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

0208 GMT - The Delhi High Court's appointment of a forensic auditor to trace alleged asset dissipation linked to former Fortis promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh is likely to have minimal impact on IHH Healthcare, says CIMB Securities analyst Chun Sung Oong in a note. However, the development could prolong legal proceedings and delay IHH's mandatory takeover offer for an additional 26% of Fortis Healthcare, he says. Fortis shareholders acceptance is also likely to remain limited as Fortis is trading well above the original INR170/share offer price, he reckons. IHH could explore alternative routes to raise its effective Fortis stake, including a potential share swap involving Gleneagles India, he says. CIMB has a buy rating and 10.30 ringgit target price on IHGH, which is down 0.5% at 8.11 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0147 GMT - Elevated oil prices, with a 1H 2027 forecast of $80/bbl, should support Petronas' earnings and potentially lift domestic offshore capital expenditure, CIMB Securities analyst Muhammad Afif Bin Zulkaplly says in a note. Sustained prices could improve upstream project economics, encourage higher development spending, while greater cash-flow visibility may prompt operators to resume deferred brownfield and asset-integrity work, he says. Maintenance activity could therefore strengthen as oil prices stabilize, he adds. CIMB pegs Dayang Enterprise and MISC as top picks for their exposure to domestic capital expenditure and large-cap exposure, respectively. It keeps an overweight rating on Malaysia's oil and gas sector. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0125 GMT - SK Innovation could get an earnings boost from its resilient refinery margins and a ramp-up of its energy storage system business, Daiwa Capital's Hen Jung and Yoonki Base say. The South Korean energy company's oil-refining business remains strong, as Middle East conflicts keep both crude prices and refining margins elevated, the analysts note. Its battery subsidiary, SKI On, is on track for a profit turnaround after the parent completed restructuring of its battery and materials businesses, they say, citing a recent deal to supply 9GWh of ESC battery cells in the U.S. Daiwa raises its 2026-2028 EPOS forecasts for SKI Innovation by 11%-67%. It raises the stock's rating to buy from hold and its target to 220,000 won from 120,000 won. Shares were last at 134,100 won.(kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

0117 GMT - Prevailing geopolitical and global macroeconomic challenges could cap the Malaysian equity market's upside, RHB IB analyst Alexander Chia says in a note. However, resilient corporate earnings and robust liquidity should provide support, keeping the market rangebound, he says. Portfolio management should remain anchored on a defensive footing as inflationary pressures push global interest rates towards a more hawkish trajectory, he says. Chia keeps his end-2026 KLCI target at 1750, and remains overweight on plantations, energy, oil and gas, property, construction, basic materials, technology, healthcare and transport. Continued rotational interest in laggard stocks and sectors is expected as investors maintain a trading-oriented approach, he adds. The KLCI is flat at 1701.19. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0014 GMT - Japanese stocks are lower in early trade as concerns over the Iran war and higher energy costs continue. Chip-related stocks are leading the declines. SoftBank Group is down 4.1%, Advantest is 4.0% lower and Tokyo Electron Ltd. is down 4.5%. The dollar is at 160.19 yen, compared with Y159.94 as of Tuesday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching crude oil prices and developments in the Middle East after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire Tuesday. The Nikkei Stock Average is down 2.2% at 64742.17. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)

0002 GMT - Coal port owner Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure is upgraded by Morgans to accumulate from hold, after its stock fell around 15% from the June high. Analyst Nathan Lead expects DBI to pay out a dividend of 28.6 Australian cents per share in FY27, in quarterly installments. Morgans also notes that DBI's Ebitda growth is underpinned by CPI-linked base charges and incremental earnings on commissioned NECAP projects--categorized as non-expansionary capital expenditure. "DBI may appeal to investors seeking dependable and growing yield and defensive elements for their portfolio," Morgans says. DBI ended Tuesday at A$5.13, below Morgans' A$5.47/share price target. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2351 GMT - The latest crop report by Australian government forecaster Abares is positive and likely to lead to consensus upgrades for GrainCorp, says Bell Potter. Abares raised its east-coast forecast by 2.8 million tons, or 12%. It cited improved conditions, especially in the southeast. Analyst Jonathan Snape highlights GrainCorp's margin backdrop. He says grain and oilseed crush margins look to be the strongest in three years. "To us this is key, as consensus FY27 expectations (which this crop estimate underwrites) looks to be carrying forward the margin environment of FY25-26, which was materially weaker," Bell Potter says. "This implies that there is both volume and margin upside potential within consensus FY27e expectations." Bell Potter raises its price target by 21% to A$7.15/share. GrainCorp was last A$6.26. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2341 GMT - Japanese stocks may fall as concerns over the Iran conflict and higher energy costs persist. Nikkei futures are down 2.0% at 64830 on the SGX. The dollar is at 160.20 yen, compared with Y159.94 as of Tuesday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are focusing on developments in the Middle East and crude oil prices after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire Tuesday. The Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.1% to 66215.34 on Tuesday. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com)

2317 GMT - Australian mining and metals companies on the whole reported solid earnings--their highest in five years, says RBC Capital Markets. Gold and lithium producers posted record profits while higher copper prices increased earnings for Sandfire and diversified miners BHP, Rio Tinto and South32, the broker says following the recent reporting season. It says dividends for the sector came in 13% above expectations, underpinned by dividend reinstatements. "However, the sting in the tail for the metals and mining sector is higher FY27 cost guidance particularly for the gold and iron ore producers," it says. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

2239 GMT [Dow Jones]--Vista Group International's bull at Ord Minnett is upbeat about the improving health of the movie-theater industry and names four longer-term potential revenue drivers beyond the rollout of the company's Vista Cloud product. "Vista's reliance on cinema industry health will increase materially as its cloud transition rolls out," says analyst Paul Graham. "This is turning from a headwind to potentially a growth driver going forward for Vista." The movie slate for 2026 looks good and the industry is investing. Ord Minnett says the quartet of drivers after Vista Cloud could deliver double-digit revenue growth and greater earnings growth from 2030. It lists them as Vista Payments, monetization of its data pool in advertising and media, agentic AI booking, and family entertainment centers. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

MongoDB says it's maintaining its prudent approach to guidance after an analyst on its earnings call points out that its forecast for the rest of the year implies a slowdown in growth for its Atlas offering in the fourth quarter. "We are always going to be prudent about it," CEO CJ Desai says. "For Q4 specifically, it is still in consumption dynamics. That is still ways away from our perspective," he says, noting the company needs to see how things play out in the rest of the third quarter. "I am optimistic on what I'm seeing, both from the core cohort perspective on Atlas, as well as what we are seeing on the AI native side," he says. CFO Mike Berry also says that the recent strength of Atlas has been widespread across industries, and not concentrated in a single customer. Additionally, the growth of the company's enterprise advanced business is not coming at the expense of Atlas, Berry says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

2236 GMT - NRW Holdings's contract extension for the Karara iron ore mine helps to reduce risk around the stock, although not by enough for Jefferies to turn bullish. The contract will now run for five more years to February 2032. It's valued at A$960 million. Jefferies estimates this represents a step-up in annual average revenue to A$192 million, from A$160 million. "This is one of two large mining contracts on which we have been awaiting some form of extension, the other being Curragh," says analyst John Campbell. "Whilst we were confident on roll-over for Karara, nonetheless, we see this as a de-risking event." NRW ended Tuesday at A$7.82, just above Jefferies's A$7.60/share price target. It retains a "hold" call on the stock.