0437 GMT - Robust corporate earnings growth is expected to support equities globally, say Lombard Odier's equity strategists in a note. Concerns about tariffs and a U.S. labor market and services slowdown haven't stopped many equity indexes from reaching new highs in recent months, say Edmund Ng and Patrick Kellenberger. Investor positioning in equities has risen, especially among retail investors and U.S. valuations remain fairly full. They see earnings and technical market dynamics remaining as tailwinds for equities, and don't see a deteriorating macro outlook and growing valuation headwind as sufficient to turn cautious on the asset class. They prefer emerging markets and communication services that benefit from many of the positive elements driving tech stocks, but trade at a more reasonable price. ([email protected])

0343 GMT - Commonwealth Bank's bears at Macquarie think that the detail in its second-half performance suggests a more challenging outlook for Australia's largest lender. Macquarie's analysts write in a note that a larger-than-expected replicating portfolio tailwind over the six months through June suggests lower benefits ahead. Accordingly, they see more risk to margins in fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027. They think that this, alongside the lack of forward guidance and higher costs, could lead to consensus EPS forecasts being lowered. Macquarie has a last-published underperform rating and A$105.00 target price on the stock, which is down 4.6% at A$170.56. ([email protected])

0232 GMT - CAR Group's bull at Citi reiterates its buy rating on the vehicle classifieds provider, telling clients that the outlook for its U.S. business is stronger than expected. Analyst Siraj Ahmed writes in a note that the key positive in the Australian company's annual results was a second-half pickup in revenue at its U.S. Trader Interactive unit. Guidance for the unit was also stronger than expected despite the continuation of tough macro conditions, Ahmed adds. He forecasts 12% on-year revenue growth at Trader Interactive in fiscal 2026, and 14% in fiscal 2027. He sees further upside if market conditions improve. Citi trims its target price by 0.7% to A$42.55. Shares are up 2.0% at A$39.85. ([email protected])

0223 GMT - There are three things that could turn Macquarie analysts more positive on Seven West Media, but none of them are guaranteed. Analysts at the investment bank keep a neutral rating on the Australian broadcaster and publisher, but would like to see the overall TV ad market start growing, for Seven West to increase its market share, or for the company cut more costs if they are to view the stock more constructively. Share growth could come from sports broadcast, they add. They lower their Ebitda multiple for Seven West's television business to 3.0 from 3.5. Macquarie's target price falls 11% to A$0.16. Shares are up 1.8% at A$0.1425. ([email protected])

0156 GMT - AGL Energy's comment about its dividend outlook spooks bull RBC Capital Markets. AGL said it intends to keep paying fully franked dividends in FY 2026. Franking credits are a local tax benefit in Australia. AGL's remark sounds concerning to RBC because it thought paying fully franked dividends was a given. "We were expecting a comment on where the dividend may be within its 50%-75% payout guidance range," analyst Gordon Ramsay says. AGL's share price drops 14% to A$8.81 after its annual result and guidance, which missed consensus forecasts. It is on course for its lowest close since April 2024. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

0155 GMT - Australia's Data#3 gets a new bull at Macquarie, where the software and hardware reseller is seen offering investors exposure to AI growth trends. Initiating coverage of the stock with an outperform rating, Macquarie analysts tell clients in a note that they anticipate a revenue tailwind from Microsoft's cessation of support for Windows 10, which should bump sales of Windows 11 and devices capable of running it. They think that increased adoption of AI-capable PCs and recoveries in spending by small-to-medium sized business could present further upside to their fiscal 2026 forecasts. Macquarie puts a A$9.00 target price on the stock, which is up 4.9% at A$7.885. ([email protected])

0144 GMT - Life360's bulls at Morgan Stanley reiterate their overweight rating on the tracking-app provider as monetization of its location services improves. They tell clients in a note that user and subscriber trends appear very constructive into the September quarter, and that earnings are still being suppressed by meaningful proactive investment in future growth. Most of Life360's 2Q key metrics were in line with or ahead of the bank's expectations, with Ebitda growing on 1Q despite the elevated reinvestment. Morgan Stanley lifts its Ebitda forecasts for 2025 through 2027 by between 10% and 14%, raising its target price 27.5% to A$51.00. Shares are up 7.0% at A$43.61. ([email protected])

0121 GMT - Computershare's slight annual revenue beat was largely offset by the share-registry provider's higher costs, Citi analyst Nigel Pittaway says. He tells clients in a note that stronger-than-expected registry maintenance and governance services revenue within issuer services helped group revenue beat his forecast by about 1%. However, the increased costs left EBIT broadly in line with his expectations. He observes that Computershare's fiscal 2026 margin-income guidance is broadly in line with consensus, but assumes that balances stay flat. Citi has a last-published neutral rating and A$40.90 target price on the stock, which is down 2.4% at A$40.32. ([email protected])

0030 GMT - Consensus expectations for Evolution Mining's FY 2026 profit face headwinds from higher-than-expected depreciation and amortization, says Citi analyst Kate McCutcheon. She says Evolution has delivered "a clean result" for FY 2025, with earnings in line and FY 2026 expectations already flagged to the market. Citi has a neutral rating on Evolution, with a A$7.60/share target. Evolution is up 6.2% at A$8.17. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

