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

1315 ET - Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack sees certain financial-stability risks inherent in the rise of private credit. Speaking at Columbia University in New York City, Hammack notes a few channels. BDCs often welcome retail investors, so big downturns in their performance could hit individuals quite directly, Hammack says. She also observes that the opacity of private-credit markets can make vulnerabilities hard to see in advance. Because private credit is a growing strategy for pensions and life insurers, big drops in the sector could hit those firms and reverberate through the people who depend on them for retirement stability. She further cites concerns over some banks' exposure to private credit. (matt.grossman@wsj.com; @mattgrossman)

1252 ET - Most of Europe's top stock indexes close lower, with carmakers among the biggest losers, after President Trump floated 25% tariffs on the European Union. The Stoxx Europe 600 index falls 0.5%, having closed at a record high Wednesday. Italy's FTSE MIB sheds 1.5%, Germany's DAX ends the session 1.1% lower and France's CAC 40 is down 0.5%. Meanwhile, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gains 0.3%. "European markets looked glum with shares in car makers and luxury goods brands lower, along with tequila maker Diageo," AJ Bell's Danni Hewson says in a market comment. BMW closes 3.8% lower, Porsche is down 3.6% and Mercedes-Benz falls 2.4%. Ferrari plunges 7.9%, hit by news that top shareholder Exor is cutting its stake. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

1250 ET - The slide in AppLovin's shares in response to short seller reports this week could be a good opportunity for investors to scoop up the stock at a low price, Bank of America analysts say. Shares are down 26% over the past five days, but profit margins and long-term growth still exceed competitors by a mile, analysts say. AppLovin's CEO in a statement and blog post refuted the fraud claims made by short sellers. The analysts expect the lower stock price to dissipate as financial strength is expected to continue. "It stands on the precipice of transforming the mobile game industry into a new e-commerce advertising medium." (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1237 ET - Starbucks is laying off 1,100 corporate workers as it seeks to reduce management layers and operate more efficiently, with many of those workers in its home state of Washington. Starbucks said in a letter to the state's unemployment division that 612 of the layoffs are workers based in its Seattle headquarters or remote employees who report there, according to a records request. Those layoffs will begin to occur on May 2, with another tranche 13 days after, according to the notice. Starbucks shares are up 26% so far this year. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)

1219 ET - Salesforce's artificial intelligence product Agentforce is driving some momentum -- though gradual -- across the rest of the customer relationship management company, Stifel analysts say. Non-AI components of the business have a "halo effect" from Agentforce, which launched in October and automates tasks when given prompts, the analysts say. Management set modest expectations for Agentforce revenue in the current year, but expects momentum to pick up and become a bigger sales driver in 2027. Stifel analysts said the roughly 6% stock dip after the bell Wednesday was an overreaction, and the stock recovered some Thursday morning, down 2.3% to $300.24. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1212 ET - Consumers are willing to spend on experiences and entertainment, Six Flags Entertainment CEO Richard Zimmerman says on a call with analysts. "Heading into the 2025 season, early trends indicate consumer demand remains strong," he says, in part citing attendance up 2% in the first two months of the year. Sales of season pass units are up 3%, though he notes that both figures represent a limited sample size. "At this time, we believe the general economic environment for our consumers remains healthy," Zimmerman says. Shares fall 3.2% after the amusement part operator widens its loss in 4Q. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

1158 ET - Beacon Roofing Supply sees the often forgotten components that make up construction projects being most impacted by tariffs. Screws, nails and fasteners - the components that hold buildings together -- are cheap and in abundance but also directly in the crosshairs of any duties placed on critical construction components such as steel, aluminum and lumber, says CEO Julian Francis. "Obviously, it'll be a bit of a pass-through for us, but it does mean that inflation is likely to impact the construction industry in a meaningful way, but mostly on the new construction side," Francis says. (denny.jacob@wsj.com; @pennedbyden)

1142 ET - The EU's merger enforcer wants to be "boringly predictable" in its investigations of multi-billion euro deals, says Olivier Guersent, director general of the bloc's competition regulator. His comments come as regulators in the EU and U.K. face pressure to adjust how they enforce their rules to encourage investment and let homegrown companies grow into strong global competitors. The regulator is looking at whether a deal could enable two merging companies to innovate in ways they couldn't otherwise, he says. Guersent says the European Commission has been at the forefront of considering how a deal could remove the incentive or ability to innovate, but has less experience looking at innovation opportunities as a mitigating factor. "We will look at it," he says.(edith.hancock@wsj.com)

1115 ET - Hostess is causing more headaches for its new owner, J.M. Smucker. The Ohio-based food giant says that it took two impairment charges tied to the business totaling more than $1 billion. Sales in Smucker's sweet-baked-goods unit, which includes Hostess, fell 7% in the company's latest quarter, which CEO Mark Smucker said reflected execution challenges and a more cautious consumer. Smucker said the rise of new weight-loss drugs aren't having a material impact on Hostess sales and pointed to challenges for convenience stores. "Gas prices have been elevated and so people are just having a bit less extra discretionary change in their pocket," Smucker said. (jesse.newman@wsj.com)

1049 ET - U.S. median home-sale prices grew 3.5% year over year in the four weeks ending Feb. 23, the smallest rise since September, according to Redfin. Mortgage rates fell to 6.78% from 7.13% in two weeks, boosting buyer power amid a slowing economy and recession fears. With 4.6 months of supply--up from 4 last year--buyers are negotiating better deals, with homes selling 2% below asking. Despite lower rates and slower price growth, pending sales dropped 6.2%, and monthly payments remain near record highs. But home tours are up, hinting at potential sales if rates keep dipping. Redfin says its agents are urging buyers to act fast, as rates could climb past 7% amid uncertainty, and new listings rose only 2.4%, the smallest gain in a month, suggesting supply may soon tighten. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

1039 ET - Florida's housing market hit a record high in January, with 172,200 homes for sale, up 22.7% from last year, according to Redfin. The surge stems from increased homebuilding and rising natural disaster risks, driving up insurance costs and pushing some homeowners to leave. With buyer demand cooling--pending sales dropped 9.3% year over year--homes are lingering on the market, especially condos, where inventory reached an all-time high due to soaring HOA fees from new structural regulations. Single-family home inventory is also near its peak. Active listings rose 19.4% to 212,437, with eight metro areas hitting records, five of which are on the coast. Redfin agents are calling it a buyer's market, urging sellers to offer concessions and maintain pristine properties as prices dip in some areas. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

1029 ET - Nvidia's gaming business weakened in 4Q while its auto business improved. Gaming revenue declining 22% from last quarter and 11% year-over-year to $2.5 billion, though management expects the segment to return to sequential growth in 1Q as supply improves, Raymond James analysts Srini Pajjuri and Grant Li say in a research note. Auto revenue meanwhile grew 27% from last quarter, and doubled year-over-year, to $570 million as self-driving vehicle products continue to ramp up, the analysts say. Nvidia's high-performance visual computing business grew 5% from last quarter to $511 million, in line with the consensus estimate of analysts, they say. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2025 13:16 ET (18:16 GMT)

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