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

1047 ET - The large European banks with exposure to the European automotive industry will likely be able to absorb potential additional credit losses in the sector, S&P Global Ratings says in a report. Lenders including Commerzbank, CaixaBank, Erste Group Bank and UniCredit should be able to manage potential loan losses as carmakers face weak demand, competition from China and a tough electric-vehicle transition, amid the looming threat of U.S. tariffs and stricter European environmental regulation, analysts write. "Potential spillovers from a further deterioration in the car sector pose a downside risk to the asset quality of banks in Germany, Sweden, and Central and Eastern Europe, where the car industry contributes significantly to GDP and employment," they note. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

1011 ET - Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos, is now looking to launch its New Glenn rocket within a three-hour window starting 1 a.m. ET Jan. 16. The flight date for the inaugural launch for the massive, two-stage vehicle has been shifting over the last few days, as the company assesses weather and technical issues. On Monday evening, Blue Origin said in a post on X it decided not to try to blast off the rocket much earlier in the day because ice formed on a purge line used on a power unit on the rocket. It briefly considered trying to conduct the launch early Tuesday, too. Blue Origin has been developing New Glenn for nearly a decade, and aims to use the rocket for a range of satellite missions and a future NASA lunar operation involving agency astronauts. (micah.maidenberg@wsj.com; @MicahMaidenberg)

1000 ET - Cellnex could start its shareholder-return plan sooner than anticipated, RBC Capital Markets analysts Bora Lee and Jonathan Atkin write in a note. "Management is evaluating potentially starting its shareholder return plan in 2025 vs. the originally planned 2026, and is in discussions with the ratings agencies around timing and sizing," the analysts say. Additionally, the Spanish telecom-infrastructure company will likely use some of the proceeds from the Ireland and Austria disposals to pay down interest on debts, they say. Shares are up 0.1% at 28.76 euros. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0921 ET - Investors see a good base case for European banks this year but are waiting for more certainty to add to their existing positions in the near term, UBS says in a research note after meeting with U.S. and Canadian investors. "Attractive valuations aside, with potentially more clarity on several big issues just around the corner, it seems good portfolio and career management to wait before adding bank exposure," analysts write. Demand for shares should be muted ahead of reassuring earnings, they say. Banks are cheap at a 20% discount to previous price-to-earnings ratios, considering interest-rate cuts should be mostly over by the end of 2025, analysts say. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

0856 ET - Aurora Cannabis shares will likely move today on the US move to pause cannabis rescheduling, but TD Cowen's Derek Lessard says he thinks this won't be a big issue in the long-term. The analyst says in a report that Canadian cannabis stocks have historically reacted to US news and thinks today will be no different. However, he says that Aurora has no cannabis operations in the country, and what's more, he says that the opening of the US market is not necessary for the company's growth, as things stand currently. "Aurora currently has no cannabis operations in the US and [has] no plans to enter that market in the near-term," Lessard says, adding that Aurora has a dominant position in existing medical cannabis markets in Canada, Australia, and Germany. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0825 ET - Cogeco Communications' new subscriber additions in Canada helped the slight beat in F1Q, but Ohio additions may soon make the bigger difference. TD Cowen's Vince Valentini says consolidated Ebitda was ahead of TD's estimates and consensus forecasts largely due to better-than-expected internet subscriber adds in Canada thanks to network expansion projects. The big question will be in the US, where the Canadian telecom company "displayed improved customer management in Ohio, marking its best quarter since the business was acquired with internet service subscriber net losses of only 825 versus 2,704 in the previous quarter." Valentini says "we remain cautiously optimistic on improved internet subscriber metrics in Ohio." (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0819 ET - Sage Therapeutics is unlikely to accept Biogen's $7.22-a-share buyout bid, say analysts at Mizuho, who note the proposal implies a negative enterprise value for the biopharmaceutical company. In a research note, Mizuho's Uy Ear and Leo Watson say Biogen's bid came as a surprise to Sage's management, which believes the company is worth significantly more. Mizuho says Sage thinks Zurzuvae has "blockbuster plus" potential in postpartum depression and that there is significant value in its pipeline, including SAGE-319, which it is testing in various neurodevelopmental disorders. Sage up 1.3% to $7.60 premarket, above Biogen's takeout bid. Sage surged 35% on Monday. (colin.kellaher@wsj.com)

0815 ET - Gamma Communications has continued to move forward despite a challenging environment, Peel Hunt analysts write in a note. The U.K. telecommunications-services provider's strong cash generation provides multiple opportunities, the analysts say. While the company could launch a share buyback to boost its shares, it seems that it would rather pursue M&A, they add. "Gamma is firmly back on the upgrade track, and the acquisition of German IP telephony solutions provider Starface positions it as a clear market leader in the German small- and medium-sized enterprises sector," the U.K. brokerage says. Shares are down 0.7% at 1,398 pence. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0811 ET - Jim Snee is planning to retire from Hormel at the end of the year after spending the past eight years trying to grow the Minnesota company's portfolio of packaged meats and snacks. Snee, a company veteran that joined Hormel--made famous by supplying Spam to U.S. troops during World War II--in 1989, took over as CEO in 2016 from Jeffrey Ettinger and continued his vision of pushing the company beyond its pork and turkey processing businesses and into foods with more stable profit margins. Snee acquired Planters from Kraft for about $3 billion during his tenure but the company has struggled with a volatile pork market and supply chain disruptions following the pandemic. Hormel's stock is down about 5% over the past 12 months. Shares of the company tick up 1% premarket. (patrick.thomas@wsj.com)

0801 ET - Cogeco Communications' strong cost control helped offset the weight of a challenging quarter. In a Desjardins report, Jerome Dubreuil says a big drag was in the US where revenue declined 3% in constant currency as the company continues to face headwinds from "cord-cutting and strong competition from fixed wireless access and other high-speed deployments." Dubreuil says that while the top line was challenged, the company was able to "reap the benefits of solid cost control to deliver a good quarter." He points to free cash flow of C$149 million that beat expectations of C$119 million, thanks partly to a non-recurring sale-leaseback transaction. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0756 ET - Oil prices are broadly unchanged in midday trade as the impact of U.S. sanctions on the Russian energy sector remains in focus. Brent crude is down 0.5% to $80.64 a barrel, while WTI falls 0.3% to $78.57 a barrel after both benchmarks soared to multi-month highs in the previous session. "We suspect that the latest jump in prices, driven by tighter U.S. sanctions on Russian oil, should start to unwind as trade is rerouted over time," says Olivia Cross, commodities economist at Capital Economics. Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Israel and Hamas are finalizing the terms of a ceasefire deal that could be announced as soon as Tuesday--a move that could put some downward pressure on prices. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0751 ET - Last year was the costliest ever for weather-related losses in Canadian history at roughly C$8.5 billion, the Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates. It's the first time ever that insured damage caused by severe weather topped C$8 billion, shattering the previous record of C$6 billion from 2016. Bureau President Celyeste Power notes that in addition to financial losses, the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Canadians were upended last year. The insured losses stem from wildfires, floods and hailstorms. In just July and August alone, four catastrophic weather events caused more than C$7 billion in insured losses and more than a quarter million claims, 50% more than Canada's insurers typically get in an entire year. (robb.stewart@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 14, 2025 10:47 ET (15:47 GMT)

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