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

0411 GMT - Asia's manufacturing PMIs showed domestic demand-driven economies fared better in October, while new export orders broadly weakened, flagging a deterioration in external demand, say HSBC economists Frederic Neumann and Ines Lam. India, Indonesia and the Philippines saw headline PMIs pointing to an uptick in activity due to their domestic demand-driven economies, they say in a research note. The decline in China's new export orders in October indicates strength in export diversion to regions outside the U.S. may start to wane. In addition, the drops in output prices suggest that Chinese exporters might be selling more to other markets at the expense of their profit margin, they add. (monica.gupta@wsj.com)

0350 GMT - ESR-REIT's debt management looks proactive, Maybank Research's Krishna Guha says in a note. The REIT is actively working toward reducing gearing to 40% or lower, compared with 43.3% as at Sept. 30. It has also identified S$250 million-S$350 million of noncore divestments, the analyst says. The REIT offers relatively high yield, is undertaking efforts to divest suboptimal assets, and was recently assigned an investment-grade credit rating by Fitch Ratings. Maybank Research upgrades the trust to buy from hold and raises the target price to S$3.00 from S$2.00. Units are 1.1% lower at S$2.79. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0322 GMT - South Korean K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment faces an absence of near-term catalysts for its shares, Nomura analysts Angela Hong and Won Kang write in a research note. The stock, which was previously seen to be a key beneficiary of a possible resumption of K-pop concerts in mainland China following years of restrictions, now sees the China momentum fading, the analysts note. K-pop concerts in China continue to be cancelled or delayed amid political uncertainty, while a recent summit between the leaders of South Korea and China during the APEC forum didn't work out a particular breakthrough in lifting an alleged K-pop ban in China, they add. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

0227 GMT - Sinotruk (Hong Kong) stands to benefit from likely strong overseas demand for China-made heavy-duty trucks in 2026, Daiwa Capital Markets' Kelvin Lau says in a research report. At a recent conference, the truck manufacturer unveiled its goals for the next five years. In a shift toward globalization, Sinotruk aims to export 250,000 heavy-duty trucks, 100,000 light-duty trucks, 50,000 passenger vehicles and 3,000 mining trucks by 2030. It also plans to grow its overseas after-market revenue to around US$1 billion by 2030. Daiwa raises its target price to HK$29.40 from HK$21.70, with an unchanged outperform rating. Shares are 4.6% higher at HK$29.52. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0215 GMT - Nintendo's console shipments miss for the September-quarter doesn't concern Morningstar, which remains upbeat about the outlook for the Switch console--a key growth driver for the company. "We are encouraged that the launch of the Switch 2 console and accompanying game releases are stimulating users' purchasing activities more than we had anticipated," says director Kazunori Ito. Based on improved user engagement, Morningstar raises its fiscal 2025 forecasts for game shipments forecast for both the Switch and Switch 2. It thinks Nintendo has ensured sufficient stock for the upcoming holiday season, pointing to an increase in inventory over the past three months. Morningstar raises its fair value estimate for Nintendo to Y14,000 from Y13,000. Stock last at Y14,390. (jason.chau@wsj.com)

0200 GMT - Naver's planned purchase of 60,000 graphics processing units from Nvidia could pressure profit margins by raising capital expenditure sharply from next year, Nomura analysts Angela Hong and Won Kang write in a note. They forecast the South Korean internet giant's capex to rise to 1.6 trillion won in 2026 and 1.9 trillion won in 2027 amid the GPU purchases and other artificial-intelligence investments, up from 580 billion won in 2024. "This raises the near-term risk of margin pressure from depreciation and power costs," the analysts note. They view the AI initiative "as strategically compelling but financially unproven." Nomura raises its target price for Naver to KRW270,000 from KRW260,000 but keeps a neutral rating. Shares are 3.8% lower at KRW268,000. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

0151 GMT - NetLink NBN Trust's stable distribution yield of 5.5% may become more attractive, thanks to falling interest rates, Phillip Securities Research's Paul Chew says in a note. Declining rates allow the fiber-network infrastructure operator to reduce refinancing costs for its S$510 million loan due May 2026, the head of research says. The trust's free cash flows should also improve as capital expenditure decreases with the completion of its Seletar Central Office. The brokerage raises the target price to S$0.93 from S$0.87 to reflect lowered risk-free rate and beta assumptions, with an unchanged neutral rating. Units are 0.5% lower at S$0.97. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0138 GMT - Bumi Resources Minerals is likely to benefit from the tailwinds of capacity expansion, underground mine ramp-up, and possible copper reserve upgrades, UOB Kay Hian's Benyamin Mikael says in a research report. The Indonesian miner is increasing the capacity of its first Carbon-in-Leach plant to 2,000 tons a day from 500 tons a day, the analyst notes. Also, underground mine development in Indonesia's Poboya is progressing well and is expected to start production by mid-2027, enabling the miner to process higher-grade ores. The brokerage raises the stock's target price to IDR1,080.00 from IDR610.00 to reflect a structural re-rating on the company's long-term growth outlook. It retains the buy rating. Shares last closed at IDR1,020.00. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0057 GMT - Australian workforce management provider PeopleIN gets a new bull at Canaccord Genuity, where analyst Warren Jeffries sees potential for inorganic expansion and a boost from construction activity. Initiating coverage of the stock with a buy rating, Jeffries tells clients in a note that PeopleIN's large exposure to Queensland state bodes well. He points to an A$116.8 billion infrastructure program there and construction for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. Construction and community services are the key sectors for PeopleIN, which Jeffries says has a multiyear opportunity starting in 2H of fiscal 2026. Its balance sheet also provides capacity for acquisitions, he adds. Canaccord Genuity places a A$1.45 target price on the stock, which is up 2.6% at A$0.8875. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0050 GMT - Catapult Sports gets a new bull at Bell Potter amid expectations that the athletic-tech provider will reiterate its annual guidance. Analyst Chris Savage raises his rating on the stock to buy from hold after the stock cooled over recent weeks. He makes no changes to his forecasts or target price. Savage tells clients in a note that he expects a fiscal 1H result in line with Catapult's recent healthy trading update, and for a reiteration of guidance for strong growth in annualized contract value, improved margins, and higher free cash flow over the full year. Bell Potter has a A$7.50 target price on the stock, which is up 0.6% at A$6.42. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0035 GMT - Naver is likely to post solid 4Q results as strong earnings from its e-commerce segment are expected to offset rising marketing and investment costs, Yuanta Securities Korea analyst Lee Chang-young writes in a note. The South Korean internet giant is set to benefit from higher fees for customers using e-commerce platforms through 3Q 2026, Lee says. The increased fees likely brought the company an estimated earnings boost of more than KRW100 billion in 3Q 2025, he reckons. Naver is also poised to gain from better advertising efficiency and longer customer retention time driven by its artificial-intelligence tools, he adds. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

0017 GMT - Japanese stocks are higher in early trade thanks to a weaker yen and a recovery in U.S. tech shares overnight. Chip-related stocks are leading gains. Kioxia Holdings is up 6.0% and SoftBank Group is 2.5% higher. USD/JPY is at 154.03, up from 153.64 as of Wednesday's Tokyo stock-market close. Investors are closely watching earnings as well as any progress in Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's economic measures. Fujifilm Holdings and Suzuki Motor are scheduled to release their results later in the day. The Nikkei Stock Average is up 1.5% at 50979.20. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 05, 2025 23:11 ET (04:11 GMT)

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