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

0924 GMT - Indonesia's growth target of 6.0% for 2027 appears ambitious amid lingering uncertainty over Middle East tensions and persistently high global interest rates, Bahana Sekuritas economist Purbiantoro Lintang says in a note. The government, under its 2027 Budget, expects inflation to average 2.5% and fiscal deficit to narrow to 2.4% of GDP from an estimated 2.85% in 2026. Achieving the deficit target will require revenue to grow faster than spending, while flagship programs, such as free meals, continue to take up a sizeable share of the budget, he says. Bahana Sekuritas forecasts the economy will expand 5.0% instead for 2027, warning weaker growth could lead to a shortfall in government revenue. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0917 GMT - Plus500's valuation no longer reflects the progress that the online-trading platform has made, particularly in the expansion of its non-over-the-counter business, Cavendish analysts Rahim Karim and Jens Ehrenberg write. Cavendish upgrades its recommendation for the London-listed stock to buy from hold, but lowers the target price to 44.90 pounds from 46.85 pounds. The market is undervaluing its core contracts-for-difference business despite its operational leverage, the analysts say. Plus500 will continue to see strong topline momentum in the second half, despite risks to customer trading income, Cavendish says. Shares are up 1.8% at 38.58 pounds. The stock has risen 5.6% year to date. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0910 GMT - China's economy lost momentum again last month but Capital Economics still expects a modest uptick in growth over the rest of the year, supported by fiscal loosening. The silver lining is that the boost to manufacturing activity from AI capex continued to build at the end of 2Q, and the wider weakness partly reflects temporary disruptions from typhoons, writes Julian Evans-Pritchard. Investment activity was hardest hit by the extreme weather, which hurt real estate and infrastructure via temporary halts to construction. Industrial output growth continued to suffer a drag from the fallout from the Iran war but AI remained a tailwind. Retail sales growth remained very soft, but that's partly payback from the consumer goods trade-in programs, the economist says. (fabiana.negrinochoa@wsj.com)

0907 GMT - Oil prices retain a substantial risk premium as Iran and Oman move closer to an agreement over managing the Strait of Hormuz, MUFG's Soojin Kim writes. The U.S. isn't involved in these discussions and continues to demand unrestricted passage through the waterway, she adds. The U.S. is also preparing additional economic tools to wield against Iran, which itself is reportedly strengthening its military capabilities and regional alliances, Kim adds. Overall, continued geopolitical uncertainty and risks to key routes keep a substantial risk premium embedded in crude prices, she says. In mid-morning European trade, Brent crude futures rise 0.4% to $88.86 a barrel while WTI moves 0.1% up to $78.60 a barrel.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0903 GMT - Biren Technology is expected to significantly narrow losses amid surging AI chip demand and continued optimization of its product mix. The AI chip maker guided for 1H net loss between 320 million yuan and 400 million yuan, narrowing sharply, while revenue likely rose around 20 times to between 1.15 billion yuan and 1.3 billion yuan. The company attributed the significant revenue jump to fast-growing AI application scenarios and accelerating commercialization. Maybank analysts say in a recent note that Biren is better viewed as a supply-allocation story than a pure technology player as its demand is supported by China's chip-self sufficiency drive and AI chip shortage, even if its products lag top domestic peers in terms of performance. Biren's shares ended 7.0% higher at HK$38.98. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0855 GMT - Adyen shouldn't be immediately impacted by potential M&A activity from U.S. rival Stripe, ING's Thymen Rundberg writes in a note. Paypal Holdings is in talks to sell itself to a group that includes Stripe and private-equity firm Advent International, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. While Stripe is building a wider ecosystem across consumers, merchants and AI developers, the Amsterdam-based company remains a neutral, merchant-focused commerce service provider, he says. "We see this neutrality as a genuine differentiator, although Stripe's broader reach could strengthen its competitive position over time," Rundberg adds. Adyen shares are down 1.4% at 1,046.60 euros. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0832 GMT - Magnum Ice Cream seems to be having a good year in 2026, after its first-half results, David Hayes at Jefferies says in a note. It was boosted by an exceptional North European summer, he adds. The progress creates a more demanding setup for 2027, Hayes says. Jefferies raises its full-year growth and margins expectations for 2026, but cuts full-year 2027 like-for-like growth and assumes modest margin expansion. Shares are down 1.5% at 16.76 euros. (aimee.look@wsj.com)

0821 GMT - Gold rises as investors pare back bets of an imminent interest-rate hike. In morning European trade, New York gold futures are 0.5% higher at $4,458.20 a troy ounce. The precious metal continues a two-week advance after weaker U.S. retails sales and softer consumer sentiment weighed on the dollar and reduced expectations of a rate hike, MUFG's Soojin Kim writes. Higher interest rates make non-yielding assets like gold less attractive. "Wednesday's Fed minutes, U.S. economic data and developments around Hormuz will be key drivers of gold, particularly through their impact on rate expectations," she adds.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0814 GMT - SMIC and Hua Hong Grace's upbeat results indicate "an increasingly constructive recovery" for legacy and specialty semiconductors, Citi analysts say in a research note. AI is not only driving demand for advanced nodes but also increasing demand for mature-node chips used for power management, connectivity and peripheral logic, the analysts say. Both companies have negotiated wafer price hikes with clients, which created meaningful operating leverage despite rising depreciation from new capacity. Citi expects trailing-edge foundries to have better pricing leverage than they had over the past two years thanks to the AI boom. The bank raises SMIC's target price to HK$100.00 from HK$90.00 and Hua Hong's to HK$175 from HK$160.00. SMIC's shares were last 6.2% higher at Hua Hong Grace rose 7.5%. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0811 GMT - Investors are overly pessimistic about the decline in resale prices of Pop Mart's intellectual properties, Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang writes. He says the market is misreading the world's largest pop-toy retailer's falling valuation and slowing revenue growth. Instead, repeat-purchase and membership data tracking real fans better reflect underlying business strength, pointing to Pop Mart's ability to extend its characters' popularity. Zhang also sees a long distribution runway, as the company has ample room to expand its overseas store count, particularly in the U.S. Morningstar forecasts five-year revenue growth of 17% on a compound annual basis, versus the 5%-6% market consensus. Midcycle operating margin is also projected to remain at 41%, above major U.S. peers. Shares, which Morningstar view as highly undervalued, close at HK$153.50. (jason.chau@wsj.com)

0808 GMT - Maersk has recorded a strong freight-rate performance this year, especially in the second and third quarter, Citi analyst Arthur Truslove writes. The bank increases its 2026 Ebitda forecast to $11.86 billion from $9.8 billion after management raised its Ebitda guidance to $10.5 billion-$12.5 billion from $8 billion-$10 billion. Citi retains its neutral rating on the stock and lifts its target price to 20,864 Danish kroner from 17,543 kroner. Shares rise 4.6% to 21,650 kroner. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

0802 GMT - The Hong Kong IPO market is expected to moderate in 2H, Sidley Austin partners write in a note. A significant portion of investor attention and appetite were diverted to SpaceX towards the end of 1H, which might have impacted fundraising efforts of other companies planning global listings, including in Hong Kong, they say. Hong Kong regulators dedicated efforts since late 2025 to improve the quality of the pipeline IPOs, such as prospectus and due diligence work, and such enhanced requirements slowed down the overall IPO pace, they add. Still, "China's hard-tech and AI sectors are still buzzing with new breakthroughs" with its rivalry with the U.S., and such companies are expected to continue tapping into the capital markets in Hong Kong, they say.