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

0229 GMT - CSL's bulls at UBS don't think the Australia-based pharmaceutical company will experience much of a direct financial impact from its U.S. pricing agreements. CSL has agreed to give Medicaid access to medicines at prices comparable to those in other developed economies, but the investment bank's analysts point out that the state-based program accounts for a relatively small part of its U.S. sales. On top of that, they don't see obligations around the pricing of future drug launches as onerous, given that CSL will be in control of settings and able to manage the impact in its best interests. UBS has a last-published buy rating on the stock and a target price of 181.00 Australian dollars. Shares are up 0.5% at A$173.12. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0228 GMT - Iron ore is lower in early Asian trading. Expectations of strong supply in 2H are putting pressure on the black metal, according to Nanhua Futures analysts in a research note. They also note that global iron ore shipments rose sequentially in the last week of August. The most-traded iron-ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is down 0.4% at CNY719.0 a ton. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0224 GMT - GrainCorp's bull at Macquarie sees conditions improving after a challenging couple of years for the Australian grain marketer and exporter. A note from one of the investment bank's analysts says that the margin environment has lifted over the past six months, with tensions in the Black Sea region supporting global wheat prices. Against this backdrop, Australia's east coast is expected to deliver another above-average crop from the winter harvest. Macquarie forecasts volumes 13% above the 10-year average. There is one note of caution, however. The analyst tells clients that the impact of El Nino conditions remains a key unknown. Macquarie keeps an outperform rating on the stock and raises its target price by 16% to 7.10 Australian dollars. Shares are up 6.8% at A$6.745. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0220 GMT - Collins Foods keeps its bull at Morgans following a positive trading update. Maintaining a buy rating on the stock, analyst Keeley Walsh tells clients in a note that the Australian fast-food franchiser showed domestic resilience over the first 17 weeks of its 2027 fiscal year. On top of this, she points out that European same-store sales appear to have passed an inflection point following a weak start to the fiscal year. Walsh calls clients' attention to 3.1% growth in the Netherlands over the past four weeks, compared with a 7.8% decline in the first eight weeks of the period. A new Halal-certified range supported sales, she says. Morgans keeps its target price on the stock at 10.60 Australian dollars. Shares are up 1.1% at A$8.42. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0213 GMT - Artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending is set to remain resilient as enterprises expand deployments beyond pilot projects, according to Forrester Research analyst Naveen Chhabra, after Dell reported record AI server orders, revenue and backlog. Dell's higher full-year guidance indicates customers are committing capital to AI infrastructure despite economic uncertainty, Chhabra says. He adds that enterprise AI investment is increasingly driving broader infrastructure upgrades, including networking, storage, security, observability and end-user computing. While the results underscore strong demand for AI-related systems, Chhabra warns that the gap between companies' AI aspirations and actual achievements continues to widen. (jie.yang@wsj.com)

0208 GMT - The Delhi High Court's appointment of a forensic auditor to trace alleged asset dissipation linked to former Fortis promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh is likely to have minimal impact on IHH Healthcare, says CIMB Securities analyst Chun Sung Oong in a note. However, the development could prolong legal proceedings and delay IHH's mandatory takeover offer for an additional 26% of Fortis Healthcare, he says. Fortis shareholders acceptance is also likely to remain limited as Fortis is trading well above the original INR170/share offer price, he reckons. IHH could explore alternative routes to raise its effective Fortis stake, including a potential share swap involving Gleneagles India, he says. CIMB has a buy rating and 10.30 ringgit target price on IHGH, which is down 0.5% at 8.11 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0147 GMT - Elevated oil prices, with a 1H 2027 forecast of $80/bbl, should support Petronas' earnings and potentially lift domestic offshore capital expenditure, CIMB Securities analyst Muhammad Afif Bin Zulkaplly says in a note. Sustained prices could improve upstream project economics, encourage higher development spending, while greater cash-flow visibility may prompt operators to resume deferred brownfield and asset-integrity work, he says. Maintenance activity could therefore strengthen as oil prices stabilize, he adds. CIMB pegs Dayang Enterprise and MISC as top picks for their exposure to domestic capital expenditure and large-cap exposure, respectively. It keeps an overweight rating on Malaysia's oil and gas sector. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0125 GMT - SK Innovation could get an earnings boost from its resilient refinery margins and a ramp-up of its energy storage system business, Daiwa Capital's Hen Jung and Yoonki Base say. The South Korean energy company's oil-refining business remains strong, as Middle East conflicts keep both crude prices and refining margins elevated, the analysts note. Its battery subsidiary, SKI On, is on track for a profit turnaround after the parent completed restructuring of its battery and materials businesses, they say, citing a recent deal to supply 9GWh of ESC battery cells in the U.S. Daiwa raises its 2026-2028 EPOS forecasts for SKI Innovation by 11%-67%. It raises the stock's rating to buy from hold and its target to 220,000 won from 120,000 won. Shares were last at 134,100 won.(kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

0117 GMT - Prevailing geopolitical and global macroeconomic challenges could cap the Malaysian equity market's upside, RHB IB analyst Alexander Chia says in a note. However, resilient corporate earnings and robust liquidity should provide support, keeping the market rangebound, he says. Portfolio management should remain anchored on a defensive footing as inflationary pressures push global interest rates towards a more hawkish trajectory, he says. Chia keeps his end-2026 KLCI target at 1750, and remains overweight on plantations, energy, oil and gas, property, construction, basic materials, technology, healthcare and transport. Continued rotational interest in laggard stocks and sectors is expected as investors maintain a trading-oriented approach, he adds. The KLCI is flat at 1701.19. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0014 GMT - Japanese stocks are lower in early trade as concerns over the Iran war and higher energy costs continue. Chip-related stocks are leading the declines. SoftBank Group is down 4.1%, Advantest is 4.0% lower and Tokyo Electron Ltd. is down 4.5%. The dollar is at 160.19 yen, compared with Y159.94 as of Tuesday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching crude oil prices and developments in the Middle East after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire Tuesday. The Nikkei Stock Average is down 2.2% at 64742.17. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)

0002 GMT - Coal port owner Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure is upgraded by Morgans to accumulate from hold, after its stock fell around 15% from the June high. Analyst Nathan Lead expects DBI to pay out a dividend of 28.6 Australian cents per share in FY27, in quarterly installments. Morgans also notes that DBI's Ebitda growth is underpinned by CPI-linked base charges and incremental earnings on commissioned NECAP projects--categorized as non-expansionary capital expenditure. "DBI may appeal to investors seeking dependable and growing yield and defensive elements for their portfolio," Morgans says. DBI ended Tuesday at A$5.13, below Morgans' A$5.47/share price target. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2351 GMT - The latest crop report by Australian government forecaster Abares is positive and likely to lead to consensus upgrades for GrainCorp, says Bell Potter. Abares raised its east-coast forecast by 2.8 million tons, or 12%. It cited improved conditions, especially in the southeast. Analyst Jonathan Snape highlights GrainCorp's margin backdrop. He says grain and oilseed crush margins look to be the strongest in three years. "To us this is key, as consensus FY27 expectations (which this crop estimate underwrites) looks to be carrying forward the margin environment of FY25-26, which was materially weaker," Bell Potter says. "This implies that there is both volume and margin upside potential within consensus FY27e expectations." Bell Potter raises its price target by 21% to A$7.15/share. GrainCorp was last A$6.26.