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

1810 ET - Infratil's bull at Citi looks past headwinds buffeting the valuation of its CDC data-center business recently. Infratil said the latest valuation of CDC was A$18.5 billion, down 0.4% from end-June. It cited the effects of a material rise in the forward yield curve, resulting in higher assumed interest costs. "While elevated interest rates represent a clear macro headwind to valuation multiples, CDC's underlying operational momentum remains robust," analyst Suraj Nebhani says. Infratil's share price has trended lower since its July high, down some 14%. It means the stock trades at a more than 30% discount to net asset value, which Citi finds attractive. "Supported by ongoing CDC de-risking and Longroad's energy and data center pipeline execution, we see compelling risk-reward and reiterate our 'buy' rating," Citi says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1802 ET - ALS's bull at Bell Potter says it is increasingly cautious about exploration activity by mining companies from FY28. It worries that equity raisings by small mining companies are weakening. Other causes for concern are a resurgence of cost input inflation observed across the global mining industry, rising bond yields and a weakening gold price environment. Bell Potter cuts its price target on ALS by 7.7% to A$24.00/share. Still, it retains a buy call on the stock, as indicators point to short-term buoyant conditions in the exploration market. "Given the 1Q FY27 trading update, we reiterate our position that FY27 Minerals organic revenue growth guidance appears conservative," analyst Joseph House says. ALS ended Wednesday at A$21.09. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1743 ET - Macmahon Holdings's latest M&A foray represents the beginning of the mining services company's third pillar, according to Jefferies. Macmahon is acquiring Aspect Engineering for an enterprise value of up to A$90 million. Analyst John Campbell says the deal extends Macmahon's service offering across the resources value chain. In the process, it will help Macmachon with customer retention and improve its profit margins, Jefferies adds. "Ultimately, this acquisition is all about revenue synergies, not costs," Jefferies says. It views an enterprise value-to-Ebita multiple of 5x as highly appealing. Jefferies's price target rises 6.5% to A$1.15/share and it retains a hold call on Macmahon's stock. Macmahon ended Wednesday at A$1.115. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1738 ET - Australian stocks look set to retreat in early trade after U.S. equities fell amid volatility in U.S. Treasury yields. Local futures were down by 0.6% ahead of Thursday's session, suggesting the S&P/ASX 200 will head lower after stalling in the prior session. The benchmark index slipped 0.1% Wednesday, ending a three-day winning run that had moved it 1.4% away from last week's four-month low. Ahead of the open, gold miner Ramelius said it was on track to hit its 2027 production guidance. Lithium miner Elevra announced a supply agreement with LG Energy Solution. In the U.S., the DJIA fell 0.7%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2%. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

1735 ET - Arena REIT adds Jefferies as a bull after a major drag on its stock was removed. Arena owns early learning centers occupied by Edge Early Learning, which has become insolvent. Now, the administrator of Edge has reached a preliminary deal with Goodstart Early Learning for the acquisition of 31 early learning centers operated by Edge. "Goodstart's conditional heads of agreement covering 20 of Arena REIT's 27 Edge tenancies materially reduces the key overhang on the stock," analyst Andrew Dodds says. Jefferies points out that Arena REIT's stock is 29% below levels when Edge's troubles were first reported. It's trading at a 35% discount to net tangible assets and with a 7.7% FY27 dividend yield. Jefferies upgrades Arena REIT to buy, from hold, and retains a A$2.65/share price target. Arena REIT ended Wednesday at A$2.35. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1635 ET - Levi Strauss is using its tariff refund to spur long-term growth. The jeans company put some of the refunds toward its immediate earnings, but also allotted some to reinvest into the business. Levi spent some of the refunds on promotion and marketing expenditures, which resulted in an additional $25 million expense in the third quarter. Of the 16 cents a share in refunds during the quarter, Levi spent 5 cents a share on reinvestments. It plans to redeploy $60 million in refunds this year back into the business. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1602 ET - Lululemon Athletica has tapped Athleta's chief executive to lead its product strategy during a difficult time for both athleticwear brands. Maggie Gauger has spent just over a year at Gap's athletic brand Athleta, after more than two decades at Nike. Athleta has not had a strong year and same-store sales fell 12% in the latest quarter, despite growth in Gap's other brands. It is facing many similar problems to Lululemon, such as reliance on promotions and weak customer engagement, which executives said in August would take a long time to fix. Lululemon, meanwhile, has consistently failed to get its new product launches to resonate with shoppers. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1601 ET - Lululemon Athletica's shake-up of its product leadership team comes after a long string of challenges for the athletic brand. The company is creating two new c-suite executives, including a head of product, while its head of brand activation and chief supply chain officer are departing. The company's stock has shed nearly 60% this year, as product launches have continually failed to resonate with shoppers. In the latest quarter, sales of Lululemon's core clothing categories in the Americas were slower than expected, while its Chinese business took an unexpected downturn. Analysts said the results created long-term concerns and a lack of visibility that could deter even the most loyal investors. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1330 ET - Ariel Investments doesn't necessarily want Mattel to sell itself. The asset-management firm, which has a 5.4% stake in the toymaker, says Barbie-doll maker should retain an independent financial advisory firm to explore various strategic alternatives, including a divestiture of significant assets, a merger or an outright sale. "We think (the board) will do the right thing for shareholders," Ariel Co-CEO John Rogers says in an interview with CNBC. "The leaders there have shown a history of doing the right thing." (connor.hart@wsj.com)

1323 ET - Ariel Investments Co-CEO John Rogers says Ynon Kreiz's departure from Mattel played "a big part" in the asset-management firm's decision to call for the toymaker to explore strategic alternatives. "Ynon had done a great job restructuring the business," Rogers says in an interview with CNBC. "He had a plan in place." That won't necessarily be the case under Roger Lynch, who was tapped to succeed Kreiz as Mattel's next CEO last week. "We don't want to start over again," Rogers says. He adds that Ariel is becoming impatient, as Mattel's shares remain significantly undervalued with its current structure as a public company. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

1314 ET - Qatar leads major Gulf stocks lower Wednesday, with the QE Index falling 0.5%. Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index declines 0.5%, Abu Dhabi's benchmark index loses 0.3% and the Dubai Financial Market General Index falls 0.2%. The declines come amid a weaker regional economic outlook, with the World Bank forecasting GCC economies to contract by an average 4.3% this year. Unlike previous energy shocks that benefited Gulf oil exporters, disruption to the Strait of Hormuz has reduced export volumes and government revenue, while heightened uncertainty is weighing on financial markets and business sentiment, the World Bank says. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)

1313 ET - Mortgages with principal balances of $100,000 or less are becoming increasingly scarce, Realtor.com says. That's limiting financing options for buyers of lower-priced homes. Small mortgages represented more than 12% of all home loans originated in 2013 and 2014, but less than 3% in 2025 and 2026. The decline reflects both a shrinking pool of low-priced homes and persistent barriers to originating smaller loans. Small mortgages are most prevalent in lower-cost and rural areas. In 2025, Iowa had the highest share of small mortgages at 9.6%, followed by Wyoming at 8.6% and Mississippi at 8.5%. The borrowers using small mortgages don't appear to present weaker credit profiles. The median purchase price for homes financed with small mortgages was $109,681 in 2026.