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

0706 GMT - Krungthai Card may benefit from its acquisition of Win Performance, a debt collection company, CGS International's Weerapat Wonk-Urai says in a research report. Krungthai Card has said that the acquisition is aimed at supporting its strategic plan to improve operating cost management and create new revenue opportunities, the analyst notes. Win Performance's contribution to Krungthai Card's earnings could increase materially in 2027-2028 if Win Performance can expand its customer base to include other financial institutions, such as digital lenders or virtual banks. The brokerage raises the stock's target price to 30.00 baht from 26.00 baht with an unchanged reduce rating. Shares are 0.7% lower at 37.75 baht. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0703 GMT - An uptick in food inflation is likely to benefit retailers Tesco, Marks & Spencer Group and Portugal's Jeronimo Martins, analysts at Bernstein say. The inflation acceleration is expected around the end of the third quarter or start of the fourth quarter, as oil price remain high and fertilizer supply is still disrupted, they say. (aimee.look@wsj.com)

0703 GMT - China's semiconductor self-sufficiency drive is expected to gain momentum as AI demand fuels investment in advanced chips, memory and manufacturing capacity, Goldman Sachs says in a report. GS forecasts China's semiconductor capital spending to reach $82 billion by 2030, up 79% from previous estimates, as companies expand advanced-node and memory production. It projects China's 7nm-and-below chip supply gap to narrow to 34% by 2035 from 92% in 2025. In memory, CXMT is expected to supply 50% of China's DRAM demand by 2028, supported by capacity expansion and improving yields. China's DRAM market is forecast to grow at a 50% annual rate through 2028, driven by AI servers and high-bandwidth memory demand, it says. (jie.yang@wsj.com)

0659 GMT - Admiral Group is at a fair market price after its recent ascent so the near-term risk profile is now more balanced, Berenberg's Carl Lofthagen says. The U.K. insurer's share performance--after trading at decade-low valuations--means the current valuation looks full, the analyst says. However, the earnings outlook for the company has improved, helped by a better pricing outlook. This is captured by consensus estimates, Berenberg notes. "While relative to the broader European sector, the shares trade at a 25% premium, we think this premium is fair," Lofthagen adds. Berenberg lowers its recommendation on the stock to hold from buy, but keeps the price target of 42 pounds. Admiral shares closed down 0.5% at 41.09 pounds on Wednesday, but the stock is up 31% year to date. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0656 GMT - Vestas Wind Systems' margins are improving, Berenberg analysts write as they upgrade the stock to buy from hold. They also raise the target price for the wind-turbine maker to 240 Danish kroner from 196 kroner. The analysts expect a 10% EBIT margin by 2027 as its offshore division ramps up production and manufacturing efficiency improves. At the same time, order visibility is strong, especially with strong momentum in Europe, they say. Higher margins will grow cash flow, and could lead to a potential 1 billion euro buyback for 2027, the analysts write. Shares closed Wednesday at 207.80 kroner. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0652 GMT - Pernod Ricard's more downbeat outlook for the coming years' sales offers some ballast to peer Diageo's own guidance, RBC Capital Markets' James Edwardes Jones writes in a note to investors. The French distiller behind Absolut vodka and Jameson whiskey said it expects annual sales growth to be at the low end of a previously guided 3%-6% range through fiscal 2029, a result of softness in the key U.S. market. "We think this gives some validation to Diageo's recently communicated plan, in particular the prudence of its sales growth expectations," Edwardes Jones says. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)

0652 GMT - Nestle's importance in the global dairy industry is continuing to decline, though it still has large scale dairy operations, Rabobank's Lucas Fuess and Tom Booijink write in a report. Unlike its peers, the consumer goods giant didn't make any significant dairy acquisitions in 2025, and earlier this year decided to sell its remaining ice-cream business to Froneri, the analysts say. Its relative importance in the industry is falling, and it increasingly operates as a diversified food and beverage company instead, they add. (aimee.look@wsj.com)

0639 GMT - South Korean entertainment companies' stock risk-reward profiles are becoming more favorable to HSBC Global Investment Research's Junhyun Kim as earnings could improve next year. The stocks of the three major Korean pop companies--HYBE, SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment--declined over 40% year to date on slower earnings growth and the lack of visible catalysts after boy band BTS's March comeback, leading to contraction in the stocks' valuations, the analyst says in a note. However, he expects the three companies' 2027 EPS to grow an average of 19% compared with a single digit percentage growth estimate in 2026, amid improved monetization from rookie band intellectual properties. HSBC maintains its buy ratings on the three companies with HYBE as its top sector pick. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0637 GMT - Jollibee Foods faces an earnings hit from higher inventory costs, Maybank Securities' Daphne Sze says in a research report. Other headwinds include larger interest expenses from higher effective interest rates and bigger effective tax provisions from improving international profitability, the analyst says. Hence, the brokerage cuts its 2026 and 2027 earnings forecasts for the quick-service restaurant operator by 10% and 13%, respectively. It lowers the stock's target price to 240.00 pesos from 260.00 pesos. However, in the Philippines, the company saw good profitability progression in 2Q, with potential for four minimal average selling price hikes spread across 2H to maintain margins. The brokerage keeps the stock's buy rating. Shares are 2.8% lower at 156.70 pesos. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0631 GMT - Harbour Energy's appointment of Simon Henry to the board gives it extensive energy, financial and governance experience, Barclays's Lydia Rainforth writes. The former Shell CFO returns to the Harbour board after stepping down last year to take a board position at BP. His experience running large international energy businesses is highly relevant as Harbour integrates acquisitions and manages a significantly larger and more geographically diverse portfolio, she adds. Harbour Energy's shares closed Wednesday at 249.80 pence.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0621 GMT - Prudential PLC's results will be received with relief from investors after the insurance and investment company backed its 2027 targets, J.P. Morgan analysts say. First-half new business profit was in line with consensus expectations, boosted by a higher-than-expected new business margin. This is consistent with Prudential's strategy of selling policies with higher margins, JPM says. The company raised its 2026 buyback program and JPM sees potential for further upside in buybacks as Prudential sells further tranches of its joint venture with Icici Bank. The analysts don't expect meaningful consensus underling earnings upgrades, though earnings per share forecasts are likely to benefit from the higher 2026 buyback. Shares in London closed at 10.39 pounds Wednesday and are down 9.2% over the year to date. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0601 GMT - Innovent Biologics' outlicensing drug deals with multinational corporations could remain a key share-price driver, say DBS Group Research analysts in commentary. The Chinese biopharmaceutical company's previous deal with Pfizer in May boosted its stock by around 33% over two months. Innovent likely has around three early stage treatment products that could yield around $955 million in upfront payments, the analysts estimate. The company's balance sheet also remains strong, with net cash of around 16.2 billion yuan as of June, they add. DBS Group Research maintains its buy rating and 144.00 Hong Kong dollar target price. Shares drop 2.55% to HK$107.00.