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

1336 ET - Cryptocurrency and the blockchain is expected to take on a central role in the expansion of money apps by social media giants like X and Meta, says Grayscale in a note. The firm points to the introduction of "smart cashtags" on X as the next major step in the integration of crypto infrastructure with the other roles social media plays. Grayscale points to China's WeChat as an implementation of the "everything" app that X looks to follow, and may signal the direction companies like Meta and PayPal take with their offerings. Bitcoin is down 0.9% today to $74,133, according to data from LSEG. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1311 ET - Major cryptocurrencies are mixed, according to data from LSEG. Selling pressure appears to be taking a backseat in recent days, says David Duong of Coinbase Institutional in a research note. "Seller pressure also appears to have abated, with liquidations and profit-taking less of a headwind than in prior weeks," says Duong, who adds that this "aligns with a market that is moving from forced de-risking toward more voluntary, discretionary positioning." Bitcoin and ethereum are lower currently, with BTC down 0.6% to $74,411 and ETH down 1.6% to $2,325. But other major cryptos are higher, with solana up 2% to $86.52, XRP up 3% to $1.43, and dogecoin up 2.3% to 9.7 cents. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1310 ET - Truist says the "death of software" narrative has washed over the infrastructure software sector, but analysts still expect beat and raise quarters as major players begin to report next week. Still, they say "durable outperformance depends on companies' ability to put forth credible AI acceleration narratives." The analysts say they believe there are investable opportunities right now in companies that "can both survive and benefit from increased AI investments in the enterprise." They think JFrog is likely to deliver on both. "Partners that we spoke with following the quarter highlighted accelerating growth that exceeded their expectations and a healthy pipeline with diverse use cases." JFrog is up 1.4% at $43.45, and down 30% year-to-date. Truist has a $70 price target on the development platform. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1258 ET - Recent U.S. homebuying demand is unseasonably low, Redfin says. Higher mortgage rates and economic uncertainty are delaying big purchases for some Americans. Pending home sales fell 4.1% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending April 12, Redfin says, the biggest decline in over a year. Sales fell in all but seven of the 50 biggest U.S. metro areas, with the largest declines in Providence, Houston and Nassau County, N.Y. The biggest increases were in San Francisco, West Palm Beach, Fla., and Miami. Home-touring activity is up just 11% since the start of the year, compared to a 40% increase over the same period last year. High housing costs are also sidelining house hunters. The median home-sale price rose 2.3% annually. Easter fell into this four-week period, but not the comparable period in 2025. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

1227 ET - Slash Financial, a business finance startup, receives unicorn status, raising $100 million in Series C funding at a $1.4 billion valuation. The funding round, led by Ribbit Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Goodwater Capital and including Y Combinator, brings the company's total fundraising to upwards of $160 million. The company hit $250 million in ARR last year and processes more than $30 billion in annualized payment volume, it says. Slash says it will use the new funds to invest in Twin, an artificial-intelligence financial agent for businesses. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1220 ET - Walmart wants to help more customers manage their weight. Through its Better Care Services platform, the retailer is expanding access to weight management support for people on or exploring GLP-1 therapies, the company says. The platform connects users to third-party providers, including a personalized fitness app Aaptiv, an artificial intelligence-supported care experience called Curai Health and an AI-powered network of dietitians called Berry Street. The enhanced platform is designed to complement the GLP-1 medications Walmart sells at its pharmacies. (chris.kuo@wsj.com)

1126 ET - A Cineplex sale is possible in 2026, and the timing appears to be optimal for the Canadian movie theater chain. TD Cowen's Derek Lessard says in a report that "a deal as plausible in 2026, underpinned by recent non-core asset sales, the upcoming CEO transition, and a robust movie slate." The stock is up 13% year-to-date, and up over 34% over the last 52 weeks. While no deal has been confirmed, nor is one imminent, Lessard says that the company has been preparing itself with noncore sales, simplifying the business, as well as Ellis Jacob's retirement as CEO at the end of 2026. "Taken together, we believe these factors signal a potential sale at some point this year," the analyst says. The stock is up 5.9% ato C$11.96. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1117 ET - With shares up 11% year-to-date and threefold over the last 52 weeks, National Bank of Canada downgrades Bombardier on valuation, lowering the stock to sector perform from outperform. "We see little room to stretch our valuation multiple (currently 12.5x on our 2027 forecast) for Bombardier any further at this time," analyst Cameron Doerksen says in a note. He believes end market conditions remain healthy with industry business jet flying activity up 4.6% year-to-date, and that he expects the company to report solid year-over-year improvements in earnings, "but we see the likelihood of significant outperformance as relatively low," he says. With limited upside in the near term, Doerksen believes investors should look for a better entry point on a pullback. Bombardier is off 3.8%. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1050 ET - The population of Roku City is growing. Roku says it surpassed 100 million streaming households worldwide, reporting that more than half of U.S. broadband households use Roku streaming devices. Business is also growing in international markets including Mexico, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Latin America. "As streaming grows worldwide, the Roku Home Screen increasingly serves as the first thing viewers see when they turn on their television, becoming the starting point for how audiences discover and watch TV," the company says. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1021 ET - The median home sale price in the San Francisco metropolitan area jumped 14.4% year-over-year in March, Redfin says, to a record $1.7 million. San Francisco has now reclaimed its title as the major U.S. metro with the highest home prices, eclipsing neighboring San Jose, which held that title for much of 2024 and 2025. Condo prices in San Francisco rose particularly quickly, posting a 24.4% year-over-year increase last month. Redfin says San Francisco's housing market has been heating up as a boom in the artificial intelligence industry and a return to the office have coincided with a lack of inventory. The typical San Francisco home that sold in March went for 8.9% more than its final list price. By comparison, the typical U.S. home sold for 1.3% below its final list price--the biggest March discount since 2020, Redfin says. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

1013 ET - Oil prices extend gains after the U.S. said it will pursue Iran-linked ships beyond the Middle East and continue the blockade as long as necessary. Both sides have agreed in principle to meet as regional mediators push for a second round of talks, though a date hasn't been set yet. "[The] U.S. is cranking up pressure on Iran by cutting off its oil export revenues," analysts at DNB say. Meanwhile, "there's still no guarantee the ceasefire will be extended." Brent crude rises 2.7% to $97.52 a barrel, while WTI is up 1.9% to $93.02 a barrel. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

1000 ET - Abbott Laboratories had forecast 1Q to be a relatively weak flu/Covid-19 season, compared with other seasons on record. "And then it was even weaker than what we had forecasted," CEO Robert Ford says on a call with analysts. The result: Sales of Abbott's rapid and molecular diagnostics tests fell 7.4% to $812 million during the latest quarter. There's a chance the company could make up some of these sales later this year, but that's dependent on the upcoming respiratory virus season. "I'm not going to try and call what type of flu season we're going to have," Ford says. "But if the flu season is as aggressive as we've seen in other years, then we have the manufacturing, we have the distribution, we have the sales force." Shares fall 4.8%. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2026 13:36 ET (17:36 GMT)

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