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

2123 ET - Ansell's annual result and outlook leaves UBS analysts with a lot of questions. In fact, they list more than two dozen queries for management on topics including manufacturing, potential divestments and the impact of raw-material costs on pricing of the Australia-listed company's personal-protective equipment. With Ansell targeting the U.S. as one of five high-margin growth markets, the investment bank's analysts wonder whether the company has sufficient manufacturing capacity across all its regions. Are any regions or facilities currently under review? They want to know if Ansell sees a strategic reason to further rationalize manufacturing sites or even countries, and what sort of capital expenditure would be required. UBS has a last-published neutral stock rating and a target of 38.70 Australian dollars. Shares are down 0.8% at A$41.02. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2118 ET - Woolworths's improving sales are likely to drive modest consensus FY 2027 upgrades, says Jarden. Woolworths said sales increased by 7.6% in its Australian supermarkets business in the first eight weeks of the new FY. When the boost from its promotional campaign featuring Disney 'ooshies' is stripped out, sales are up 5.5%-6.1%. Analyst Ben Gilbert says consensus hopes for 1H are 5% growth on year. "A clean result led by improving top line growth that has accelerated into FY27, with Woolworths's ability to continue to invest in the value offer and demonstrate customer retention post a successful Ooshies campaign key," Jarden says. It had an overweight call on Jarden ahead of the result today. Woolworths rises 4.7% to A$40.68. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2114 ET - Lovisa's sales in FY 2027 so far are outpacing market expectations for 1H, contributing to the costume jewelry retailer share price surging more than 15% to A$28.23. It catapults the stock to a six-month high, having been trading at a five-year low price-to-earnings multiple heading into today's result. Lovisa said total sales are up 16.4% in the first eight weeks of FY 2027 when currency swings are stripped out. That's a slight beat to consensus expectations of 13% across 1H as a whole, according to Jefferies. Lovisa also says sales momentum improved in August. Jefferies had a hold call and A$30.00 price target on Lovisa heading into today's result. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2109 ET - Kuala Lumpur Kepong could face some share price weakness after its fiscal 3Q swung into losses amid impairment losses at associate Synthomer, Maybank IB analyst Ong Chee Ting says in a note. However, the impairment is an accounting, non-cash item and helps remove an overhang on the stock, he notes. KLK could return into the black in fiscal 4Q, with its plantation division expected to drive earnings, he says. Share of losses from Synthomer is also expected to narrow 83% on year to 8 million ringgit, he reckons. Maybank maintains a hold rating on KLK and keeps its target price at 21.20 ringgit. Shares are 0.2% lower at 21.88 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

2106 ET - Flight Centre's outlook looks mixed to Jefferies. The Australian travel agent highlighted signs of recovery in early FY 2027 trading. Its Leisure business posted a record total transaction value in July, surpassing the pre-pandemic 2019 peak. Leisure's July profit was its strongest since 2015. Analyst Michael Simotas says this suggests Flight Centre can claw back a meaningful part of the A$60 million drag on its FY 2026 profit in Leisure from the Middle East conflict. On the downside, pretax profit in Flight Centre's Corporate business is expected to be 2H-weighted given forward investment. Flight Centre falls 4.2% to A$12.41.(david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2101 ET - Woolworths's trading snapshot points to a very strong start to FY 2027 in Australian food, says Jefferies. Woolworths said sales increased by 7.6% in its Australian supermarkets business in the first eight weeks of the new FY, aided by its promotional campaign featuring Disney characters. "On an underlying basis, Woolworths has continued to outgrow Coles in early FY27, but the gap appears to have closed and Woolworths was cycling much easier comps," analyst Michael Simotas says. Market conditions appear to have improved. Both of the big grocers are well positioned to benefit from packaged food inflation and households eating at home rather than going to restaurants. Woolworths rises 5.3% to A$40.91. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2046 ET - Memory prices are set to absorb an even larger share of cloud providers' AI infrastructure budgets in 2027, with DRAM and NAND flash projected to account for 68% of total capital expenditure, up from 47% in 2026, according to research firm TrendForce. Server DRAM prices are expected to rise about 270% in 2026, while prices for enterprise storage products could jump 235%, extending gains that began in the second half of 2025. TrendForce says higher memory costs, particularly for high-bandwidth memory, could lead AI chip and server vendors to raise prices further, prompting cloud providers to either spend more or optimize system memory configurations to control costs. (jie.yang@wsj.com)

2039 ET - WiseTech Global's bull at RBC thinks the logistics-software provider's fiscal 2027 guidance suggests that operating costs will be lower than analysts expect. Analyst Jackson Lee sounds unimpressed by WiseTech's fiscal 2026 performance, pointing to soft revenue growth at its core CargoWise business. However, he is more positive on what he says is strong cost control. Lee tells clients in a note that this drove a 7% underlying earnings beat relative to consensus. With the midpoint of WiseTech's revenue guidance falling about 3% short of expectations, Lee reckons that the company expects operating-cost growth of no more than 1%. Consensus had been for an 8% rise, he adds. RBC has a last-published outperform rating on the stock and a target price of 64.00 Australian dollars. Shares are down 7.8% at A$41.98. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2024 ET - WiseTech's bull at Citi isn't sure how the infrastructure-software provider's annual earnings compare with market expectations given the presence of significant restructuring costs. The Australian company reported FY 2026 underlying Ebitda of $644.5 million, with all restructuring costs removed. Citi analyst Siraj Ahmed tells clients in a note that this is a headline beat relative to consensus of about $600 million, but that it isn't clear whether all analysts had completely removed these costs from their forecasts. Ahmed wants more information on the second-half acceleration in WiseTech's CargoWise product implied by the company's FY 2027 guidance. Citi has a last-published buy rating on the stock and a target price of 55.05 Australian dollars. Shares are up 0.4% at A$42.485. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2015 ET - Japanese stocks decline as uncertainty over the Iran war and its economic implications persists. Chip-related stocks are leading declines ahead of Nvidia's quarterly earnings later Wednesday. Kioxia Holdings is down 1.0% and Tokyo Electron is 1.9% lower. The dollar is at 159.24 yen, compared with Y159.33 as of Tuesday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching developments in the Middle East after the U.S. launched what it described as an unprecedented campaign to cripple Iran's economy earlier this week. The Nikkei Stock Average falls 0.4% to 65595.13. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)

1948 ET - Japanese stocks may remain rangebound as uncertainty over the Iran conflict and energy costs continues. Nikkei futures are flat at 65930 on the SGX. Investors may also stay cautious ahead of Nvidia's quarterly earnings later Wednesday. The dollar is at 159.26 yen, compared with Y159.33 as of Tuesday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are focusing on any developments in the Middle East after the U.S. launched what it described as an unprecedented campaign to cripple Iran's economy earlier this week. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.5% to 65856.43 on Tuesday. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com)

1848 ET [Dow Jones]--Weaker athletic footwear results from Dick's Sporting Goods could signal pressure for Deckers Outdoor's Hoka running shoe brand, Jefferies analysts say. Dick's pointed to softness across parts of the footwear market that worsened throughout the latest quarter, and expects elevated levels of promotions to continue through the end of the year as inventory remains too high, the analysts say. While much of the weakness seems tied to older franchises, retro products and lifestyle footwear, Hoka has likely faced some pressure given lifestyle adoption is a key pillar of the bull case around the brand, the analysts say. "We also believe HOKA's reliance on core franchises and routine refreshes has contributed to recent growth deceleration amid limited newness and rising competition," they say. For example, Hoka's Bondi style hasn't been updated since early last year, though management plans to expand the franchise next year, the analysts say.