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

1822 ET - Australia's S&P/ASX 200 looks set for a flat open in the absence of any lead from the U.S., where markets were closed for the July 4 public holiday. ASX futures are down about 0.1%, suggesting that the benchmark index will barely move at the local open. The ASX 200 added 1.2% on Thursday on strength among large-cap miners and banks, moving 0.8% higher so far this week. European markets provided a positive lead ahead of Friday's session. Germany's DAX gained 0.4%, while France's CAC 40 added 0.8%. The U.K. FTSE 100 rose 0.9% amid voting in the country's general election, which is forecast to be won by the center-left opposition. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

1056 ET - Gold futures are flat at $2,369.2 a troy ounce, consolidating after Wednesday's rally, while silver spot prices in London rise 2.8% to $30.13 a troy ounce. The precious metals have risen on signs the U.S. economy is slowing, breaking out of their recent trading ranges, says Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. Both metals traded higher ahead of the Fourth of July holiday in the U.S. after figures showed the country's service sector contracted in June at the fastest pace in four years, due to a sharp pullback in business activity and declining orders, Hansen says in a note. This pared back some of the dollar's recent gains and softened U.S. Treasury yields, and added further fuel to expectations for interest rate cuts, a boon for precious metals, Hansen says. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

0947 ET - Outgoing Goeasy CEO and President Jason Mullins made clear during a call with analysts that the Canadian company's business outlook remains unchanged and affirmed that 2Q is expected to be a record quarter, Raymond James analyst Stephen Boland says. Goeasy earlier Thursday announced Mullins's plans to transition out of the role at the end of the year but to remain on the board. Boland says Mullins has normal "non-competes" in his contract but seems to expect to be on the board for the foreseeable future, which will provide continuity and support to the company. Mullins has been with Goeasy for 14 years, and has spent the last six as its leader. In early trading, Goeasy's shares are down 3.4% at C$198, narrowing the advance so far in 2024 to 25%. (robb.stewart@wsj.com)

0936 ET - Pluxee's minor guidance upgrade for fiscal 2024 wasn't convincing enough as the discontinuation of a public benefit contract in Latin America and foreign-exchange pressures cause its stock price to fall, AlphaValue analyst Yi Zhong says in a research note. The modest target increase of 18% growth for the fiscal year, up from 15%-17% previously, and a reiterated margin objective of 35% are expected to enable a low-single-digit upgrade in recurring Ebitda. However, this positive is likely to be more than offset by higher than anticipated other operating expenses, resulting in a narrower bottom line, Zhong says. Pluxee now expects these costs to be in the range of EUR90 million to EUR100 million, up from EUR80 million. Shares trade down 11% at EUR25.09, the stock's biggest one-day percentage fall since the company was spun out of Sodexo in February. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0907 ET - Housing stocks on the U.K.'s FTSE 100 could benefit from Labour Party's plan to increase supply of housing if Thursday's election outcome is in line with opinion poll suggestions, says Daniela Sabin Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, in a note. Some of the stocks that are likely to gain are Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, and Berkeley Group, she says. "There is no denying that a new government will face significant challenges up ahead and that can weigh on U.K. assets further down the line, but for now, a seemingly calm election should anchor U.K. stocks," Hathorn says. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

0907 ET - Canada's antitrust watchdog plans to develop guidance after receiving a number of requests seeking clarity on how to interpret new federal provisions aimed at so-called 'greenwashing'. The provisions require that companies be able to substantiate environmental claims made to promote a product of their business. The Competition Bureau said it will launch a public consultation in the coming weeks to gather views. Amid revisions to Canada's Competition Act recently enacted, including strengthening the bureau's powers to tackle anti-competitive deals, was a provision focusing on climate claims that has been criticized by energy companies and lobby groups as political overreach. (robb.stewart@wsj.com)

