0502 GMT - Furniture retailer Temple & Webster's sales looks set to keep growing at a faster pace than those at more established U.S. peer Wayfair, Macquarie analysts say. They tell clients in a note that favorable year-earlier comparisons will help carry Australia's Temple & Webster to 20% on-year sales growth over the six months through June, down from 24% in the December half. That's still better than Wayfair is managing, they point out. International sales dragged on Wayfair's March quarter sales, which were flat. The Macquarie analysts reiterate that Temple & Webster is about five years behind Wayfair in maturity. Macquarie has an outperform rating and a A$17.60 target price on the stock, which is down 3.3% at A$17.43. ([email protected])

0448 GMT - Any dip in JB Hi-Fi shares when the Australian entertainment retailer announces its 3Q trading performance is for buying, according to its bull at Citi. Analyst Adrian Lemme expects a strong March quarter but tells clients in a note that there is a chance that the company might have experienced some weakness in April. If so, investors should be ready to take advantage of any weakness in the stock, Lemme says. He remains positive on the stock after electronics was the standout category in recent Australian retail-sales data. Postelection political certainty and impending interest-rate cuts are also supportive factors. Citi has a buy rating and a A$110.00 target price on the stock, which is down 0.6% at A$103.62. ([email protected])

0358 GMT - Corporate Travel Management's bull at Morgans is taking advantage of share-price weakness stemming from the Australian travel agent's larger-than-expected guidance downgrade. Analyst Belinda Moore says that the A$30 million impact from a tariff-driven decline in customer activity was bigger than she had anticipated. She acknowledges the uncertainty over whether operating conditions will deteriorate before further improving but tells clients in a note that travel demand has always rebounded from downturns. Moore says she is buying the stock because CTM's earnings and share-price leverage to the eventual improvement will be material. Morgans cuts the target price by 14% to A$16.05 and keeps an add rating on the stock, which is down 1.9% at A$11.48. ([email protected])

0207 GMT - Australia's Gold Road is unlikely to get a rival bid after reaching a takeover deal with South Africa's Gold Fields, says Euroz Hartleys. "We view the risk of an interloper as low" given Gold Fields is Gold Road's joint-venture partner in, and the operator of, the Gruyere gold mine, the broker says. A revised takeover bid for Gold Road, which rejected an initial proposal from Gold Fields in March, was expected, Euroz Hartleys says. The broker has a buy rating and a target price of A$3.39/share on Gold Road's stock, which is up 9.6% at A$3.255/share. Gold Fields's agreed takeover offer for Gold Road is valued at roughly A$3.40/share. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

0138 GMT - Westpac's chief executive welcomes the policy continuity that comes with the re-election of Australia's center-left government. Citing opportunities including an acceleration of the country's transition to renewable sources of power, Anthony Miller says "the consistency and certainty that they represent as a result of their re-election puts us in a very good position globally to attract capital and talent to this country." Speaking on a media call, Miller declines to suggest areas of policy focus but speaks positively about "consistency and certainty and getting things done methodically." The country's center-right opposition had campaigned on nuclear power as an alternative to renewables. ([email protected])

0033 GMT - Reliance Worldwide's assessment of the impact of U.S. tariffs represents an 8%-11% downgrade to Ord Minnett's FY 2026 Ebitda forecast. "However, in our view this represents somewhat of a worst-case scenario given it is unlikely Chinese tariffs remain at 145%," analyst James Casey says. Imports account for around 48% of Reliance's cost of goods sold in the Americas region. It is attempting to mitigate the tariffs' impact by raising prices in the U.S. and overhauling its supply chain. Still, Reliance estimates the impact on its FY 2026 operating earnings at US$25 million-US$35 million. Ord Minnett has an accumulate call on Reliance. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2326 GMT - Westpac's 1H result looks a bit subdued to analysts at Barrenjoey. Jon Mott and Annabel Ross tell clients in a note that the bank's net profit was about 6% lower than expected, and highlight the absence of any forward-looking guidance. Core net interest margin--a key measure of profitability--appears to be softening more quickly than anticipated, they add. The pair point out that Westpac is focused on its technology overhaul, while operating expenses and bad debt expenses were in line with average analyst forecasts. Barrenjoey has a neutral rating and A$27.00 target price on the stock, which is at A$33.45 ahead of the open. ([email protected])

2250 GMT - The chief executive of Australia's second largest bank says U.S. tariffs are contributing to geopolitical uncertainty that is "as high as it has been for a very long time." Westpac's Anthony Miller says that changes to global trade policies--sparked by the Trump administration's imposition of tariffs--have increased volatility in the wholesale funding markets on which the bank relies. However, Westpac lifted its customer deposit-to-loan ratio over the past 12 months and Miller says Australia is well placed to handle global instability. ([email protected])

2214 GMT - Following the Liberal Party of Australia's thumping defeat in Saturday's federal election, which unseated its leader Peter Dutton, thoughts are now turning to who will lead it in the future. Initial speculation has focused on Deputy Leader Sussan Ley and opposition Treasury spokesman Angus Taylor. Some effort might be launched to return former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to parliament to bolster the party's depleted stocks. ([email protected]; @JamesGlynnWSJ)

2209 GMT - Ord Minnett appears relieved by Qube's new counterpart in the entity that owns the Patrick container terminals business. Brookfield is selling its 50% equity interest to another fund that it controls and some existing investors. "We believe that the retention of Patrick within infrastructure ownership, as opposed to global shipping/terminal players, is a positive outcome from a market positioning standpoint," analyst Ian Munro says. The transaction is at a modest premium to Patrick's enterprise value of A$6.6 billion that Qube disclosed alongside its 1H result. Ord Minnett estimates the deal to be at a A$300 million premium to its prior sum-of-the-parts valuation. It retains an accumulate call on Qube. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2156 GMT - Paladin Energy's stock has rebounded some 50% since its 3Q operating report, which was unexpectedly strong and helped to soothe concerns around the rampup of the Langer Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia. Paladin has experienced setbacks at Langer Heinrich, most recently heavy rain. "In our view the market massively overreacted to the short-term Langer Heinrich commissioning issues, and the share price bounce is indicative of that," Shaw & Partners analyst Andrew Hines says. The Langer Heinrich plant was running exceptionally well prior to the downpour. Also, water availability issues have been fixed, and the early start to mining mitigates the low grades on the stockpiles, Shaw says. "There is no balance sheet stress, and delivery of sales into the contract book is not an issue," the bank adds. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires