The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0719GMT - Chips could become the main driver of inflation, taking over from energy, according to HSBC economists. With oil prices falling quickly, input cost pressures from energy prices have likely already peaked, they say in a note. However, companies in Taiwan and South Korea have raised semiconductor selling prices to protect margins amid strong tech demand, showing significant pricing power. As a result, semiconductor export prices in U.S. dollars increased 18% and 37% for Taiwan and South Korea, respectively, in May, according to HSBC calculations. "This supports national income in both economies, but it also means they are exporting inflation to the rest of the world, with spot semiconductor prices still rising," the economists say. "Chip inflation could easily take over from energy as the next global inflation impulse." (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0701 GMT - UMS Integration stands to benefit from artificial-intelligence demand from two major customers, Macquarie analysts say in a research report. The semiconductor contract manufacturer serves major semiconductor equipment process companies, with its largest customer contributing some two-thirds of its revenue, the analysts note. Both major customers are ramping up production at their new facilities in Asia, with revenue from one of them expected to grow 80% in 2026 and 100% in 2027, the analysts estimate. Macquarie initiates coverage of the stock with an outperform rating and a target price of 3.33 Singapore dollars. Shares are 0.8% higher at S$2.61. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0418 GMT - Data collection is emerging as a critical factor for humanoid robotics in 2026, Nomura analysts say in a research note. For shipments of every 100,000 units of humanoid robots, that requires 10 million hours of data, they estimate. There are four different types of data collected to train robots including no-embodiment data, or human movements captured through wearable devices. Another type of data is collected via a human operator remotely controlling a physical robot while the system records synchronized data like camera feeds and joint states to train foundation models, they say. Nomura thinks a software-hardware closed loop--spanning collection, transmission, evaluation, training, deployment and debugging--is a structurally defensible business model for pure-play data vendors. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0343 GMT - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. could further lift its 2026 revenue growth forecast at its coming earnings call, Citi analysts say in a note. That would be thanks to continued demand for leading-edge chips and improving visibility in the longer term. TSMC is set to report its 2Q results in mid-July. Compared to its peers, TSMC's biggest advantage lies in its production capacity, they say. "This scale advantage should continue supporting wafer pricing, customer stickiness and gross margin sustainability despite increasing foundry competition," they say. The analysts say TSMC is likely to remain a primary beneficiary of rising AI semiconductor demand regardless of customer mix. Citi raises its target price on the TSMC stock to 3,800.00 New Taiwan dollars from NT$2,875.00. Shares are at NT$2,470.00. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0319 GMT - UBS analysts see limited downside risk for Pexa following a draft pricing review by Australian state regulators. Keeping a neutral rating on the property settlements platform, the UBS analysts tell clients in a note that the regulator's draft recommendations are more onerous than anticipated. They reckon that the likelihood of material cuts to transfer pricing compounds a weakening volume outlook due to higher interest rates and changes to capital gains tax. However, a 21% one-day share-price drop last week helps the stock maintain its neutral rating. The analysts see a valuation of 8.00 Australian dollars a share if their bear scenario were to play out. As it is, they cut their target price 23% to A$9.80. Shares are up 1.8% at A$8.695. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0043 GMT - Macquarie remains bullish on Pexa despite the recommendations of a draft pricing review by Australian state regulators. An analyst at the investment bank calls the recommendations "a kick in the teeth" for the real-estate settlements platform, but reckons the impact may not be as bad as it looks. The analyst writes in a note that the draft report's recommendations imply a headwind of 70 million Australian dollars to Pexa's fiscal 2028 revenue. However, the analyst instead estimates a A$50 million impact on the assumption that either the final report is less aggressive on recommended price cuts, or that Pexa can generate offsetting revenues elsewhere. Macquarie maintains an outperform recommendation on the stock and cuts its target price by 17% to A$16.00. Shares are up 0.3% at A$8.56. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 06, 2026 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)

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