The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1205 ET - TransAlta has a number of catalysts ahead of it that can push the stock forward, says National Bank of Canada's Patrick Kenny, upgrading the stock to outperform from sector perform. The stock's recent 22% pullback no longer reflects the value of its upcoming phase 1 Keephills data center project, the US$600 million Centralia gas conversion, or a recovery in Alberta power prices toward the mid-C$70s to mid-C$80s megawatt-hour range, the analyst says in a report. He notes that at its investor day, TransAlta outlined a path to double-digit Ebitda growth through 2029, supported by 900-1,300 megawatt of expected Alberta load growth and incremental contracted cash flows. National Bank maintains its share price target at C$22. The stock is up 6% to C$17.49. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1134 ET - Dollarama says weather played a large role in the decline in traffic in 4Q. CEO Neil Rossy says in an earnings call that sequentially, the dollar-store chain had strong momentum ending the third quarter and starting the fourth in November, "and traffic then dropped off when we encountered unfavorable weather conditions in January." He says weather in January and February was rather poor, keeping customers away from shops, but that has since improved and "is exactly the same as we've seen in the last few quarters." (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1115 ET - European distillers say they welcome a deal to eliminate trade tariffs with Australia. The bloc agreed a free-trade deal with Australia after years of talk that will see the elimination of import duties on a range of European goods, including spirits. The deal "will deliver tangible benefits for EU spirits and help level the playing field with other major spirit drink producers, who already enjoy tariff-free access to Australia," says Pauline Bastidon, trade director at industry association spiritsEurope.(joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)
1113 ET - The collaboration between Elon Musk's SpaceX and Tesla doesn't just represent plans to build the biggest semiconductor fab in history in Austin, Texas. It also lays the groundwork for Musk to further roll up his technology empire following the merger of SpaceX and xAI last month, according to Wedbush. The planned Terafab "will accelerate the company's ambitious AI path which we believe will set the foundation for TSLA to become an AI powerhouse over the coming years with chip and memory supply expected to be the greatest constraint," Wedbush's analysts, led by Dan Ives, write ina note. "We also believe this is the first step to ultimately what will be Tesla and SpaceX combining forces in a merger likely in 2027." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1055 ET - A deal between Estee Lauder and Puig would reshape the competitive landscape in the premium beauty space, creating a credible challenger to France's L'Oreal, AlphaValue analyst Jie Zhang writes in a research note. Both Estee Lauder and Puig bring highly complementary and powerful brand portfolios, particularly in fragrance, the analyst says. A potential merger of the businesses would create a leading player in premium fragrance, a segment where L'Oreal remains less dominant, she adds. This category remains attractive, the analyst says. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)
1035 ET - Estee Lauder's potential acquisition of Puig would give the U.S. beauty giant greater strength to compete with its French rival L'Oreal, Bernstein analysts say in a note. No final decision on a deal has been made, and no agreement has been reached, the parties said late Monday. The Wall Street Journal reported that Estee Lauder was in talks to buy the Spanish beauty and fashion group for a combination of cash and stock. "A takeover of Puig would give Estee Lauder well-known perfume and fashion brands such as Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier and Carolina Herrera, helping it compete better against L'Oreal," Bernstein says. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)
1021 ET - U.S. home prices were little changed from a month earlier in February, Redfin says, rising 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis. That's the slowest growth in seven months. Prices increased 1.9% year-over-year. Price growth is muted because it's the strongest buyer's market in recent history--for those who can afford to buy. There are a record 46% more home sellers than buyers, meaning the buyers who are in the market have negotiating power when it comes to price. Prices are still rising slightly, but this growth pales in comparison to recent years. Mortgage rates have ticked up in the past few weeks following months of declines, but Redfin still expects housing affordability to improve this year as income growth outpaces home price growth. (chris.wack@wsj.com)
1015 ET - Ares Management limited withdrawals from its $22.5 billion Ares Strategic Income Fund after receiving redemption requests totaling 11.6% of the shares outstanding at the end of January, joining the expanding ranks of debt-fund managers that have barred investors from pulling out as much cash as they'd like. Investors will have another opportunity to request withdrawals in the coming quarter, the business development company says in a securities filing Tuesday. Ares, which formed the BDC about four years ago, said the 5% redemption would take $524.5 million from the BDC's coffers, noting that it has about $5 billion in undrawn liquidity. Ares said most of the withdrawal requests came from a small number of family offices and institutional investors. In a separate filing, the BDC said about 22% of its assets are tied to software and services companies. (ted.bunker@wsj.com)
1014 ET - Fertilizer prices will remain elevated over the long term because of damage to infrastructure in the Middle East, Jefferies analysts write. Constraints to the export of ammonia caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz will push prices higher, the analysts say. Since February, contract prices have risen for ammonia and potash by 6% and 2%, respectively. Ammonia supply will be further reduced after Yara International paused production at its Pilbara plant in Australia, the analysts say. European fertilizer stocks gain, with ammonia-producer Yara climbing 4.2%, while potash-producer K+S gains 3.4%. Chemicals group IMCD gains 5.1%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0949 ET - More than 42,000 U.S. home-sale agreements fell through in February, Redfin says. That's equal to 13.7% of homes that went under contract that month, and up from 12.8% a year earlier. Nearly one in every seven homebuying deals are falling through largely because buyers are in the driver's seat. There are hundreds of thousands more home sellers than buyers in the country. A buyer may back out of a contract during the inspection period if they see a home they like better or an issue comes up that they don't want to repair. House hunters are also feeling jittery because of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, Redfin says. (chris.wack@wsj.com)
0919 ET - Luxury sector could show improving trends in China and the U.S., but faces headwinds including the impact of the war in the Middle East, analysts at Bank of America say in a research note. The analysts expect a sequential improvement in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the last three months of last year. Despite this, "the latest unfolding of geopolitical events places more uncertainty on sector growth in the Middle East and Europe for the short term," BofA says. The analysts expect the war to have weighed on local demand in the Persian Gulf and on tourism spend from Middle East consumers in Europe, they say. BofA upgrades Richemont to buy from a neutral rating, as the Swiss company continues to deliver revenue growth well above sector peers. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)
0916 ET - Artificial-intelligence isn't a significant risk to Spanish banks, Citi analysts write. Around 65% of the Spanish population use physical bank branches, something that AI can't replicate, the analysts say. Moreover, large Spanish banks have piled significant investment into their digital capabilities, with BBVA acquiring around 66% of its customers digitally, they say. Spain's older population--and the concentration of wealth among this demographic--also helps incumbent banks as older people are less likely to use AI tools, the analysts say. AI will also allow efficiency savings for banks, they add. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2026 12:05 ET (16:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments