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

1151 ET - General Motors' fears that President Trump's tariffs would spell doom for its business model didn't play out, with the import taxes ultimately being manageable for the automaker, CFO Paul Jacobson says at the Bank of America Global Automotive Summit. "What we found is that the auto industry is really, really important to the administration," he says, adding that the administration landed on a "nice, sort of narrow path" to maintain competitiveness while supporting the industry. "Would we rather not pay $3 billion in tariffs? Probably," Jacobson says. "But at the end of the day, I think what we've seen, we can adapt to that." He adds that GM managed to offset more than 40% of tariff costs by reducing expenses and changing its manufacturing footprint. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1147 ET - Sterling looks vulnerable and could depreciate further versus the dollar and euro as U.K. growth is weak, Insight Investment's Francesca Fornasari says in a note. The U.K. also faces political risk as the country heads to local elections in May, she says. High energy costs due to the Middle East war pose a challenge to U.K.'s growth and inflation outlook, Fornasari says. These factors could cause sterling to weaken further against the dollar and euro, she says. Sterling falls 0.2% versus dollar to 1.3324 while the euro rises 0.1% to 0.8644 pounds. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

1125 ET - General Motors has benefited from having vehicles at low price points, but its sales haven't been substantially affected even as consumers stress about affordability, CFO Paul Jacobson says at the Bank of America Global Automotive Summit. "We hear this drumbeat of affordability, I think it's pretty consistent with what we've been hearing for the last few years," Jacobson says. But this concern "certainly isn't affecting people's purchase decisions," he adds. He notes that GM sold more than 700,000 vehicles last year with a sticker price below $30,000. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1121 ET - It could take four to six months of high gas prices for car buyers to change their spending patterns, General Motors CFO Paul Jacobson says at the Bank of America Global Automotive Summit. The war in Iran has spiked the price of oil, but Jacobson suggests a muted immediate impact on car buying. "If you look at the historical models, usually it takes four to six months of sustained high oil prices before people start to think, 'Well, maybe I should go for less mileage or maybe I should buy down, et cetera,'" Jacobson says. "We certainly don't see it today where we are." After a soft January for retail due to weather, GM's February and March retail metrics are about on target, he says. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1110 ET - Winter storms this year impacted Bob's Discount Furniture's performance, executives said on an earnings call. The storms caused a roughly 340 basis point headwind to comparable sales growth in the first two months, Chief Financial Officer Carl Lukach estimated, contributing to a full-year outlook that disappointed some investors. The two storms hit on weekends where sales are highest, which led to five times more operational hour losses than last year, Lukach says. Still, the company has recaptured some lost sales in March, he said, adding that Bob's expects 1% to 1.5% comparable sales growth in the current quarter. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1054 ET - Software companies should consider M&A opportunities in addition to stock buybacks given current low valuations, according to D.A. Davidson in a note, especially if leadership has conviction that software will remain relevant in the AI age. Buybacks are "by all means better than sitting on cash, but almost all software companies are cheap now," the analysts say. "If you can get strategic benefit in addition to accretion, M&A is a better strategy," they add. The analysts propose a handful of potentially accretive deals in software such as Salesforce acquiring Zeta Global, IBM buying JFrog, Workday looking at BlackLine or Vertex and ServiceNow acquiring Dynatrace. Adobe could even resurrect its bid for Figma for three-quarters the original price, the analysts say. Box, Five9, SPS Commerce, and Gitlab could also be acquisition targets, according to D.A. Davidson. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1035 ET - Major European indexes fall back into the red as oil prices surge in early afternoon European trade. Brent crude picked up after strikes against the South Pars gas field--which Iran shares with Qatar--prompted Tehran to threaten further attacks on Middle East energy infrastructure. Brent crude rises 5.2% to $108.80 a barrel after edging down earlier in the day. The Europe-wide Stoxx 600--which has traded inversely to oil since the start of the conflict--pivots to a 0.7% loss after rising around 0.6% at the open. The FTSE 100 falls 0.75% in London, while the German DAX is down 0.7%. In Paris, the CAC 40 edges down 0.05%. Consumer-sensitive stocks fall sharply, while utilities also slide.(josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

1034 ET - Oil prices climb in afternoon trading, with Brent crude above $109 a barrel following reports that Iran issued an evacuation warning to oil facilities across the Gulf. The international oil benchmark is up 5.1% to $109.42 a barrel, while the U.S. oil gauge WTI is up 2.7% to $94.14 a barrel. The news came after Israel struck Iran's South Pars gas field, the largest such facility in the world, pushing European natural-gas prices up 7.3% to 55.30 euros a megawatt-hour. Meanwhile, President Trump authorized foreign-flagged vessels to transport commodities between U.S. ports by issuing a 60-day waiver of a longstanding shipping law, the Jones Act. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

1031 ET - Unilever Foods' intrinsic value is estimated at a range of 9-to-10 times adjusted Ebitda, valuing the business between $32.32 billion and $35.78 billion, analysts at Barclays write in a note. Valuation ratios in the business are currently "pretty depressed especially given anaemic volumes and concerns around GLP-1 risks," they add. If Unilever exited its foods business, it would free up resources to double down on others such as Health and Wellbeing, and Personal Care, the analysts say. Shares are down 2.9% at 47.38 pounds. (aimee.look@wsj.com)

1010 ET - Incoming changes to European emissions regulations will cause a permanent constraint for energy-intensive European companies, Jefferies analysts say. Executives across Europe don't expect the Emissions Trading Scheme to be repealed despite political pressure from some EU member states, they write. One anticipated change is a reduction in free allowances for carbon usage. In response, companies are buying up carbon allowances and preparing for higher carbon prices. Companies like steelmaker Outokumpu and cement producer Holcim will benefit given their carbon reduction efforts. However, airlines--including Air France-KLM--will suffer as they lose free carbon allowances and pay more for emissions than non-European peers, the analysts say. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0958 ET - Macy's said its business is performing well in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. It said its customers tend to have higher incomes and have been more resilient than lower income shoppers. Nevertheless, its sales and earnings guidance for 2026 is below what it achieved in 2025 mainly due to macro and geopolitical pressures, executives said. Shares climb 8.3%. (suzanne.kapner@wsj.com)

0942 ET - The dollar could gain if the Federal Reserve's 'dot plot' forecasts on Wednesday show an interest-rate cut in 2026 is no longer expected due to higher energy prices, ING's Francesco Pesole says in a note. The Fed's forecasts in December flagged one rate cut in 2026. "The dollar should benefit from a revision to no cuts in 2026," he says. "The risks are clearly of a hawkish revision." Still, the dollar's response will likely be short-lived as focus quickly returns to Middle East developments, Pesole says. U.S. money markets currently price in a rate reduction of 20.9 basis points this year, LSEG data show. The DXY dollar index rises 0.3% to 99.87. The Fed announces a decision at 1800 GMT. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 18, 2026 11:51 ET (15:51 GMT)

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