The latest Market Talks covering Basic Materials. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0621 GMT - Bayer CropScience is likely a pure play on agrochemical consumption in India, Elara Securities (India)'s analysts say in a research report. The Indian agricultural solutions provider plans to prioritize product launches, which would help it regain lost market share in some crops, the analysts say. The company's strategic initiatives such as portfolio prioritization and timely lifecycle management should improve profitability through its crop protection portfolio. The brokerage lifts its FY 2026-2028 earnings forecasts for the company by around 11%-17%. It revises the stock's rating to buy from accumulate and raises the target price to INR6,100.00 from INR5,167.00. Shares are 1.2% lower at INR4,775.00. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

2309 GMT - South32's review of capex at its Hermosa project in Arizona has stoked fears of higher spending going forward, Macquarie says in a note. The reassessment is expected to be completed in 2H FY26. Macquarie factors in an extra US$200 million for the project, but says it remains "optimistic on Hermosa's potential." Macquarie has an "outperform" rating on South32. It raises its target by 4%, to A$5.00/share, citing reserve upgrades that add mine life to the company's Cannington mine in Australia. South32 is down by 5.3%, at A$4.28. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

2246 GMT - Whether or not Northern Star can complete the KCGM mill expansion on time and budget will be a key factor in how its stock performs, says Barrenjoey's Daniel Morgan. "FY26 is clearly a massive year of investment," he says. The KCGM project is due to reach first production in 1Q FY27. "The completion of this project is expected to provide a step change in production and cash flow for NST but is not without execution risk, particularly in the final stages of the build," says Morgan. Once completed, cash flow from the asset can be used to fund the Hemi project, "which appears to us to be one of the most economic greenfield gold mines globally." Barrenjoey reiterates a neutral rating and A$36.00 target on Northern Star, which ended Thursday at A$29.39. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

1815 GMT - Gold and silver futures slide in volatile trading. For gold, prices dip back below the $5,000 a troy ounce mark, after rallying back to roughly $5,100/oz this week. Whether or not gold can quickly regain the $5,000/oz-mark may be the biggest indicator of what the near-term trend will look like, says Fawad Razaqzada of Forex.com in a note. "The market has now cleared out a large pocket of downside liquidity, and the next move will depend on how price behaves around key technical levels," says Razaqzada. Front-month gold settles down 2.9% to $4,923.70/oz, while silver sinks 9.8% to $75.546/oz. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1534 GMT - Friday's January CPI report is expected to be the "next significant test ahead" for precious metal futures, says Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities in a note. Until then, prices continue to consolidate, says Cardillo. That's why gold futures are virtually flat, staying around the $5,100 per troy ounce level. Silver is down 1.4%, to just below $83/oz. Yesterday's January jobs report showed higher-than-expected jobs added during the month, which has traders speculating that markets will have to wait longer before the Federal Reserve does its next rate cut. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1250 GMT - Base metals edge higher despite a firmer U.S. dollar as risk appetite improved among global investors, according to market watchers. Copper futures on the London Metal Exchange rise 0.1% to $13,251 a metric ton, while aluminum is up 1.3% to $3,157 a ton. Meanwhile, nickel prices closed above $18,000 a ton in the previous session after Indonesia--the world's largest nickel producer--ordered a sharp cut in production at a key mine, before easing back to $17,690 a ton. Overall, prices are reacting to short-term trading moves, with investors' bets driving swings more than underlying fundamentals, analysts at Sucden Financial say. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

1121 GMT - Evidence of easing inflation in the U.S. in the coming months should keep the Federal Reserve on track for further interest-rate cuts despite the stronger-than-expected jobs report, UBS Global Wealth Management says in a note. Its base case remains two rate cuts of 25-basis-points each, in June and September, "creating a favorable environment for equities, bonds, and gold," CIO Mark Haefele says. Following the labor data, money markets reduced expectations of total Fed rate cuts this year to around 50 basis points from around 60bps beforehand and price the next rate cut in July, rather than in June, according to LSEG data. January CPI data are due for release on Friday. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2026 04:20 ET (09:20 GMT)

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