shocks increased construction time, making built-to-order homes, which have a margin 250 to 400 basis points better than speculation homes, infeasible for buyers. "It's not going to be an overnight change," said COO Rob McGibney. "As we get into the early part of 2026, we expect to shift back to that 70/30-or-better ratio at higher margins." (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1827 ET [Dow Jones]--Regal Partners's share price continues to trade well below all-time highs, despite positive operating metrics that include an 8% rise in funds under management over July-August. Bell Potter believes this may relate to the conversion of various classes of stock into ordinary shares. "There are currently 356 million ordinary shares on issue, with 13 million shares due to convert at end-September, and a further 62 million shares converting in the next few years," says analyst Marcus Barnard. Bell Potter raises its price target by 15% to A$4.10/share, and says this assumes full conversion of the outstanding stock. Regal Partners ended Wednesday at A$2.92. (david.winning@wsj.com)

1829 ET - Australia's S&P/ASX 200 looks set to slide at the open, following U.S. equities lower. ASX futures are down by 0.4% ahead of Thursday's session, indicating that the benchmark index will add to Wednesday's 0.9% decline, which came as hotter-than-expected August inflation data dimmed hopes of near-term interest-rate cuts. The ASX 200 is down by 0.1% so far this week and on course for a fourth straight weekly loss. It last completed such a streak on March 14. Ahead of the open, engineering group Monadelphous said it had secured A$220 million in new resources-sector contracts. In the U.S., the S&P 500 lost 0.3%, the DJIA slid 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite gave up 0.3%. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

1736 ET - Steelcase and MillerKnoll are seeing stronger demand for their office furniture as businesses increasingly return to in-person work. Steelcase sales rose 5% in the latest quarter, with CEO Sara Armbruster pointing to strengthening demand from large corporate customers. MillerKnoll sales climbed 11%, with CEO Andi Owen citing continued strong leasing activity for high-quality office space as companies increasingly recognize the benefit of bringing their employees together. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1604 ET - U.S. stocks end broadly lower as major indexes continue to ease off recent record highs. Shares for Freeport McMoRan drop 17% after the miner notified investors of significant production delays tied to a fatal incident at its operations in Indonesia. Shares of the materials companies decline 1.6%, the worst among S&P 500 sectors. Energy stocks rise on gains in oil and natural gas prices. Consumer shares get a small lift from a surprisingly strong gain in August new home sales. DJIA falls 171 points, or 0.4%, to 46121, the S&P 500 loses 0.3% to 6637 and the Nasdaq declines 0.3% to 22497.(patrick.sullivan@wsj.com)

1428 ET - If the situation surrounding U.S. export tariffs escalates, then the world agricultural market-and global markets at large-may find itself bifurcated by two groups of powers, says Gerrit Marx, CEO of agricultural equipment supplier CNH. Marx says that the company is preparing for a situation where tariffs and retaliatory measures essentially split the world in two. One side being nations aligned under BRICS, and the other being the 'western world,' or countries organized under the G7 banner. "We work with scenarios," Marx tells the WSJ. "There's a scenario where we go back to reasonable tariffs-in that particular world, there is no distinction between a BRICS-led world and the western world." CNH sells agricultural equipment around the world under several different brands. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1422 ET - The CEO of CNH, the second-largest agricultural equipment manufacturer in the world behind Deere & Co., expects the economic woes of farmers to extend into 2026. CEO Gerrit Marx says that the crop farmers are limited in how much money that they can spend on inputs like equipment in part because of low crop prices. While grains like corn have had improved prices in the past month, they've yet to hit levels where most farmers are profitable. "I don't yet see any catalyst for commodity prices to recover," he says in an interview, adding that farmers may have "a couple more quarters" of economic pain left to endure. CBOT grain futures are down late in trading, with corn off 0.5%, soybeans down 0.2%, and wheat losing 0.1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1416 ET - Brazilian assets soften after yesterday's rally triggered by Trump's overture to discuss his hefty 50% tariffs on the country with leftist President Lula. The relationship "is more likely to remain strained," Eurasia Group analysts write. Trump has linked the tariffs to what he sees as unfair prosecution of his local ally, former President Bolsonaro. The Supreme Court has found Bolsonaro guilty of plotting against the elected government. "Lula cannot alter Bolsonaro's conviction " and trade concessions are also unlikely, Eurasia says. A Trump-Lula connection, however, "could at least limit the potential for the rift to escalate." The Brazilian real weakens 0.8% against the dollar. The Ibovespa stock index falls 0.2%. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 24, 2025 19:14 ET (23:14 GMT)

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