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

1116 GMT - European banking stocks slide as higher oil and gas prices raise the prospect of a sustained inflation shock. The Stoxx 600 Banks index trades 2.5% lower after Brent crude topped $100 a barrel and natural gas prices on the continent hit a three-year high. The fall arrests a steady rally in European banks, with the Europe-wide sector gauge up around 23% so far this year. Major losers include HSBC in London--down 2.3%--and Spain's Santander losing 3.6%. In Paris, BNP Paribas drops 2.6%. Meanwhile, analysts warn that European banks are in line for higher taxes, according to a Bloomberg report published Wednesday. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

1030 GMT - Inditex reported robust sales trends, but cost pressures seem evident, analysts at Deutsche Bank say in a note. The Spanish fashion group posted a 9% on-year sales increase from Aug. 1 through Sept. 7. However, it said that elevated transport costs are weighing on profitability. The pretax profit margin slipped to 19.5% for the first half from 19.6% a year earlier. Overall, the top-line is fine but higher operating expenses are weighing on margins, the analysts say. Shares fall 4.3% to 54.08 euros. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)

0957 GMT - The stock market should continue to rally into the middle of 2027 as positive performance extends outside of tech to other sectors, Citi analysts write. "'Broadening' market performance is finally taking shape," the analysts write, with financial and materials stocks--as well as tech--seen outperforming the market. However, risks around equity performance are increasing, the analysts note. An escalation to the U.S.-Iran conflict, Federal Reserve rate hikes and volatility around elections could all weigh on sentiment, they say. Moreover, negative macro/political developments could compound volatility from stepped-up scrutiny around the global AI trade, they add. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0954 GMT - Nestle's CFO Anna Manz sounded confident that the company is on the right track on its turnaround, Barclays analysts say in a note following the bank's Global Consumer Conference. The main takeaway is that the company has the right playbook, the analysts say. However, what is most important is execution, they add. Further proof is needed to show that Nestle is becoming a fundamentally different company, they say. Nestle shares are down 1.2% at 79.4 Swiss francs. (aimee.look@wsj.com)

0940 GMT - Global chip foundry revenue is set to extend record growth in 3Q, driven by rising production of next-generation AI and high-performance computing chips, seasonal smartphone introductions and concerns over tighter mature-node capacity, TrendForce says. The world's top 10 foundries posted combined revenue of $53.5 billion in 2Q, up 11.5% sequentially. TSMC retains its dominance with a 72.5% market share, while Chinese chip maker SMIC narrowed the gap with Samsung after 2Q revenue surged 20% to more than $3 billion. SMIC's share rose to 5.4% from 5.0%, approaching Samsung's 5.9%, as demand strengthened for AI peripheral chips, server networking products and consumer electronics. Samsung's revenue rose 1.8%, but its market share slipped as rivals expanded at a faster clip, TrendForce says. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0933 GMT - Rightmove's investment into AI is seen more as a tech catch-up than a proactive reinvestment, Stifel analyst Clement Genelot says in a note. The property portal appears burdened by time-consuming cloud migrations and legacy system overhauls, it has lagged behind its primary rival Scout24 in AI product rollouts and faces years without incremental AI revenue, leaving it scrambling simply to keep pace, Genelot says. Its new long-term plan has deliberately set a low bar as it assumes it won't make any extra money from new AI features between 2026 and 2028 beyond what's already included in existing subscription packages, he says. Stifel initiates cover with a sell rating and a 356 pence target price. Shares are down 4.5% at 469.70 pence. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

0921 GMT - Artificial intelligence should transform the European digital classifieds sector, rather than eliminate it, Stifel's Clement Genelot writes in a note. While European digital classifieds have been the market's most reliable performer in terms of growth for a decade, the sector has lost more than 40% of its market value since mid-2025, Genelot says. The decline is barely due to the earnings, he notes. Instead, investors have stopped believing in a gatekeeper model in an AI world, he says. That verdict is too broad, he adds, noting that debate on AI is still open. Large-language models that support AI still account for less than 0.5% of portal traffic and have so far opted for partnership over disruption, he says. However, there is a real risk of competition from new AI-native players. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0846 GMT - Liquid-crystal display panel prices are expected to remain broadly stable in the coming months as manufacturers maintain tight output controls despite sluggish end-market demand, according to a Morgan Stanley report. TV, monitor and laptop panel prices are forecast to stay flat on month in September, supported by seasonal restocking ahead of year-end promotions and planned maintenance shutdowns in China, the report says. While MS expects average TV panel prices to decline by a low-single-digit percentage in 3Q, it sees downside limited by disciplined industry supply management. The bank says demand for IT panels softened in 2H after earlier restocking, but producers facing cost pressures are reluctant to offer further price concessions.(sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0823 GMT - Novartis's stock selloff on the failure of a neuromuscular drug in a clinical trial looks overdone and upcoming study results could be more positive for the Swiss drugmaker, Citi analysts say in a research note. The company reiterated its 2025-2030 outlook and trial setbacks for experimental neuromuscular and heart drugs del-desiran and pelacarsen are partially mitigated by the success of its remibrutinib medicine in a multiple sclerosis study, the analysts say. Full data for the MS study and results from another trial for the same drug in skin condition hidradenitis suppurativa could play in Novartis's favor, they add. Citi cuts its target price on Novartis stock to 135 Swiss francs from 142 francs. Shares fall 1.1% to 110.54 francs, after closing 11% lower Tuesday. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0821 GMT - China's export strength has proven to be a "double-edged sword" for China's economy, according to BofA Securities in a research note. "On the one hand, robust external demand has provided a critical buffer against weak domestic demand, helping keep overall growth on track to meet the lower bound of the government's 4.5% growth target," the bank says. However, persistently strong export performance, has reduced the urgency for policymakers to deliver additional easing measures, BofA says. Policymakers has refrained from announcing fresh stimulus at the July Politburo meeting, opting instead to emphasize more effective implementation of existing policies, they say. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0801 GMT - Novartis's latest clinical-trial setback raises questions about the Swiss drugmaker's acquisition track record and leaves a sales hole to be plugged in the early 2030s, Deutsche Bank's Emmanuel Papadakis says in a research note. News that drug candidate del-desiran missed the target of a late-stage study in rare neuromuscular disorder known as myotonic dystrophy type 1 came shortly after cardiovascular drug pelacarsen failed another trial. Del-desiran was the first proof point for the recent $12 billion Avidity acquisition, the analyst says. Moreover, it leaves a hole to be addressed in the early 2030s when big drugs like Cosentyx, Kisqali and Kesimpta lose patent protection, he adds. Deutsche Bank cuts its recommendation on Novartis stock to hold from buy and trims its target price to 120 Swiss francs from 140 francs. Shares fall 0.8% to 110.86 francs. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0751 GMT - China Unicom (Hong Kong)'s move to suspend dividends in 1H was an unpleasant surprise to DBS Group Research analysts, but they note this is likely to be a one-off occurrence. The board didn't declare an interim dividend in 1H, a surprise given that the stock is largely held for its yield, the analysts say in a note. The management attributed the suspension to frontloaded capital expenditure. While the analysts cut their 2026-2028 earnings estimates by 6.2%-11% on value-added tax's effects, they retain their projection of a more than 65% dividend payout ratio, which implies a 7.9% yield. DBS cuts its target price to 8.00 Hong Kong dollars from HK$8.70 and maintains its buy rating. Shares rise 0.7% to HK$5.775.