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

0213 GMT - Morgan Stanley isn't particularly surprised by the size of the cost overrun at BHP's Jansen potash project. MS was already forecasting capex around US$6.6 billion for the project's second stage, it says. BHP now estimates the project will cost US$6.9 billion, up from US$4.9 billion previously. A delay to first production was flagged in January, although the new timeline of late FY31 is behind the bank's 1H FY31 expectation. Unit costs are unchanged in real terms, MS says. "We see limited incremental impact," says the bank. MS has an overweight rating and A$67.50 target on BHP. Shares are down 3.7% at A$62.62. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0206 GMT - IDP Education's bulls at UBS are pleased to see the student-placement provider hitting consensus earnings forecasts, even if cost reductions contribute more than had been expected. The investment bank's analysts argue that, even if IDP's better-than-anticipated cost reductions are effectively a result of pulling forward incremental savings from the next fiscal year, this is positive because it allows more time for a revenue recovery to emerge. They tell clients in a note that the stock's 60% decline since the start of February is overdone, even with a tough operating backdrop. UBS has a buy rating on the stock and a target price of 5.15 Australian dollars. Shares are up 8.1% at A$2.595. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0159 GMT - The cost overrun on BHP's Jansen stage-two project further erodes returns and underlines risks to the miner's organic-growth strategy, Barclays says. The bank expected capex of US$5.5 billion on the Jansen expansion project, which BHP now says will cost US$6.9 billion. BHP earlier forecast costs of US$4.9 billion, although "according to BHP, consensus was [about] US$6.5 billion," Barclays says. The overrun raises questions about how BHP will handle its pipeline of proposed growth projects in the coming years, says Barclays. "This could see management attempting to execute four major growth projects simultaneously [Jansen, Escondida, Vicuna, Copper SA new smelter] when it has been unable to manage the timeline and budget for one," the bank says. Shares are down 3.8% at A$62.55. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0142 GMT - Top Glove's sales volume is likely to decline by about 8% sequentially in fiscal 4Q, as buyers delay purchases in anticipation of further price declines, TA Securities analyst Tan Kong Jin says in a note. Nitrile butadiene rubber latex prices are expected to fall by about 38% in 2H, causing blended average selling prices to decline by between 6% and 10%, he reckons. Despite the near-term pressure on prices, the company plans to increase its effective production capacity to 72 billion gloves by the end of the current fiscal from 64 billion in FY 2025. TA Securities maintains a sell rating on Top Glove and maintains the target price at 0.65 ringgit. Shares are unchanged at 0.72 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0124 GMT - Top Glove's windfall earnings likely peaked in fiscal 3Q and are expected to trend toward more normal levels ahead, says CIMB Securities analyst Chun Sung Oong in a note. Oong attributes this to the easing of average selling prices from the peak levels of US$26-US$28 per 1,000 pieces since June. Profitability could moderate as selling prices come down and higher raw material costs filter through results, he says. A weaker pricing environment may cause customers to delay purchases as buyers anticipate further price declines, he adds. CIMB downgrades Top Glove's rating to reduce from hold on expectation of softer earnings and maintains a target price of 0.63 ringgit. Shares are 1.4% higher at 0.73 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0037 GMT - South Korea's Kospi hit record highs, driven by a continued rally in chip stocks and reflecting overnight gains in the Nasdaq. Sentiment is also supported by remarks from President Trump that Apple has agreed to work with Intel on chip design and manufacturing. Among the notable gainers, SK Hynix is up 6.0%, Samsung SDI is up 4.4%, Hanmi Semiconductor is up 5.1%, and SK Square is up nearly 7%. The Kospi is up 2.6% at 9301.88. (venkat.pr@wsj.com)

0015 GMT - Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rises 1.0% to 71765.74,tracking Wall Street's gains overnight. "Focus [is] likely to fall on sustainability of AI economy and knock-on effects," Nomura's research analysts say in commentary. "We had estimated the Nikkei 225 at 66000 at end-June under our main scenario, but we also cannot ignore our upside scenario, which puts the Nikkei 225 at around 75000," they say. Among top performers on the Nikkei, SWCC Corp. climbs 9.2%, Sanki Engineering rises 9.1%, and Yamaichi Electronics gains 8.6%. The dollar is at 161.26 yen, compared with 161.38 yen late Thursday in New York. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

2357 GMT - A2 Milk's more than 30% share-price fall since April began looks too steep to UBS, despite unanswered questions following China supply shortages and a U.S. product recall. UBS upgrades A2 Milk to buy, from neutral, while lowering its price target by 12% to NZ$9.20/share. Analyst Marcus Curley says the share-price drop outpaces what UBS considers to be a 12% permanent loss of value. UBS believes the likelihood of further infant formula product recalls is low. "FY26 earnings risk has moderated with China infant-formula restocking underway," UBS says. "We expect net profit to double by FY30 driven by infant formula share gains from new products across both English-label and China label plus margin expansion from internalised manufacturing." A2 Milk is up 0.3% at NZ$7.50. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2343 GMT - Emeco's earnings miss is balanced by its solid balance sheet. Emeco signaled FY 2026 operating Ebitda of A$290 million-A$295 million. That fell short of Macquarie's A$308 million expectation, driving a 23% cut in its price target to A$1.08/share. Still, Emeco expects annual free cash flow of A$100 million-A$110 million. It says net leverage is likely to improve to 0.4X, below it long-term target. "The strong balance sheet opens up capital management initiatives including a special dividend, and also M&A opportunities," says Macquarie. Emeco is currently assessing potential deals, noting the market for equipment rental is fragmented. Emeco ended Thursday at A$0.96. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2338 GMT - Beach Energy is facing earnings pressure in Australia's east and west. Macquarie says milder weather and full storage in Australia's eastern states are combining with other headwinds to drive natural-gas prices lower. It now assumes a spot price of A$9.00 per gigajoule along the east coast in 4Q. Macquarie also highlights ongoing struggles at Beach's Waitsia gas plant in Western Australia. Waitsia has yet to achieve a consistent, steady ramp up after producing gas for the first time in December. Macquarie says the plant is running at 132 terajoules per day so far this quarter. "This could start to impact FY27 guidance setting," says Macquarie, which rates Beach at underperform. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2337 GMT - Japanese stocks may rise, tracking Wall Street's gains overnight. Market sentiment continues to be positive after the U.S. and Iran signed on interim peace agreement to end their conflict. Recent declines in crude oil prices have also eased investors' concerns over elevated inflation in Japan. Nikkei futures are 490 points higher at 71900 on the SGX. The dollar is at 161.35 yen, compared with 161.38 yen late Thursday in New York. The Nikkei Stock Average closed 1.65% higher at record 71053.49 on Thursday. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)Fletcher Building's risk-reward remains attractive to Forsyth Barr following the building materials supplier's latest earnings guidance. Fletcher expects FY26 Ebit of NZ$375 million-NZ$380 million, excluding discontinued operations. That was better than Forsyth Barr expected, as was net debt forecast by Fletcher to be slightly above the middle of its NZ$400 million-NZ$900 million target range. Fletcher's guidance implies 4% growth in Ebit from continuing operations in 2H, says analyst Rohan Koreman-Smit. "This suggests benefits from the strategic reset and cost-out initiatives are starting to flow through to the bottom line and more than offsetting patchy volumes and competitive margin pressure," Forsyth Barr says. It retains an outperform call on Fletcher. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 18, 2026 22:13 ET (02:13 GMT)

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