The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
2107 ET - Top Glove's earnings outlook could remain supported by planned selling price hikes despite raw material headwinds, as the glove maker aims to fully pass through higher input costs and protect margins, CGS International analysts William Wo Chen Weng and Prem Jearajasingam say in a note. Tight nitrile butadiene rubber supply as well as rising nitrile and natural rubber prices may weigh on sales volumes, but flexible production could allow a shift toward natural rubber gloves. Margins are expected to improve in fiscal 2H, helping to offset 1H weakness, they note. The stock's current valuation looks undemanding, and it is well-positioned to navigate volatile market conditions, they add. CGSI maintains an add rating on Top Glove and keeps its target price at 0.67 ringgit. Shares are unchanged at 0.56 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
2059 ET - LG Energy Solution's electric-vehicle battery shipments are likely to bottom out in 1Q, with the pace of recovery uncertain through the rest of the year, Daiwa Capital's Henny Jung and Yoonki Bae say. While the analysts cut their 2026 EPS forecast for the South Korean battery company by 38% to reflect weaker-than-expected EV battery sales, they maintain their 2027 earnings outlook as strong growth in the energy storage system business is likely to offset weakness in the EV segment. They raise their 2026 ESS revenue estimate for the company to 11 trillion won from 5 trillion won earlier, citing its more aggressive ESS capacity ramp-up. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)
2059 ET - China Hongqiao could turn net cash in 2026 as earnings accelerate on higher aluminum prices amid tight global supply, CMB International analyst Wayne Fung said. He adds the company will benefit from Middle East supply disruptions and slow new capacity in Indonesia. CMB estimates each 1% rise in aluminum prices could lift 2026 earnings by 2%-3%, and maintains a buy rating with a HK$45 target price. (venkat.pr@wsj.com)
2026 ET - Laopu Gold investors are eying future sales momentum amid the gold price turbulence, as 1Q preliminary results beat expectations, Citi analyst Tiffany Feng says. Laopu Gold's current inventory could generate sales of 53 billion yuan in 2026-nearly double 2025's 27.3 billion yuan, Citi says. Coupled with strong cash flow, the company has no urgent need for fund raising unless sales keep growing at triple digits. The bank has a buy rating on the stock with target price of HK$1,162/share. (venkat.pr@wsj.com)
2018 ET - Japanese stocks are broadly higher thanks to growing hopes for U.S. talks to end the war in Iran. Metals and chip-related stocks are leading the gains. JX Advanced Metals is up 7.6% and Renesas Electronics is 6.2% higher. The dollar is at 158.64 yen, compared with Y159.58 as of Monday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching developments in the Middle East and crude oil prices. The Nikkei Stock Average is up 1.9% at 52510.04. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)
1959 ET - Surging prices of liquefied natural gas are strengthening cash flow for Woodside Energy and Santos and enabling them to cut debt faster, says UBS. Woodside and Santos are exposed to LNG spot pricing. UBS raises its 2026 forecast for the Japan Korea Marker, a benchmark LNG price in Asia, to US$23.60 per million British thermal units. Previously, it expected a price of US$13.00 per million British thermal units. UBS upgrades its 2026-2027 EPS forecasts for Woodside by 81% and 61%, respectively. For Santos, its 2026-2027 EPS forecasts rise by 71% and 44%. "Our base case assumes a further 2-3 weeks of disruption (until early April) and that flows via the Strait of Hormuz remain severely reduced and that critical energy infrastructure damage will sustain risk premiums for longer," UBS says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1950 ET - Japanese stocks may rise thanks to growing hopes for U.S. talks to end the war in Iran. Nikkei futures are up 4.2% at 52995 on the SGX. The dollar is at 158.37 yen, compared with Y159.58 as of Monday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are focusing on developments in the Middle East and crude oil prices. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 3.5% to 51515.49 on Monday. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com)
1937 ET [Dow Jones]--Commonwealth Bank looks like the Australian bank with the most to gain from AI adoption, according to Macquarie analysts. They think that the lender will initially leverage improved productivity to drive revenue and accelerate change. Taking a narrower view, they reckon that Westpac is the best-placed lender in terms of near-term cost cuts. They tell clients in a note that this is because of its greater reliance on outsourced workforce providers. Overall, they anticipate material AI cost savings across Australia's banking sector, with global peers flagging workforce reductions of about 10% over the next five years. They caution that this could coincide with increased bad debt charges as AI drives job losses. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
1937 ET - Aussie Broadband gets a new bull at Macquarie, where analysts flag the stock as a defensive play amid rising inflation and interest-rate hikes. Raising its recommendation to outperform from neutral on the stock's recent weakness, the investment bank publishes a note highlighting what its analysts call the challenger telco's compelling value proposition. They point out that Aussie Broadband appears to have been unaffected by incumbent Telstra's November price cuts. The stock appears to be undervalued given the company's growth outlook, but Superloop remains their preferred pick due to the superior quality of its earnings growth outlook. Macquarie keeps a A$5.30 target price on Aussie Broadband shares, which are up 2.5% at A$4.88. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
1858 ET [Dow Jones]--Softening hiring activity doesn't look great for Australian job advertiser Seek, Macquarie analysts warn. They tell clients in a note that they see downside risks to consensus forecasts from declining job ad volumes, pointing out that their EPS estimates for fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 are already lower by 4% and 8%, respectively. February's Australian job ad volumes are down by 3% on-year, and the Macquarie analysts think trends may worsen on global uncertainty, AI-related headwinds and interest-rate hikes. Macquarie has a neutral rating and A$18.50 target price on the stock, which is at A$14.67 ahead of the open. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
1840 ET [Dow Jones]--In Australia's mining sector, some companies are more exposed to higher diesel prices and fuel-supply risks than others. Bell Potter says a small cohort may also benefit from the energy squeeze, citing those with access to renewable-power supply or those that produce their own energy. "The current energy crisis may also speed the energy transition to lower-carbon electrification, favoring battery minerals and uranium," Bell Potter says. "Underground and in-situ leach mining operations are also less exposed to diesel supply risks." One example is Boss Energy, which draws power for its Honeymoon uranium project directly from the grid. Bell Potter also names Liontown Resources, Nickel Industries and Vulcan Energy Resources as relatively sheltered from fuel supply and price shocks. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1831 ET [Dow Jones]--In healthcare, drug wholesalers and pathology specialists are most exposed to higher fuel prices stoked by the conflict in the Middle East. That's the view of Ord Minnett, which trims price targets on several stocks in Australia's healthcare sector, including Ebos, Paragon Care and Australian Clinical Labs. "We note that these businesses have freight and logistics operations (e.g. medicine supply, sample transportation) and a limited ability to pass on input costs near-term," analyst Tom Godfrey says. "As an example, Ebos is run-rating A$182 million of freight costs in FY26 (1% of revenue, 16% of opex)." Its price target on Ebos falls 3.3% to A$29.00/share. Ord Minnett cuts price targets on Paragon Care and Australian Clinical Labs by 5.7% and 8.3% to A$0.33/share and A$2.20/share, respectively. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2026 21:07 ET (01:07 GMT)
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