The latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0320 GMT - Tenaga Nasional's earnings could be boosted by data center expansion in Malaysia and improving operational efficiency at its power generation unit GenCo, Kenanga IB analyst Teh Kian Yeong says in a note. The utilities giant could benefit from continued demand growth, supported by 700MW of new data centers capacity this year, he notes. It is estimated that by 2035 data centers could account for 20% of Malaysia's total electricity generation capacity, Teh notes and raises Tenaga's 2025 earnings estimates by 2.5%. Kenanga raises Tenaga's target price to MYR17.20 from MYR17.00, while maintaining an outperform rating on the stock. Shares are 0.6% higher at MYR13.68.(yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0038 GMT - Oil rises, boosted by lingering U.S.-Ukraine tensions that could sustain global supply disruptions by keeping sanctions on Russia's oil sector. While Ukrainian President Zelensky took half steps over the weekend to repair the damage done in Friday's meeting with U.S. President Trump, there appears to be a difficult road ahead for a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal. Also, the introduction of U.S. tariffs on oil imports from Canada and Mexico, scheduled for Tuesday, could provide an additional boost, at least to U.S. product prices, Commerzbank Research analysts say in a note. Front-month WTI crude oil futures are 0.7% higher at $70.22/bbl; front-month Brent crude oil futures are 0.7% higher at $73.31/bbl. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

2213 GMT - TPG Telecom's accelerating decline in post-paid mobile subscribers keeps Goldman Sachs analysts bearish on the stock. They are positive on what they say was strong cash generation across 2024, but tell clients in a note that the Australian company's weak 2H post-paid performance is a concern. It looks especially bad given that it came at a time when rivals had lifted their prices, the analysts add. Goldman Sachs keeps a sell rating and A$4.20 target price on the stock, which is at A$4.63 ahead of the open. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2140 GMT - Strike Energy may have plenty of potential but Wilsons wants more clarity on the strategic direction of the company. In particular, Wilsons has become less bullish about the near-term output of Strike's Walyering gas plant. Analyst James Karakatsanis now expects flat production from Walyering, having previously forecast it to rise. "We think it is prudent to gauge new management (interim and incoming) before taking a view of the productive capabilities of the Walyering gas plant," says Wilsons, which rates Strike a buy. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 03, 2025 04:20 ET (09:20 GMT)

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