0019 GMT - Evolution's FY profit beat reflects lower depreciation and amortization and a lower tax rate than the market modelled, Barrenjoey analyst Daniel Morgan says in a note. Broadly, the miner's fiscal result and dividend are in line with key market expectations, he says. While Evolution published FY 2026 guidance last month, a new, detailed breakdown looks slightly better than expected, says Morgan. "This is because Northparkes gold production is a smaller proportion of group than the rest of the assets, with a tad more gold contribution at Cowal, Mungari and Mt. Rawdon," he says. "This is a positive because EVN only receives the benefit of 32.5% of gold production at Northparkes and 100% of gold production at other assets." Barrenjoey has an underweight rating and A$7.60 target on Evolution. The stock is up 5.9% at A$8.14. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

0012 GMT - Jefferies analysts Michael Simotas and Naveed Fazal Bawa say they expect a relief rally in Treasury Wine shares after the company's annual result. The Treasury bulls say the result was much more positive than the dire scenario implied by the share price, which had tanked this year ahead of the result. They say guidance was reiterated for Treasury's key luxury brand Penfolds, a distributor transition in the U.S. was more benign than feared, and the company has committed to moderating a decline in its Collective division, which includes lower-priced wines. Still, they hedge their optimism slightly, pointing out there's still uncertainty regarding the U.S. and China markets as well as the CEO transition. Treasury shares were up some 3% in early trade Wednesday after the result. ([email protected])

2357 GMT - MST Marquee analyst Craig Woolford is sounding upbeat about Treasury Wine's annual result. He says in a note to clients that the result shows strength in its key luxury Penfolds brand, and that the company has been delivering a consistent message about its growth prospects over the next two years. He adds that an up to A$200 million share buyback announced alongside the result "may act as a catalyst for a re-rating." Ahead of the result, Treasury shares had slid some 33% this year, as headwinds in the U.S. and the prospect of a slowdown in China spooked investors. ([email protected])

2325 GMT - Macquarie is surprised the market hasn't marked down Beach Energy's share price more following its FY 2025 result and reserves report. The bank downgrades Beach to underperform, from neutral, and cuts its price target by 30% to A$0.95/share. "We had hoped that Beach's reserve downgrade cycle was over," says Macquarie. But the company recently lowered its proven and probable reserves by another 6.5%, mainly due to drilling results at the Beharra Springs Deep field. Macquarie said Beach's final dividend of A$0.06/share was a positive surprise. "However it appears unsustainable for now, given negative free cash flow in FY 2026," the bank says. Beach's share price has recovered to be just 5.4% below its July 23 high. ([email protected])

2314 GMT - Insurance Australia Group's share price should trade flat to higher when the ASX opens, says Citi. It points to a better-than-expected FY 2025 earnings result. Looking ahead, IAG signals a reported insurance margin of 14-16% in FY 2026. It suggests this guidance implies an insurance profit of A$1.45 billion to A$1.65 billion. "FY 2026 guidance, while difficult to interpret totally given the inclusion or exclusion of acquisitions, looks at least as good as consensus if not a bit better, albeit implying relatively low underlying gross written premium growth," analyst Nigel Pittaway says. IAG ended Tuesday at A$8.50. ([email protected])

2308 GMT - Insurance Australia Group's 2H cash earnings of A$533 million beat consensus hopes by some 4%. Barrenjoey says the driver was a much stronger underlying insurance margin of 15.8%. "Guidance implies margins will start to trend back down again, with the mid of guidance at 15.0%, due to investment yield headwinds and a lack of premium rates in New Zealand," analyst Andrew Adams says. Still, this is largely captured by consensus forecasts. IAG's share price is up around 18% over the past year. Barrenjoey thinks IAG's annual result means the insurer should avoid significant share-price pressure today. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2305 GMT - While Commonwealth Bank of Australia's annual result looks OK to Jarden analysts, they think it's insufficient to justify the lender's lofty valuation. The Jarden analysts tell clients in a note that loan and deposit growth were both good, while net interest margin was in line with consensus at 2.08%. They say that the balance sheet is well managed and returns are stable, but there's nothing here to justify meaningful positive revisions to analysts' earnings forecasts. The stock is trading at 30 times earnings and looks vulnerable to any disappointment at the result, they add. Jarden has a sell rating and A$110.00 target price on the stock, which is at A$178.80 ahead of the open. ([email protected])

0649 GMT - The Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to cut its cash rate to 2.85% by mid-2026, Capital Economics' Marcel Thieliant says in a commentary. The central bank endorsed market expectations of further monetary easing when it lowered the cash rate today, the head of Asia-Pacific says. The RBA's statement was little changed compared with the July meeting, Thieliant says. Also, RBA Gov. Bullock noted in the post-meeting press conference that the neutral rate is a less useful concept when Australia's economy is exposed to shocks as it is now, Thieliant adds.([email protected])

(END) Dow Jones Newswires