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

0328 GMT - The share-price drop that followed Telstra's annual result announcement comes as no surprise to Citi analyst Siraj Ahmed. Shares in the Australian telco are down by 4.5% at 4.775 Australian dollars despite its increased dividend and announcement of a further A$1 billion on-market share buyback. However, Ahmed points out in a note to clients that guidance for fiscal 2027 cash earnings of between A$4.75 billion and A$4.95 billion represents a downgrade relative to consensus. He adds that the share price had also held up well heading into the result. Citi has a last-published neutral rating on the stock and a target price of A$5.50. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0323 GMT - China's crude oil imports are likely to recover gradually, according to BofA Securities in a research note. The country's crude oil imports fell 13% in January to July, the bank points out. "Refined-product export curbs are already easing, with our channel checks suggesting that export allowances had returned meaningfully by August, supporting higher refinery runs and crude imports," the bank says. That said, elevated inventories should also limit stockbuilding while crude prices remain high. BofA expects the full-year import-volume decline to narrow to 8%, reflecting a "meaningful but incomplete recovery". (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0310 GMT - Toppan Holdings is poised for future growth as increasing output from its new semiconductor-related production line and a rising share of AI-related products boost its chip business, according to company CFO Takashi Kurobe. The Japanese packaging and printing company also supplies high-tech components used in advanced AI chips. Shares surged more than 14% on Thursday, briefly hitting their daily limit, after the company reported strong quarterly earnings. Net income jumped 2.3-fold to 21.6 billion yen. Analysts say contributions from the new production line and a growing mix of AI-related products helped drive higher sales and profits in the company's semiconductor operations. (jie.yang@wsj.com)

0302 GMT - Tencent management's response to questions from analysts on expected returns on AI investments appears "vague" to Morningstar analyst Ivan Su. "Responses were consistently vague and often defaulted to the argument that compute could be rented to third parties through Tencent Cloud if AI applications underperform," Su says after the company's earnings call. The analyst suggests that this implies that the current AI roadmap has yet to demonstrate standalone economics. Tencent's stance echoes Meta's early messaging on AI investment returns, which were expected to come indirectly through ad-targeting improvements before shifting toward external compute services. A similar path seems plausible for Tencent over the next few years, Su adds. Tencent's shares are last down 2.9% at HK$448.20. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0250 GMT - Tencent management seems confident that stronger artificial-intelligence models and applications will pave the way for monetization across businesses, Citi analysts say in a research note. Tencent has further accelerated ramping up its compute infrastructure to support the anticipated release of the Hy4 model later this year and Weixin AI agent. Management sees the investment in compute procurement as a front-loaded-lump-sum commitment over this year and next year, rather than an annually escalating structural cost, they note. Meanwhile, management notes the capital location is dynamic and responsive to observed returns of its AI initiatives, they add. Citi raises Tencent's target price to 765.00 Hong Kong dollars from HK$758.00, citing clear signs of fruition of its AI initiatives and resilient core businesses. Shares are last at HK$446.40. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0245 GMT - Asian currencies consolidate against the greenback, but may be supported by Fed rate-cut prospects. U.S. headline inflation rate cooled to 3.4% on year in July, while core CPI rose 2.5%. Headline inflation remains uncomfortably above the Federal Reserve's 2% target and core inflation has gradually declined from May's peak of 2.9%, says MUFG Bank's Michael Wan in a note. The FOMC is likely to maintain a restrictive holding pattern in September rather than towards a hike, he adds. The U.S. dollar falls 0.2% to 1414.40 won and is little changed at 159.40 yen, while the Australian dollar is 0.2% lower at US$0.7050, LSEG data shows.(amanda.lee@wsj.com)The apparent absence of additional costs at Telstra related to its recent network outage is cheered by Citi analysts. "Lack of Telstra Outage Costs Eases Concerns -- Market Talk," at 0058 GMT, incorrectly attributed the research to UBS instead of Citi.

0150 GMT - Malaysia's public infrastructure rollout is expected to regain momentum in 2H, MBSB Research analyst Ming San Soong says in a note. The Penang LRT project and several major water infrastructure developments in Perak and Selangor represent a visible 12 billion ringgit-14 billion ringgit project pipeline in 2H, he says. The country's 2027 budget will be closely watched for potential increases in rail, water, grid and flood mitigation spending ahead of the next general election, he reckons. Data-center activity is expected to pick up in 2H, with up to six large facilities each worth 1 billion ringgit-2 billion ringgit in the pipeline, he adds. MBSB maintains a positive rating on the Malaysian construction sector, pegging Gamuda, Sunway Construction and Malayan Cement as top picks. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0142 GMT - Australian banks remain overly optimistic about the outlook for mortgage growth, Morgan Stanley analysts say. The analysts tell clients in a note that recent drops in mortgage application volumes disclosed by Commonwealth Bank and ANZ are unsurprising, but that the pair's forecasts of 4.5% industry growth in fiscal 2027 look too high. The MS analysts warn that the outlook for mortgages is uncertain amid coming changes to property-related tax concessions, and say that major lenders' disclosures around home loans have been limited. They want more detail. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0123 GMT - CAR Group's bulls at Morgan Stanley reckon that Australians' pivot toward electric vehicles is now a tailwind for the classifieds group. They tell clients in a note that CAR has been a net beneficiary of this accelerated adoption due to increased media revenues from manufacturers, and increased comfort from dealers in handling the new technologies. They think that this should ease prior investor concerns that growth of EV ownership in Australia could diminish CAR's total addressable market. They keep an outperform rating on the stock, pointing to CAR's deep expertise, profitability, capitalization and progress with artificial-intelligence tools. MS lifts its target price on the stock 6.0% to 35.50 Australian dollars. Shares are down 1.2% at A$28.65. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0109 GMT - Sunway REIT's current valuation offers an attractive entry point, following its recent share price correction, with resilient retail fundamentals and lower financing costs supporting its outlook, says Maybank IB analyst Nur Farah Syifaa. Its hotel earnings are also expected to improve in 3Q, aided by government tourism campaign, medical tourism and stronger bookings amid the Formula One event, she says in a note. Maybank upgrades Sunway REIT's rating to buy from hold, given the attractive risk-reward profile and maintains a 2.60 ringgit target price. Shares are up 1.4% at 2.18 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0108 GMT - Macquarie raises expectations for Ampol's upcoming dividend. It now expects the Australian refiner and fuel marketer to declare an interim dividend of A$1.75/share. This "reflects a bottom-end payout of 50% (minimum allowable under Ampol's policy to which it has tended to strictly adhere)," Macquarie says. "However on review we now consider the A$340 million EG cash settlement (effectively 'buyback' component) to be over and above this." Ampol completed the A$1.165 billion acquisition of the EG Australia business at the end of June. Macquarie says the overall shareholder yield in 1H will be more like A$3.18/share, or 8%. That would be achieved while keeping gearing with the targeted 2.0-2.5X range.