Global Equities Roundup: Market Talk

The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day. 0204 GMT - Malaysia's Budget 2027 is expected to offer policy support to favor domestic manufacturing and strengthen the automotive supply chain, says Affin Hwang IB analyst Afifah Ishak in a note. This should benefit companies with meaningful manufacturing footprints in Malaysia, including selected auto-part suppliers, while companies with limited local value-added activities could face pressure, she says.

The shift could benefit auto assembler Inokom, owned by Sime Darby and Bermaz Auto, if stricter requirements encourage vehicle manufacturers to move from imports to local assembly. Malaysia's automotive supply chain remains concentrated in traditional components, while capabilities in higher-value areas such as EV batteries and electric drivetrains are still at an early stage of development, she notes. Affin Hwang maintains a neutral rating on Malaysia's auto and auto-parts sector. S.

profitability and elevated aluminum prices, Jefferies analysts say in a note. S. and Thailand, the bank says. Furukawa Electric's recent sale of a 7% stake in UACJ removes a major overhang for the stock, the analysts say.

Jefferies raises its rating on the stock to buy from hold and its target price to 3,000 yen from Y2,700. 5% higher at Y2,237. com; @kosakunarioka) 0144 GMT - Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and United Overseas Bank are likely to be bigger beneficiaries of a rising interest-rate environment than their larger peer DBS Group, says RHB Research's Singapore team in a note.

This is likely due to the difference in the three banks' hedging positions and net-interest income sensitivity, they say. For instance, UOB has around 80% of its loans on a floating rate basis, while DBS has about one-third of its commercial book in fixed-rate assets, they say. OCBC remains RHB's top sector pick on its balance sheet strength and earnings momentum, with RHB raising its estimates for the bank's 2027-2028 net profit by 4%-6%. com) 0116 GMT - Top Glove could post sequentially weaker fiscal 1Q earnings, as pricing power fades, natural gas costs rise, and tax benefits diminish, says Hong Leong IB analyst Chee Kok Siang in a note.

Average selling prices are expected to decline from 4Q FY2026 levels, which were boosted by delayed shipments carrying higher May prices. Price increases in October and November may provide some support, but are unlikely to drive margins as strongly as in recent quarters amid a more balanced supply of nitrile rubber, he reckons. 68 ringgit. However, Chee downgrades the stock's rating to sell from hold given concerns over structural oversupply.

93 ringgit. com) 0110 GMT - Glencore's ASX debut, due on Oct. 14, comes at a time of improving operational and financial performance for the miner, says UBS. Glencore's Ebitda jumped in FY 2026 and copper's contribution to earnings is rising, progressively reshaping its portfolio away from thermal coal, UBS says.

"The Marketing division remains a key differentiator versus BHP and RIO, providing earnings diversification that can behave differently from mining operations through the commodity cycle," says the bank. Still, UBS says BHP remains the sector leader for earnings scale and durability. "Unlike peers where a larger proportion of future value creation is tied to project execution, BHP's earnings are predominantly generated by operations already running at scale, including the world's largest listed copper franchise and the sector's most profitable iron ore business," it says.

com; @RhiannonHoyle) 0107 GMT - Forsyth Barr expects a strong set of 1Q operating statistics from New Zealand's electricity companies when they update the market later this month. It notes operating conditions in the wholesale electricity market are little changed, with renewable power generation breaking through 95% for the first time on a rolling 12-month basis. Still, rising interest rates and election uncertainty have weighed on the sector recently. New Zealand voters are due to go to the polls in November.

Forsyth Barr's top picks in the sector are Contact Energy and Mercury NZ. com; @dwinningWSJ) 0106 GMT - Tower gets a new bull in Forsyth Barr, which has greater confidence in the general insurer's partnership-led growth and leverage to a recovery in pricing. Tower this week upgraded its FY26 underlying net profit outlook to NZ$69 million-NZ$79 million. That's 23% above the midpoint of earlier guidance.

Analyst James Lindsay says gross written premium growth of 3% beat his expectations. It suggests stronger-than-expected 2H momentum from organic and partnership-led customer growth. "Given our expectations for risk-mix impacts to moderate through 1H27 and previous analysis suggesting the New Zealand insurance pricing cycle could be approaching trough levels, our confidence in Tower's growth outlook has improved," Forsyth Barr says. It upgrades the stock to outperform, from neutral.

com; @dwinningWSJ) 0105 GMT - Top Glove's improved earnings prospects are likely more than reflected in its share price following the recent rally, despite a more positive outlook for average selling prices, Maybank IB analyst Wong Wei Sum says in a note. Management guided higher average selling prices trend for October and November as Chinese glove makers show greater discipline and demand and supply become more balanced, she notes. Cost efficiencies should also support sustainable pretax margins of around 8%-12%, she says. However, potential minimum-wage increases could raise production costs.

Wong raises Top Glove's FY2027-FY2028 earnings estimates by 113%-116%, as FY2026 earnings beat expectations. 71 ringgit, while maintaining a sell rating. 90 ringgit. com) 0054 GMT - Singapore banks face downside 3Q earnings risks as market optimism on Singapore-dollar rates looks misplaced and exceptional wealth-related income in 1H normalizes, says Citi analyst Yong Hong Tan in a note.

Citi expects net interest margin contraction as Singapore-dollar fixed-deposit rates rise 35-70 bps, fixed-rate loans reprice lower, and the one-month Singapore Overnight Rate Average rises about 10 bps. 00. 00 target. 72.

com) 0054 GMT - Sun Hung Kai Properties' rental income is likely to continue growing as newly completed investment properties ramp up, says Fitch Ratings in a note. Recovering demand for prime office space and the stable performance of the Hong Kong company's retail portfolio is likely to buoy earnings from SHK Properties' existing portfolio, Fitch says. The ratings company expects SHK Properties' rental revenue to grow at a low-to-mid single-digit percentage in FY 2027-FY 2029 as investment assets in Hong Kong and Shanghai come online.

The Hong Kong property company's strong capital management and stable, substantial recurring Ebitda should also prop up its financial profile. com) 0051 GMT - Gold producer Regis Resources posts a soft start to FY 2027, says Citi. The miner's 1Q production result of 83,000 troy ounces is 12% below Citi's expectations and 9% weaker than consensus, the bank says. "Whilst the in-line cash build despite the production miss suggests better cost control, we await the full quarterly report for more detail," says Citi.

Regis plans to publish its full 1Q production result on Oct. 20. Citi notes that Regis has reiterated full-year guidance. "We expect FY27 production to land in the lower half range," the bank says.

90 Australian dollars on Regis. 045. 22 as gains in electronics and machinery shares offset losses in financial stocks. Hitachi Ltd.

7% lower. 52. 18 as of Tuesday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching developments in the Middle East conflict, crude oil prices and bond yields.

com; @kosakunarioka) (END) Dow Jones Newswires October 06, 2026 22:04 ET (02:04 GMT) Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. The statements in this document shall not be considered as an objective or independent explanation of the matters. Please note that this document (a) has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research, and (b) is not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of the dissemination or publication of investment research.