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

0804 GMT - Malaysia's slower 1Q growth is not due to the Middle East conflict, but instead shows its resilience amid the current global energy shock, says Capital Economics' Gareth Leather in a note. As advance growth estimates are largely compiled from January and February, it is too soon to show the conflict's impact on the economy. Malaysia is better placed than most in the region to withstand the effects from higher global energy prices. It is a small net energy importer and will not feel the same terms-of-trade shock as other countries regionally, he says. (amanda.lee@wsj.com)

0722 GMT - European stock indexes are mixed in muted early trade as cautious investors look to position themselves ahead of a potentially volatile weekend. Software stocks extend their rally while utilities slip, with the Europe-wide Stoxx 600 trading flat. The German DAX is flat as gains for software and autos are countered by slipping industrials. In Paris, the CAC 40 rises 0.2% as luxuries make modest recoveries after selling heavily earlier in the week. Italy's FTSE MIB is 0.2% higher as banks largely gain. London's FTSE 100 edges 0.1% lower as energy utilities slip, with SSE and Centrica falling 3.2% and 3.4%, respectively. Spain's IBEX 35 is 0.2% lower, while the semiconductor-heavy Dutch AEX slips 0.2%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0628 GMT - Gujarat Gas may benefit from the U.S.-Iran conflict, Nomura's Bineet Banka says in a research report. There is a strong likelihood of the Indian government lifting petrol and diesel prices after state elections end on April 29, the analyst says. This could further enhance the cost-effectiveness of compressed natural gas vehicles, while providing the city gas distributor with pricing flexibility to maintain profitability. India's liquefied petroleum gas shortage has also prompted the government to announce a new piped gas framework, which could serve as a long-term structural tailwind for piped natural gas adoption, supporting the company's gas volume expansion. Nomura upgrades the stock's rating to buy from reduce with an unchanged target price of INR390.00. Shares are 7.6% higher at INR361.25. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0556 GMT - Optimism about the cease-fire in the Middle East has pulled front-end global bond yields further lower, but they have lagged the recovery in risk assets, Barclays' Anshul Pradhan and Demi Hu say in a note. "We believe this reflects expectations of inflation persistence," the analysts say. Global rates markets continue to pare back policy rate paths amid optimism about further de-escalation in the Iran war, they say. More spending would weigh on long-end bonds, but likely without providing much of a positive inflation impulse, they say. "Our key takeaway is that the sharp increase in uncertainty and risk aversion across classes triggered by the Iran war has been mostly unwound. However, modal expectations around the price of oil and inflation have shifted the regime toward 'higher for longer.'" (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

0544 GMT - Tightening in eurozone government bond yield spreads remains subject to energy prices, and this argues for caution for positions anticipating spread narrowing, Barclays rates strategists say in a note. "All in all, EGB spread tighteners remain directional to the evolution of energy prices," they say. "Fiscal pressures in the context of the energy shock could pose a risk for eurozone government bond yield spreads," they say. While fiscal measures announced so far have been relatively contained in nature, on a medium-term horizon, elevated energy costs will add to structural spending pressures on top of defense spending needs, they say. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

