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

2142 ET - A rejected takeover proposal for Northern Star from Gold Fields values the Australian miner at 8.7x enterprise value/Ebitda based on FY27 estimates, RBC Capital Markets says. That is a 16% premium to peer Evolution Mining, which trades at 7.5x, says RBC. It is a roughly 48% premium to RBC's ASX gold coverage, on 5.9x, the broker says. Northern Star shares are up 8.5% at A$23.98. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

2140 ET - Australia's Macquarie Group gets a new bull at RBC, where analyst Andrei Stadnik sees positive earnings risks from ongoing volatility in commodity markets. Initiating coverage of the stock with an outperform rating, Stadnik includes exposure to commodity prices among the factors drawing him to the financial services provider. He tells clients in a note that operating leverage across asset management and personal banking should underpin mid-to-high single-digit earnings growth into fiscal 2029. With the potential for large sales by Macquarie's asset-management business, Stadnik reckons that a multiple of 17 times fiscal 2028 earnings looks undemanding. RBC puts a target price on the stock of 300.00 Australian dollars. Shares are up 2.1% at A$244.56. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2139 ET - Macquarie's bull at Jefferies expects materially stronger first-half revenues from the financial group's commodities and global markets unit. Keeping a buy rating on the stock, analyst Andrew Lyons points out that strong trading conditions flagged at July's annual general meeting continued through the remainder of the Australian company's fiscal first half. Lyons tells clients in a note that his first-half net profit forecast sits about 13% ahead of consensus, which he says materially de-risks the second-half skew relative to both market expectations and prior performance. Jefferies raises its target price on the stock by 0.1% to 284.34 Australian dollars. Shares are up 2.0% at A$244.34. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2129 ET - Insurance Australia Group shakes its bear at Macquarie on the settlement of legal proceedings brought by Credit Suisse. Raising their recommendation to neutral from underperform, one of the investment bank's analysts tells clients that the settlement represents a material derisking event. The analyst writes in a note that residual litigation risk from other proceedings appears minor and that the related overhang on the stock is largely resolved. They don't think that the insurer's half-year dividend will be affected by the settlement. Macquarie raises its recommendation on the stock by 15% to 8.20 Australian dollars. Shares are down 1.2% at A$7.75. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2126 ET - Yangzijiang Shipbuilding's 2027 order-win outlook appears sanguine, UOB Kay Hian's Roy Chen says in a note, citing comments from the Singapore-listed shipbuilder's management. The company expects its current contract win momentum to extend into 2027, with healthy enquiry pipelines across multiple vessel types, the analyst says. Yangzijiang's 2H profit margins are also likely to be stable versus its "spectacular" 1H performance, thanks to some large contracts, he adds. UOB KH raises its target price to 5.90 Singapore dollars from S$5.30 to factor in a higher price-to-earnings ratio peg due to Yangzijiang's earnings visibility into 1H 2030. UOB KH maintains its buy rating. Shares are flat at S$5.19. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

2121 ET - Indonesia's agrarian reform law may cap Southeast Asian plantation stocks' share-price performance as regulatory uncertainty increases, Maybank analyst Ong Chee Ting says in a note. The law might not trigger an immediate redistribution of productive plantation land, but future landholding limits and rules on existing concessions remain unclear, he says. Further guidance is needed on whether the 20% plasma requirement will apply to existing plantations, he notes, referring to the portion of plantations operated by smallholders. Pending greater clarity, near-term CPO price upside will likely remain limited by strong production and weak exports, despite a more positive outlook for 2027, he reckons. Malaysia-focused plantation companies could be relatively less exposed to the regulatory risks, he adds. Maybank pegs SD Guthrie, Sarawak Oil Palms and Genting Plantations as top buys. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

2042 ET - LG Chem could post a 3Q earnings miss, likely weighed down by its struggling petrochemical business, says NH Investment & Securities' Y.K. Choi and S.W. Ryu. The analysts forecast an operating loss for the company's petrochemical unit for the July-September period amid sluggish demand, with the benefit from U.S. tariff refunds in 2Q tapering off. They estimate the firm's 3Q overall operating profit at about 10 billion won, well below the market consensus forecast of about 187 billion won. Still, they remain positive about sustained sales growth in the company's advanced-material business and its battery affiliate. NH cuts its target price for the stock by 13% to 350,000 won but keeps a buy rating. Shares are 2.8% higher at 259,500 won. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

2017 ET - Japanese stocks are higher after U.S. stocks gained on Friday following the easing of the selloff in U.S. Treasurys. Chip-related stocks are leading gains. Advantest is up 3.3%, SoftBank Group is 2.5% higher and Screen Holdings is up 4.3%. The dollar is at 157.58 yen, down from Y158.15 as of Friday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching developments in the Middle East conflict after President Trump rejected Iran's proposal for a seven-day ceasefire. The Nikkei Stock Average is up 0.8% at 66877.70. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)

1944 ET - Japanese stocks might remain rangebound as uncertainty over the Iran conflict and energy costs continues. Nikkei futures are down 0.1% at 66180 on the SGX. The dollar is at 157.61 yen, down from Y158.15 as of Friday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are focusing on any developments in the Middle East conflict, crude oil prices and bond yields after President Trump rejected Iran's proposal for a seven-day ceasefire. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.3% to 66364.20 on Friday. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com)

1937 ET - Australian stocks look set for an uncertain start to a week in which the country's central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates and warn of the potential for future hikes. Local equity futures are barely moved ahead of Monday's session, suggesting that the S&P/ASX 200 could be on track to pause its recent slide. The benchmark index is on a run of four weekly losses, which is its longest such streak in almost a year. Ahead of the open, Northern Star said it had rejected a takeover proposal from Gold Fields that valued its equity around US$27.2 billion. Retirement-community operator Ingenia said it had received a third proposal from Warburg Pincus.