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

1849 ET - Jefferies expects little opposition from investors in plumbing-fittings supplier Reliance Worldwide to the takeover offer from the private equity arm of Brookfield Asset Management. Brookfield is offering A$4.75/share in cash, valuing Reliance's equity at A$3.55 billion. It has raised its offer three times and will now conduct due diligence after Reliance signaled a willingness to support a bid at current levels. Analyst Ramoun Lazar notes Reliance disclosed the offer alongside a cut to expectations for FY27, driven by profit-margin headwinds. "Given another downgrade and little prospect of improvement likely for another 12 months investors are likely to support any formal proposal," Jefferies says. It downgrades Reliance to "hold," from "buy," while raising its price target to be in line with Brookfield's offer. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1831 ET - Cochlear's opportunities for near-term growth are limited by persistent payer constraints, Jefferies analysts warn. They tell clients in a note they are seeing an increase in prior authorization rejections in U.S. healthcare, which the Australian hearing-implant maker will have to contend with. Higher out-of-pocket costs could lead to delays in higher-priced procedures such as cochlear implants, they warn. The analysts also point to external analysis suggesting that insurers denied between 12% and 18% of U.S. standard prior authorization requests in 2025. They raise their target price 13% to 144.75 Australian dollars, but stay neutral on the stock. Shares are at A$141.20 ahead of the open. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

Australian stocks look set to extend their recent losses in early trade, following a soft lead from U.S. equities. ASX futures are down by 0.3% ahead of Wednesday's session, suggesting that the S&P/ASX 200 could be on track for a sixth consecutive loss. The benchmark index is already on its longest losing streak since an eight-session run in April. Ahead of the open, property group Mirvac reported a big rise in annual profit and forecast improved distributions across its current fiscal year. Small-appliance maker Breville reported a 1.7% rise in annual profit, and mineral-sands miner Iluka raised its dividend despite swinging to a first-half loss on weaker prices. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

1749 ET - Australian advertised salaries grew in July at their fastest annual pace since February 2024, according to employment marketplace Seek. The ASX-listed classifieds group says salaries posted on its domestic platform were up 4.4% on a year earlier, led by a 6.4% jump in education and training positions. Seek says advertised salaries were 0.4% higher than a month earlier, up from the 0.3% growth seen in June and matching the monthly advance seen from January through April. The annual pace exceeds the 3.7% growth in take-home earnings recently seen in data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. However, the ABS data was for May. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

1619 ET - AI hiring is expanding beyond traditional technical roles, analysts at LinkedIn's Economic Graph Research Institute say in a research note. The need for people that build AI systems is giving way to hiring for individuals that can deploy, manage and apply those systems, the analysts say. "This suggests AI is becoming a bigger part of everyday work, not just a specialized function," they say. There are also signs of growth in AI leadership roles, albeit unevenly, the analysts say. The share of postings for AI Manager and VP of AI roles has increased in recent years, they say. But the pattern isn't holding for every role -- Head of AI roles have remained stable and Director of AI roles have declined in share, the analysts say. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

1616 ET - The number of AI job postings has roughly doubled in recent years, and those postings carry higher salaries than non-AI roles, though executive-level salaries in the field are retreating, according to analysts at LinkedIn's Economic Graph Research Institute. AI jobs are among the fastest-growing and highest-paying opportunities in the job market right now, with salaries typically around $177,000, compared with $80,000 for non-AI roles, the analysts say. The fastest pay growth has been concentrated in a few roles, including technical staff and forward deployed engineer positions, they say. In contrast, executive positions, such as "Head of AI" or AI Engineer, have remained flat since 2024, and VP of AI roles have seen listed pay decline from highs above $300,000, the analysts say. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

1551 ET - Live cattle futures on the CME snapped a five-session losing streak, closing up 0.2% to $2.1915 a pound. The Tyson beef plant closures and weak cash prices are the "major headwinds" of that streak, says the Hightower Report in a note -- with the firm projecting that "the recent downtrend may have more to run." Lean hog futures sank 2.3% on the day, to 70.825 cents a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1454 ET - Deere is likely to report a tough fiscal 3Q results on Thursday, say analysts with Oppenheimer in a note. Difficult agricultural conditions in Europe, as well as supply interruptions due to the U.S.-Iran conflict, are pressuring the agricultural equipment manufacturer. But the situation in North America looks to be better than initially anticipated, says Oppenheimer -- with lower crop yields expected to support higher commodity prices while export demand stays strong. That's lending some light to the outlook for FY2027, and potentially setting up Deere to raise its estimates for F4Q. Deere trades down 1% to $593.92. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1322 ET - Mizuho analysts say they see growing evidence that Uber could ultimately benefit from the rise of autonomous vehicles, which they expect to soothe investors' worries of disruption from companies that actually own AV technology. While Waymo has had success in San Francisco that demonstrates strong product-market fit, a broader AV ecosystem is emerging as Uber partners with WeRide, Pony.ai and other AV players, the analysts say. Continued expansion with those non-Waymo partners "should increase investor confidence that the long-term AV ecosystem is likely to support multiple suppliers rather than a winner-take-all outcome," the analysts say. While diversification may take time, operational data points "reinforce our view AV adoption can expand the overall category without necessarily undermining Uber's platform position," they say. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1322 ET - Traffic trends at Macy's are starting to stabilize, offering signs that the chain's strategy of deepening visits at a smaller, upgraded fleet of stores is helping, a recent Placer.ai report says. Macy's year-over-year visit decline narrowed to 3.6% in 2Q, marking a meaningful improvement from 1Q even though it has steadily closed stores, the report says. On a monthly basis, same-store visits slightly outpaced overall visits, suggesting traffic declines are easing at established locations as Macy's continues to streamline and upgrade its fleet, Placer.ai says. By July, same-store visits were just 0.4% below year-ago levels, the report says. "For a chain that has already shown it can grow sales per visit, stabilizing traffic represents an important foundation upon which to build further," the report says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1316 ET - Kohl's same-store visits grew in both June and July, marking the chain's first back-to-back monthly gains in roughly two years, according to a recent Placer.ai report. The hot streak comes after its traffic decline moderated in 2Q to 1.4% from a 7.7% slide in 1Q, the report says. Kohl's has been working to sharpen its positioning as a local, value-focused stop for everyday errands as it looks to buck a downturn across the department store industry, Placer.ai says. "The chain could be poised for sunnier days if visits maintain their early-summer trajectory," the report says. Kohl's is slated to report 2Q results next week.(kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

1306 ET - Ross Stores' 2Q results, slated for later this week, are set for a boost as customers under pressure from inflation and trade uncertainty flock to the off-price retailer, according to a recent Placer.ai report. "Ross's position at the deepest-discount end of the off-price segment has served it well," the report says. Placer.ai says visits to the flagship Ross Dress for Less climbed 16.4% year-over-year in the 2Q, while traffic at sister chain dd's Discounts grew 8.4%. That momentum has strengthened into summer, with visits growth accelerating at both retailers in June and July, the report says. Additionally, because neither of the company's retail chains operate a digital storefront, all shopping activity takes place offline, the analysts note.