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

2101 ET - Investor feedback suggests iron-ore prices have been resilient, says Morgan Stanley. But it doesn't necessarily agree. "Headline CFR [cost and freight] iron-ore prices are being supported by higher freight, giving an impression of higher netback prices for the iron ore miners, which are in fact significantly lower" on-year, MS says. Fortescue and Mineral Resources are most impacted when factoring in current iron-ore prices and freight rates, it says. MS isn't upbeat on the outlook for iron-ore prices, either. "We expect iron ore to weaken into 2H, and see little reason for the market to be excited about iron ore at present," it says. MS forecasts benchmark iron ore at $92/metric ton in 4Q. The spot price is $100.05/ton, according to S&P Global Energy. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

2026 ET - CTF Services is expected to report broadly flattish FY2026 attributable operating profit when it announces results later this month, Citi analyst Timothy Chau says. Financial-services growth is offset by weaker contributions from logistics and construction, he says in a note. CTFS shares have weakened on sentiment surrounding CTF Life's Hong Kong insurance business, amid fears that Beijing's outbound investment curbs could deter Mainland Chinese visitors. Citi cuts its target price to 10.30 Hong Kong dollars from HK$10.90 after lowering its 2026-2028 estimates for attributable operating profit. The bank maintains a buy rating on the stock. Shares closed 0.5% lower at HK$8.02 on Monday. (venkat.pr@wsj.com)

2010 ET - Japanese stocks are lower as uncertainty over the Middle East conflict and the Fed policy persists. Electronics, machinery and auto shares are leading declines. Murata Manufacturing is down 4.1%, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is 2.5% lower and Toyota Motor is down 2.3%. The dollar is at 153.80 yen, down from Y155.69 as of Monday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are closely watching crude oil prices and bond yields as well as any developments in the Iran war. The Nikkei Stock Average is down 0.6% at 66019.90. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com; @kosakunarioka)

1945 ET - Japanese stocks may decline as uncertainty over the Middle East conflict and the Fed policy continues. Nikkei futures are down 0.9% at 65860 on the SGX. The dollar is at 153.96 yen, down from Y155.69 as of Monday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are focusing on crude oil prices and bond yields as well as any developments in the Iran war. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 2.1% to 66399.84 on Monday. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com)

1924 ET - Australian stocks are set to begin trading a tad lower, with ASX futures down by 0.1% ahead of Tuesday's open. The S&P/ASX 200 has been lacking direction with U.S. investors on break for Labor Day. The benchmark index closed 0.1% higher Monday. Shares including BlueScope Steel, Mineral Resources, News Corp and Regis Healthcare will trade ex-dividend. After Monday's close, Santos said it has agreed to buy an additional 3.3% interest in Papua LNG from TotalEnergies. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

1901 ET - U.K. retail sales had a disappointing end to the summer season, as consumer demand cooled off in August, according to a report from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG. For the period from Aug. 2-29, total retail sales in the U.K. rose 0.7% on year, according to the data. "With the cost of households bills rising, and set to rise further, many shoppers have clearly been tightening their belts," BRC's Harvir Dhillon says. Retailers' focus is now on the back-to-school period, with planning for the final quarter of the year and the lead-in to Black Friday month under way, the report says. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)

1852 ET - While currency exchange rates are a potential headwind to Megaport, Citi views the cloud connectivity provider's FY27 guidance as conservative. Megaport has guided to a A$305 million-A$405 million range for FY27 revenue from its Latitude.sh acquisition, Citi says. This wide range has ledinvestors to question whether strategic contracts are delayed. "We see the guidance as conservative especially when considering that closing FY26 annualized recurring revenue included A$14 million from the strategic contracts (which is ahead of schedule)," analyst Siraj Ahmed says. So, the guidance range is likely to be about providing flexibility for potential procurement or deployment delays, Citi says. It forecasts Latitude revenue of A$370 million. Citi retains a buy call on Megaport, and raises its price target by 11% to A$24.60/share. Megaport ended Monday at A$17.13. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1840 ET - Forsyth Barr is upbeat about Serko's fledgling Serko.ai product. Serko.ai is a multi-agent AI travel assistant that allows users to plan, book, and manage travel via a natural-language interface. "We exited the demonstration with increased confidence in both the product's delivery timeline and the quality of its user experience," says analyst James Lindsay. Serko did a closed beta launch of the product in the U.S. in May, and a broader U.S. open beta is on track for 3Q27. Serko plans to initially target low-complexity U.S. small-to-medium-sized businesses, Forsyth Barr says. "While the commercial model remains under development, we understand that a percentage-of-booking-value checkout fee is the likely initial approach, with potential for seat-based licensing as the product evolves," says Forsyth Barr, which rates Serko at outperform. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1835 ET - Ingenia Communities's decision to reject a takeover proposal by Warburg Pincus prompts Citi to assess what its shares could be worth for a deal to happen. Warburg Pincus has offered A$4.75/share in cash, conditional on Ingenia ending plans to acquire Australia-listed Peet. Citi analyst Suraj Nebhani estimates a potential takeover price range of A$6.52-A$6.78/share. The key driver of this is the valuation applied to Ingenia's land lease development pipeline of 8,800 homes at end-June, Citi says. "While we view the takeover offer as a positive surprise, we have previously flagged strong value upside potential in Ingenia's land lease business, especially with strong fundamentals and increasing global capital looking to gain exposure to this asset class given the positive return profile," Citi says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1827 ET - Santos's purchase of an additional 3.3% stake in Papua LNG from TotalEnergies looks attractive to its bull at Citi. This interest comes at a 50% discount to the bank's valuation. Santos will have a 21% stake in Papua LNG once Papua New Guinea buys into the project. Analyst Tom Wallington notes the transaction hinges on regulatory approvals and a final investment decision. Citi expects FID to happen later this year. "While the increased share increases Santos's Papua equity contribution by US$300 million, we view this favorably," Citi says. That reflects the project's strong internal rate of return of 15%, assuming oil prices average $65 over the long term. Papua LNG is also a good strategic fit and there's potential to make further operating savings under a simplified ownership and operatorship structure, Citi says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1819 ET - Citi is somewhat surprised by Wildcat Infrastructure's engagement with military shipbuilder Austal, which has been weighing a bid by South Korea's Hanwha for its U.S. operations. "From a transaction perspective, Hanwha's effective 19.9% stake (including swap) may represent a significant hurdle to any competing proposal," says analyst Sam Teeger. Still, it's unclear whether Hanwha can vote on a possible Wildcat-led transaction, he adds. Austal yesterday said it held a preliminary discussion with Wildcat, but hasn't received a proposal. Citi expects Hanwha to be the more logical buyer. "If the U.S. administration's objective is to accelerate naval shipbuilding capacity, Hanwha's extensive shipbuilding expertise appears an advantage, albeit with the caveat that its defense experience has largely been in Korea rather than U.S.," Citi says. It has a buy call on Austal. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1035 ET - AstraZeneca is opening a new treatment paradigm in breast cancer with its Etcamah drug, which just got the green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferies analysts say. This is arguably one of the most important approvals in breast cancer of the recent past, the analysts say. The FDA is validating an entire new treatment paradigm based on intervention guided by testing to detect a mutation that makes tumors resistant to treatment, before observing the disease progress through X-ray scans, they add. While Etcamah's approval matters clinically, it is authorized for a subset of the overall breast-cancer patient population for now, limiting its commercial benefit, Jefferies says. Shares rise 0.5%.