0834 ET - Davide Campari-Milano's results for the second quarter could be hurt by less favorable weather in Europe recently, a key factor in customers' appetite for drinks, UBS analysts write in a research note. The Italian distiller--which is scheduled to report 2Q results on July 30--should post organic revenue growth of 6.4%, according to UBS estimates. Despite wetter weather, the company looks set to benefit from a more resilient position than that of its peers in the U.S., where drinks makers are grappling with lower demand and high inventories, UBS adds. Shares are up 1.3% at EUR8.76. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)

0825 ET - Carlsberg's exclusive production and distribution agreement for San Miguel will be terminated at the end of 2024, with the contract loss worth around 1.4% to group volumes and 2% to group sales, Jefferies analysts Edward Mundy and Andrei Andon-Ionita say in a note. San Miguel has had good U.K. growth and therefore the loss will be marginally dilutive to growth, but shares should re-rate as confidence in Carlsberg's growth strategy increases and the strategic rationale of the Britvic buy is clarified, they say. "San Miguel is migrating over to AB InBev's U.K. subsidiary, where there is some logic, given that AB InBev is the distributor of Mahou, which is owned by parent company Mahou San Miguel." Carlsberg shares trade 0.3% lower at DKK845.80. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

0804 ET - Novo Nordisk's semaglutide--the active ingredient in its blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes treatments--belongs to one of the most derisked therapeutic drug classes in history from a safety perspective, Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Papadakis writes in a note. A recent medical paper raised concerns over semaglutide potentially leading to a condition that causes blindness, but Deutsche Bank says several safety-related concerns in the past have ultimately come to nothing. "Whilst the paper in question does indeed suggest some correlation with a rare ocular event, the quality of the evidence is very low...the lack of prior identification suggests this would be a relatively rare issue and the worst case scenario would likely be a further update to the label warning section," Papadakis says. Deutsche Bank rates Novo Nordisk at buy. Shares trade 0.6% higher at DKK973.65. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

0710 ET - Indian shares ended slightly higher, supported by tech and auto stocks, with sentiment getting a lift from growing expectations the Fed will cut interest rates in September. The benchmark Sensex rose 0.1% to 80049.67, closing above the 80000 level for the first time. HCL Technologies was the index's best performer, advancing 2.7%, and Tata Motors added 2.4%. Among individual movers, Lupin rose 7.9% and GE T&D India climbed 3.6% after winning a EUR64 million order from France's Grid Solutions. Decliners included Bajaj Finance, which fell 2.0%, and Wipro, which shed 1.6%. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0707 ET - ASML's order intake for the second quarter probably won't include extreme ultraviolet lithography systems from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. as the Dutch company is expected to book those orders in coming quarters, UBS analysts write in a research note. ASML's first-quarter orders disappointed investors as the widely expected contribution from TSMC wasn't there. The forecast from UBS analysts comes days after J.P. Morgan analysts said in a separate note that they expect to see those bookings in ASML's second-quarter report or, at worst, in the third quarter. ASML shares trade 0.4% higher at EUR990.10. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0648 ET - Pandora's 2Q group revenue is expected to rise on year but marketing costs will also increase due to the launch of a new collection, RBC Capital Markets analysts Piral Dadhania and Nikolaos Lafioniatis write. The bank forecasts group revenue of 6.51 billion Danish kroner ($941.6 million), up 11% on an organic basis, with retail sales up 7% like-for-like to DKK5.19 billion. RBC lowers its 2024 revenue and EBIT forecasts by 3% on lower organic growth assumptions and negative currency, while broadly maintaining its margin estimates. For 2025, it lowers its gross margin estimate to 78.2%, reflecting commodity-price increases. Its new 2025 EBIT forecast of DKK7.83 billion is 10% below consensus. RBC lowers its price target on the stock to DKK920 from DKK1,050 and maintains its underperform rating. Shares in the Danish jeweler trade 2% lower at DKK977.20. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 04, 2024 18:22 ET (22:22 GMT)