0357 GMT - Tyro's effort to become turn a net profit after tax by swiftly reducing its headcount and operating expenses could be detrimental to the Australian payments company, Morningstar analyst Shaun Ler says in a note. "We're wary that cost cuts, if performed abruptly, could stifle nascent projects that would've otherwise further improved Tyro's competitive position," says Morningstar. It adds that cost cuts may unintentionally allow larger peers like major banks to narrow their gap to Tyro in the merchant-acquiring space. Still, Morningstar retains its thesis of Tyro gaining share and becoming NPAT-profitable in due course, driven by its improving fundamentals. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

0007 GMT - Australian retails sales growth for November was robust, with some retail stocks set to get strong support in 2023, Citi analysts Adrian Lemme and James Wang say in a note. They reckon that growth in household goods will ease rather than collapse, aided by large savings buffers and entrenched work-from-home habits. At the same time, increased social activity should support sales of clothing and footwear retailers, as well as department stores. Citi has buy ratings on Coles, Woolworths, JB Hi-Fi and Super Retail, household goods & housing exposed retailers including Harvey Norman and Nick Scali, and fashion names like Lovisa. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2320 GMT -- City Chic's year-to-date sales to mid-December look to be below Macquarie and management expectations, driven by consumer weakness, particularly offshore, over Black Friday, say the investment bank's analysts in a note. Macquarie now sees FY 2023 earnings per share to be loss making. "We previously expected a small profit for FY 2023," it adds. At the same time, the investment bank says that promotional intensity has increased since the AGM, which is also supporting the clothing company in meeting its inventory target for December. "This should also support the achievement of the performance hurdles comprising the CEO's 2023 long-term incentives," says Macquarie. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2258 GMT - New business pricing for home insurance, and SME business rose in the December quarter, according to Macquarie's proprietary online home-insurance pricing analysis. "While customer retention remains at all-time highs across most products, repricing trends will be positive for all insurers. We maintain our positive outlook for the sector," Macquarie says in a note. The investment bank's analysts say that new business pricing for home risks rose 7.6% in the December quarter, ahead of its estimates for back-book repricing. For commercial lines, repricing remains near all-time highs, but Macquarie expects this to peak in the coming six to nine months. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2134 GMT - One uncertainty for investors in GrainCorp is its intentions for surplus cash, Jefferies says. GrainCorp has identified several opportunities for investment including alternative protein, animal nutrition and grower services. In a note, analyst John Campbell says he's comfortable with these options. Still, he notes that some investors could favor GrainCorp returning more cash. "We suspect if a clear statement was made around returning a higher share of future surplus cash to shareholders, the stock would react positively," Campbell says. Jefferies retains a hold call on the stock. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires