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

0709 GMT - America's carmakers are still in line for major disruption from planned tariffs on imports, Capital Economics' Paul Ashworth says, even with the one-month stay of execution granted by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The reprieve came at the request of big beasts Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the White House said Wednesday, and applies to auto companies that comply with free-trade agreements with Canada and Mexico, the object of President Trump's much-trumpeted tariffs. But the industry remains at risk from the tariffs after that month, when European and Asian imports will also be liable for steep duties, Ashworth notes. Firms may be hoping the reprieve could be extended, he says. "Domestic manufacturers are only being offered a short temporary relief until Trump can bring the tariff hammer down on everyone else too," Ashworth says. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)

0705 GMT - Chinese artificial intelligence infrastructure stocks may benefit from DeepSeek's recent advancement in its large language model, HSBC Global Research analysts write in a note. DeepSeek's R1 model has demonstrated strong reasoning capabilities at a significantly lower cost, making AI models more accessible for complex enterprise AI productivity tools, they say. Additionally, multiple public companies and local government entities have announced plans to adopt DeepSeek's technologies, which could benefit all-in-one server providers and IDC players, including Sangfor and Shanghai Baosight Software, HSBC says.(jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0700 GMT - Nordic markets are expected to open higher, with IG calling the OMXS30 up 0.7% at around 2743. Following the U.S. withdrawal of European security guarantees, the German fiscal floodgates opened yesterday, SEB analysts say in a note. Germany will modify the constitutionally protected debt brake and set up an infrastructure and defense fund to free up space for increased defense spending. "The sums are colossal." As a result, the German 10-year government bond yield jumped by as much as 30 basis points. Elsewhere, President Trump exempted the auto industry from recently imposed 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico for one month. The ECB meeting today will see the central bank cut rates by 25 basis points to 2.5%, SEB adds. OMXS30 closed at 2723.99, OMXN40 at 2691.40 and OBX at 1404.76. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

0652 GMT - Investors are likely overlooking Jasa Marga (Persero)'s current free cash flow position, CGS International analysts say in a research report as they maintain the stock's add rating. The Indonesian company's estimated 2025-2027 free cash flow of IDR1.2 trillion-IDR5.1 trillion looks solid amid the government's declining infrastructure appetite, the analysts say. After considering factors including the company's latest interest-cost situation, the brokerage raises its 2025 and 2026 core EPS forecasts for the toll road operator by 6.8% and 8.6%, respectively. However, the brokerage lowers the target price to IDR5,250.00 from IDR6,350.00 to partly reflect new capital-expenditure forecasts. Shares are 6.1% higher at IDR3,840.00. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0639 GMT - Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.8% to close at 37704.93, tracking Wall Street's gains overnight after the White House announced a one-month tariff reprieve for auto imports from Mexico and Canada. "The decision to postpone these tariffs is seen as a short-term positive signal for the stock market, as it suggests that trade relations among the three countries are avoiding further strain," says Linh Tran, market analyst at XS.com, in an email. Among the best performers on the Nikkei, Makita climbed 12.5%, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rose 10.8%, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries added 7.3%. USD/JPY was at 148.88, compared with 149.59 as of Wednesday's Tokyo stock market close. The JGB 10-year yield was up 7.5bps at 1.515%. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0633 GMT - The use of AI in China's healthcare sector is nascent and expected to contribute up to only 2.5% of incremental revenue to the country's pharmaceutical and healthcare-services sector by 2028, HSBC Qianhai's Linda Shu says in a note. However, with major players like Tencent, Alibaba and JD.com entering the space, AI's impact is growing given its use in saving costs and addressing resource shortages, says the head of China healthcare research. In the near term, breakthroughs in medical imaging, diagnostics and hospital management could drive AI adoption, while in the long term, smart hospitals and personalized care may become mainstream, she says. Pharmaceutical companies, medical-device manufacturers and agile startups are well-positioned to capture market share by building AI-driven ecosystems and forging strategic partnerships, she adds. (monica.gupta@wsj.com)

0622 GMT - China's foreign-exchange reserves may have climbed to $3.232 trillion in February from January's $3.209 trillion, according to a poll of economists by The Wall Street Journal. The gain is likely supported by the improved performance of the Chinese yuan seen last month, surveyed economists say. The People's Bank of China will release the data Friday. (singaporeeditors@dowjones.com)

0548 GMT - The Reserve Bank of India's recent reduction in risk weights for Indian banks' lending to nonbanking financial institutions and the microfinance sector is unlikely to result in a rapid increase in bank funding for these segments, says Fitch Ratings in a note. The RBI's regulatory easing partly reversed a measure from November 2023, when risk weights were raised on bank and NBFI lending to unsecured retail credit and bank loans to NBFIs. The latest update retains risk weights on unsecured personal loans but exempts bank lending to microfinance borrowers from higher risk weights. RBI's move could alleviate some pressure on the NBFI and microfinance sectors, but banks are likely to maintain a cautious lending stance due to broader sector liquidity constraints and their focus on risk and funding costs, Fitch Ratings adds. (monica.gupta@wsj.com)

0535 GMT - Ultrajaya Milk Industry & Trading's higher marketing costs are likely to sustain volume growth, Nomura's Heng Siong Kong and Verdhana Sekuritas analysts say in a research report. The company increased its advertising and promotional spending in 2H 2024 to protect market share following average-selling-price hikes in mid-2024, the analysts say. The Indonesian company appears positive that the additional promotional program may comfort customers with new prices, so that it can stabilize volume growth in the long term. However, Nomura cuts its 2025 and 2026 net-profit-after-tax forecasts for the company by 15.6% and 11.1%, respectively, partly owing to higher A&P budget. It lowers the target price to IDR2,250.00 from IDR2,700.00 with unchanged buy rating. Shares last at IDR1,415.00. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0502 GMT - The Chinese government will likely need to introduce additional policy support later this year to meet its 5% GDP growth target, UBS analysts write in a note. The country continues to face domestic growth challenges and external uncertainties, particularly from higher tariffs, they add. UBS maintains its baseline GDP growth forecast at around 4%. They note how Beijing emphasized boosting consumption as its top policy priority at the NPC. The size of trade-in subsidies for consumer goods was doubled to CNY300 billion, in line with UBS's expectations. While Beijing has also called for more measures to stabilize the property market. The analysts highlight that policy design and execution will be crucial. UBS projects property sales and investment to decline by another 5% to 10% this year. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 06, 2025 02:09 ET (07:09 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.