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

0220 GMT - Premier Investments' bull at Macquarie sees little chance of the stock rerating until broader consumer pressures ease. The investment bank's analysts tell clients in a note that shares in the Australian retail conglomerate show value at just 4.1 times Ebit. However, they think the tough consumer environment created by high interest rates and elevated inflation probably needs to improve before the stock can deliver on that. For now, they reckon that the key issue for Premier is delivery on its turnaround plans for stationery chain Smiggle. The trading performance of the stores' new products will be more measurable from November, they add. Macquarie keeps an outperform rating on the stock with a target price of 15.70 Australian dollars. Shares are down 1.2% at A$11.81. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0212 GMT - Nomura Research Institute's earnings are likely to be supported by continued strength in information-technology services for the financial industry, including insurance, Jefferies's Hiroko Sato says in a note. Cybersecurity demand should also continue to support the company's IT infrastructure services, the analyst says. The Japanese consulting and IT services company's management has indicated that both the current-year guidance and medium-term targets are set conservatively, leaving scope for earnings outperformance over time, she says. Jefferies raises its target price on the stock to 6,150 yen from Y5,500 and maintains a buy rating. Shares are 0.3% higher at Y5,050. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)

0212 GMT - Premier Investments keeps its bull at UBS despite execution risks around the strategic reset of its chain of stationery stores. Maintaining a buy rating on the stock, analyst Shaun Cousins tells clients in a note that the retail conglomerate will implement its plan for Smiggle over the coming months, moving the chain's focus to the 6-12 year-old age group, from the 4-8 year-old cohort. Cousins sees potential difficulty in reestablishing the brand and building its credentials with the older children in its target group. He also warns of increased competition across existing and new product categories, as well as the challenging consumer backdrop. UBS has an unchanged target price on the stock of 16.50 Australian dollars. Shares are down 1.5% at A$11.77. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0205 GMT - Delivering new, large-scale copper supply will likely be more costly, slower and riskier than anticipated, says Jefferies. That justifies higher copper prices and reinforces the case for miners to buy copper growth, rather than building new mines, in some instances, it says. In a review of major projects, the bank found many failed to deliver the production volumes expected when a final investment decision was made. A "combination of capex inflation and production underperformance suggests that industry forecasts may systematically overestimate the amount of copper supply likely to be delivered from greenfield projects and underestimate the true incentive price to build new mines," Jefferies says. "The implications for copper supply are significant" and support premiums increasingly being assigned to some operating mines, brownfield expansions and "derisked" development assets, it says. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0138 GMT - Potentially higher edible oil demand from India might mitigate concerns over Malaysia's rising palm oil stockpiles, following lower Indian import duties that took effect Thursday, Maybank analyst Ong Chee Ting says in a note. Sunflower oil is expected to be the key beneficiary, as its import duty was reduced by 10 percentage points, compared with 5 percentage points for crude palm oil and soybean oil, he reckons. This could encourage higher sunflower oil imports and support overall edible oils demand ahead of Diwali, he says. The increase in Indian demand may provide some support to Malaysian CPO prices, which are currently around 4,400 ringgit-4,500 ringgit a ton, he adds. Maybank maintains a neutral rating on Southeast Asia's plantation sector, pegging Kuala Lumpur Kepong, Sarawak Oil Palms and Genting Plantations as top buys. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0122 GMT - Malaysia's plantation sector could face greater regulatory uncertainty rather than immediate earnings or land bank risk following Indonesia's passage of an agrarian reform law on Tuesday, CIMB Securities analyst Ivy Ng Lee Fang says in a note. The law introduces limits on land ownership and control by business and affiliated entities, with actual thresholds to be set later. Plantation companies holding cultivation rights might also be required to allocate at least 20% of relevant land for agrarian overhauls or provide equivalent profit sharing, she notes. The impact will depend on how the rules apply to existing landholdings, affiliates and the 20% provision, she says. SD Guthrie, Genting Plantations and Kuala Lumpur Kepong have the largest Indonesian exposure among Malaysian planters, she adds. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0020 GMT - Japanese stocks are higher, led by financial stocks following sharp gains in long-term U.S. Treasury yields overnight. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is up 2.5% and Mizuho Financial Group is 3.1% higher. The dollar is at 158.76 yen, compared with Y158.40 as of Thursday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are focusing on domestic bond yields and updates from the U.S.-China summit meeting. The Nikkei Stock Average is up 0.5% at 65836.62. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)

0003 GMT - Premier Investments keeps its bull at Bell Potter despite the prospect of a period of slow growth over the near to medium term. With an unchanged buy rating, analyst Chami Ratnapala keeps her forecasts largely unchanged following the Australian retail conglomerate's annual result announcement. She is waiting on positive signals from Premier's Smiggle stationery business following a brand refresh, and anticipates an earnings recovery in the second half of the current fiscal year. Ratnapala sees Premier's forward multiple as attractive given the strength of the company's retail operation, its equity investments, land bank, and cash position. Its strong balance sheet would support M&A, she adds. Bell Potter trims its target price by 6.1% to 15.50 Australian dollars. Shares are down 2.1% at A$11.70. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2356 GMT - IAG's bulls at Citi say the Australian insurer's settlement with Credit Suisse represents a welcomed end to a long-running stock overhang. With IAG saying the settlement won't have a material impact on its financial position of fiscal 2027 results, analysts at the investment bank tell clients in a note that the insurer appears to have resolved the issue for a relatively minimal amount. They welcome the announcement since the continuing legal case may have prevented some investors taking a position. Citi has a last-published buy rating on the stock and a target price of 8.80 Australian dollars. Shares are at A$7.80 ahead of the open. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2348 GMT - Tuas's bull at Citi is growing more confident that the Singapore-focused telco will keep its mobile license. Analyst Siraj Ahmed lowers the probability from 20% to 10% that Tuas's Simba subsidiary loses its license due to its unauthorized spectrum use. His base case remains that Simba will keep its license but pay some kind of penalty. Despite the possibility of a more adverse regulatory outcome, Ahmed keeps a buy/high risk rating on the stock. He lowers his revenue forecasts, telling clients in a note that recent slower-than-expected subscription growth is unsurprising given competition and regulators' attention. Citi lowers its target price on the stock by 12% to 2.95 Australian dollars. Shares are at A$1.79 ahead of the open. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2346 GMT - Japanese stocks might remain rangebound as uncertainty over the Iran conflict and the Federal Reserve's policy outlook continues. Nikkei futures are flat at 65460 on the SGX. The dollar is at 158.81 yen, compared with Y158.40 as of Thursday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching bond yields following gains in U.S. Treasury yields overnight due to rising expectations for further rate increases by the Fed. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.8% to 65513.99 on Thursday. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com)

2155 GMT - Australian stocks look set to fall again in early trading amid fighting in the Middle East that pushed U.S. Treasury yields to fresh multiyear highs. ASX futures are down by 0.3% ahead of Friday's open, suggesting that the S&P/ASX 200 will add to its 0.7% decline of the previous session. With economists and traders increasingly expecting global banks to keep raising interest rates, the Australian index is down by 4.1% in September. It is on track for a fourth weekly decline, which would be its worst such streak in 10 months. In the U.S., the DJIA fell 0.3%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed little changed.