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

1016 GMT - SAP investors will look for details on artificial-intelligence adoption, pricing and monetization when the group reports third-quarter results on Oct. 21, Bank of America analysts write in a note to clients. The German business-software group made several AI announcements at its SAP Connect event on Tuesday and confirmed that key capabilities across its AI portfolio will begin rolling out later in October, analysts say. While innovation continues at a rapid pace, they say SAP investors will want poof of AI adoption from clients, realized productivity benefits and evidence that the technology can contribute meaningfully to incremental growth over time. SAP shares trade 1% lower at 186.62 euros. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0956 GMT - Spanish energy major Repsol's strong update boasted record high refining margins but these have deteriorated into September and October, which could weigh on sentiment, RBC Capital Markets analyst Biraj Borkhataria writes. The third-quarter update suggests limited upgrades to consensus expectations, he adds. "We continue to see Repsol well placed relative to other refiners in Europe given its complexity and ability to adjust both crude and product slates to maximize margins," he says. Shares are up 0.2% to 28.83 euros. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

0951 GMT - Shares of European semiconductor companies are in the red following a selloff in Asian chip stocks. South Korea's SK Hynix closed 2.8% lower, while Samsung Electronics shed 1.3%. In Europe, shares of Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International are down 1.7% and 4.4%, respectively. BE Semiconductor Industries, the Dutch supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment, is down 8.2% following a stock rating downgrade from UBS. German chip maker Infineon Technologies stock loses 5%. STMicroelectronics shares are down 3.1%. Meanwhile, the E-mini Nasdaq 100 futures contract is 0.4% lower, pointing to a weak opening for tech stocks in the U.S. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0949 GMT - Informa's acquisition of Clarion Events adds scale, while the new strategic plan simplifies the investment case, BofA Securities' David Amira and Adrien de Saint Hilaire write. BofA says it is "unreservedly upbeat" on the Clarion acquisition and separation process of Taylor & Francis. The changes will leave Informa as a more "pure play" company, betting on the increasing value of events in an artificial intelligence world, the analysts write. The separation could also unlock value in Taylor & Francis to allow future shareholder returns, BofA notes. Informa is undervalued against its strong growth momentum and resilient track record, the analysts add. Shares are down 3.3%. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0934 GMT - Informa's plan to separate its academic markets business, Taylor & Francis, and buy Clarion Events is a strategic positive, Citi analysts write. The planned actions should create a higher growth business which will benefit from structural tailwinds, the analysts say. However, the outcome of the separation of Taylor & Francis remains the key unknown. Despite this, the potential long-term strategic benefits and better growth profile is more important than near-term boost, which Citi expects to be minimal. Citi increases its target share price to 11.95 pounds from 10.90 pounds and says the update reinforces its view that Informa will outperform the market. Shares are down 2.8% at 8.62 pounds. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0921 GMT - Ahold Delhaize is expected to miss consensus estimates for a key metric in the third quarter due to a more competitive U.S. landscape, UBS analysts Sreedhar Mahamkali and Angelo Mangieri write. They expect the Dutch multinational grocery-retail company to report third-quarter earnings before interest and taxes of 890 million euros, around 4% below consensus, but back its full-year guidance. UBS cuts its EBIT margin forecasts for the next three years and target price to reflect the challenging U.S. environment. UBS lowers its target price on the stock to 33.00 euros from 37.00 euros and keeps its neutral rating. Shares are up 0.2% at 31.62 euros, but 9.3% lower over the year-to-date. (ian.walker@wsj.com)

0906 GMT - Tokenized collateral could help firms move and manage assets more easily, the Bank of England's executive director for financial market infrastructure says, referring to the use of digital tokens linked to real assets as debt collateral. Speaking at the Digital Assets Week conference in London, Mills says tokenized collateral must meet certain conditions. The legal rights attached to collateral must be clear, while assets must have clear valuations, Mills says. Tokenized collateral must also be reliable and available when needed, particularly in times of financial stress, Mills says. Companies developing tokenized assets should discuss risk management with the Bank of England, the executive director adds. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0902 GMT - Standard Life's retail arm is the company's largest long-term growth opportunity, Barclays's Claudia Gaspari and Domenico Turco write, citing a sales briefing from Chief Executive Officer Andy Briggs. The savings and retirement firm is increasingly shifting toward retail growth, with the workplace and pension risk transfer businesses performing well. Management sees retail as a larger opportunity than the other two divisions combined, Barclays says, but notes it needs a different strategy to engage individual customers. Standard Life says technology investment will accelerate next year to boost this, as deleveraging is complete, according to Barclays. Investors shouldn't expect a major strategic reset at the capital markets day in November, Barclays adds. Shares are up 0.2%. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0855 GMT - Unilever is expected to report a slight fall in third-quarter underlying sales growth compared with the earlier quarter, but back its full-year guidance, UBS analysts Guillaume Delmas and Andrei Condrea write. They expect the consumer-goods giant--which houses the Hellmann's and Dove brands among its portfolio--to report third-quarter underlying sales growth of 5% compared with 5.8% in the second quarter. With 4%-6% underlying sales growth guidance expected to be maintained, the analysts say the market will rapidly turn its attention to the company's capital markets day in New York on Nov. 4. UBS cuts its target price on the stock to 43.90 pounds from 44.40 pounds, but keeps its sell rating. Shares are up 0.4% at 45.87 pounds. (ian.walker@wsj.com)

0837 GMT - Asian real-estate investment trusts appear to lack structural buffers against interest-rate volatility, says Julius Baer's Jen-Ai Chua in commentary. The region's REITs continued to underperform both equity and bond markets in 3Q, ending the first nine months with losses of 9.4% in dollar-denominated total returns terms, she says. Surging interest rates and a firmer dollar drove the decline, and higher inflation and rising policy rates could continue to depress Asian REIT returns, she adds. Asian REITs largely lack exposure to areas with structural growth, such as data centers, healthcare and residential, the analyst adds, noting they are biased toward "old economy" sectors such as office and retail. The sector is building up exposure to newer growth drivers, but this will take time, she adds. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0829 GMT - Dutch supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment BE Semiconductor Industries might face lower-than-expected adoption of hybrid bonding technology in the coming years, UBS analysts write in a research note. Hybrid bonding technology combines multiple materials and components at the microscopic level to create advanced semiconductor packages. "Our bottom up work suggests consensus is overestimating the hybrid bonding opportunity in both memory and logic applications, and we see downside risk to numbers," analysts say. They downgrade their rating on the stock to sell from buy and their price target to 159 euros from 370 euros. BE Semiconductor shares trade 5.8% lower at 180.85 euros. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0818 GMT - Hollywood Bowl Group's performance update suggests fiscal 2026's results could be better than feared, showing the leisure operator's resilience, Shore Capital's Greg Johnson writes. Despite the drag from hot U.K. summer weather, adjusted pretax profit is expected to be in line with market expectations. Shore Capital says it is likely to lower its estimate by 2.5 million pounds to 50.5 million pounds, which is above the low-end of market expectations. Hollywood Bowl's discount is at a "significant disconnect" from the quality of the business and its growth runway, Johnson adds. If the company successfully executes on its road map, it could reach a 1 billion pound valuation, the analyst says. Shares are up 6.9% for a market capitalization of 438.3 million pounds.