0500 GMT - Sembcorp Industries stands to benefit from completion of its Alinta Energy acquisition, which is expected to be completed by end-1H, UOB Kay Hian's Adrian Loh says in a research report. Given the expected inclusion of Alinta Energy's 3.4 gigawatts of installed and contracted generating assets on the east and west coasts of Australia, the brokerage raises its 2026-2028 earnings forecasts for Sembcorp Industries by 16%-25%. Also, there'll be no equity fundraising, as the acquisition is entirely debt-funded, so existing shareholders face zero dilution while receiving full earnings uplift from first day of completion. The brokerage raises the stock's target price to S$8.06 from S$7.10 with an unchanged buy rating. Shares are 0.85% lower at S$7.02. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0110 GMT - Contact Energy's strong 3Q puts the New Zealand power generator and retailer on track to comfortably exceed its earnings guidance, says Forsyth Barr. It estimates Contact's 3Q Ebitdaf totaled NZ$213 million, up 46% on year. Earnings drivers include increased power output, lower generation costs, and higher gas sales volumes. Analyst Andrew Harvey-Green expects Contact to achieve annual Ebitdaf of NZ$1.02 billion, beating management's NZ$988 million guidance. "Aiding Contact is its hydro storage position, currently 8% above average, which will help keep the cost of generation down," Forsyth Barr says. It retains an outperform call and NZ$11.00/share price target on Contact, which is down 0.4% at NZ$9.455. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2349 GMT - Interestingly, Amplitude Energy's second natural-gas contract for its East Coast Supply Project is linked to movements in oil prices, Euroz Hartleys says. Amplitude today said it has agreed to supply 20 petajoules of natural gas to AGL Energy over an initial four-year term. It is due to start in 2H of 2028 if the current drilling campaign in the Otway Basin of southeastern Australia finds enough gas. Analyst Declan Bonnick says the AGL supply deal differs from Amplitude's March agreement to supply 7.5 petajoules of natural gas annually from the ECSP to EnergyAustralia. That contract isn't linked to oil prices. "At current oil prices, substantially high realized prices would be achieved," Euroz Hartleys says of the AGL supply pact. It has a buy call on Amplitude. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2255 GMT [Dow Jones]--Viva Energy's Geelong refinery should continue to deliver earnings well above historical averages, despite this week's fire at the facility resulting in significant opportunity cost, says Jefferies. That's because refining cracks are very high, particularly for middle distillates, which will be less affected by the fire, analyst Michael Simotas says. "The risk of supply shortfall has increased, but gasoline supply is much less tight, and other importers (including Ampol) should be able to help, minimizing impact on Convenience Retail," Jefferies says. It has a hold call on Viva Energy and cuts its price target by 2.3% to A$2.15/share. Viva Energy has been on a trading halt since the fire broke out. It ended Wednesday at A$2.53. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

Australian stocks look set to slip at the open despite another positive lead from the U.S., where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite again closed at records. ASX futures are down by 0.1% ahead of Friday's session, suggesting that the S&P/ASX 200 will extend Thursday's 0.3% slide. The benchmark index is down by 0.1% so far this week, threatening its run of three straight weekly gains. Ahead of the open, energy explorer Amplitude said it had agreed to supply AGL Energy with natural gas. Payments provider Zip lifted its annual earnings guidance on strong U.S. growth. The S&P 500 added 0.3% and the DJIA rose 0.2% after President Trump said the U.S. might hold discussions with Iran this weekend. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

1923 GMT - Oil futures settle higher after U.S. officials indicated a tightening of the blockade of ships in and out of Iranian ports, while the market holds out hopes for a U.S. deal with Iran which President Trump said is close. Trump also said Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day cease-fire and that he has invited their leaders to hold peace talks at the White House. "As of right now, the temperature has been turned down," Mizuho's Robert Yawger says in a note. But while the U.S. blockade has gone three days without incident, "as many as 10 million to 13 million barrels a day of oil and 20% of global LNG remain shut in the Persian Gulf, with crude oil responding accordingly as the global oil market gets tighter every day." WTI settles up 3.7% at $94.69 a barrel and Brent rises 4.7% to $99.39. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1717 GMT - U.S. crude futures are adding to gains after U.S. officials said the blockade of ships in and out of Iran applies to vessels of all nationalities and gave no signs the operation will end anytime soon. Prospects for further U.S.-Iran talks have reduced volatility in recent sessions. "What the market is ultimately pricing right now is a variety of potentially quite different outcomes," says Ben Hoff of Societe Generale. "Some of them are probably somewhat more optimistic and others more pessimistic." Pricing in futures "is a reflection of some kind of market-weighted probability of those different outcomes," he adds. WTI is up 3.6% at $94.60 a barrel and Brent is 4.8% higher at $99.45. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 17, 2026 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)

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