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

1150 GMT - Major economies are expected to experience faster growth, mainly driven by the U.S. AI expansion which is spilling into other industries and economies, J. Safra Sarasin Sustainable Asset Management's Raphael Olszyna-Marzys says in a note. High energy prices are also likely to drive up inflation, causing central banks to raise interest rates, he says. J. Safra Sarasin Sustainable Asset Management forecasts the U.S., U.K., and European Central Banks will raise interest rates to 5.0%, 4.25%, and 3.0%, respectively, by 2027. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

1142 GMT - Vodafone's U.K. unit VodafoneThree is well-positioned in a challenging market but German trends are seen weakening, UBS analysts Polo Tang and Dhruva Kusa Shah write. "While we are positive on the U.K. unit, we are cautious on Vodafone Germany," they say. However, investors may be more focused on the chance French billionaire Xavier Niel will lead a turnaround if he gets a seat on board, they say. Niel will be the U.K. telecommunications company's largest shareholder once his stake purchase from Emirates Telecommunications Group completes, which is expected by end of this year. UBS has a sell rating on the stock and 95 pence target price. Shares are down 4.2% at 119.20 pence, but 21% higher over the year-to-date. (ian.walker@wsj.com)

1127 GMT - MTY Food Group is scaling back its acquisitions and diverting those funds to shareholders. The quick-service restaurant franchisor says that it will focus on its existing portfolio brands instead of buying up new targets. "While mergers and acquisitions are part of MTY's DNA, the Board of Directors believes the best opportunity available today is MTY itself," the company says. MTY Food says that there are few acquisition targets currently available that offer the value and quality it looks for in deals "so for the moment, the Company will focus on returning capital directly to shareholders by buying back MTY's own shares for cancellation and paying an increased dividend." (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1122 GMT - MTY Food Group ended its nearly one-year-long strategic review without a sale, but a plan to focus on its business. After starting its strategic review last November, the quick-service restaurant franchisor says it had engaged with "a range of interested parties and considered a broad set of alternatives," but that it determined the best course of action is "to accelerate the evolution of MTY's current strategic plan, with a sharpened focus on efficiency, simplification, and disciplined capital allocation." The company plans to return capital to shareholders, increase its dividend payout, while optimizing its brand portfolio and focus on reverting to what it calls asset-light franchising operations. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1121 GMT - Liontrust Asset Management's shares appear inexpensive, but there could be downside to net flows and earnings if outflows from the U.K. retail segment continue, RBC Capital Markets' Dawid Pych and Sarah Chong write. RBC expects assets under management to fall 2% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of fiscal 2027 with 700 million pounds of outflows, mostly in U.K. retail. Liontrust's acquisition of Hawksmoor's fund management and model portfolio services business shows the company has the right strategy, the analysts say. However, outflows and a subdued but improving fund performance mean RBC stays cautious. It maintains an underperform recommendation on the stock but raises the price target to 300 pence from 270 pence. Shares are up 1.9% at 302 pence. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

1110 GMT - Pearson should be able to deliver sustained growth and achieve its medium-term targets, but near-term growth triggers appear constrained, UBS analysts write. "While operational momentum remains solid, we see a less certain catalyst path from here and believe the current valuation fairly reflects the growth outlook," they say. UBS cuts its rating on the educational materials company's stock to neutral from buy, but keeps its target price at 13 pounds. Shares are down 0.4% at 12.72 pounds and 21% higher over the year to date. (ian.walker@wsj.com)

1104 GMT - European telecoms aren't significantly threatened by agentic artificial intelligence, JPMorgan's Akhil Dattani and Ankur Baheti write. Some investors worry that AI agents will prompt consumers to move providers more often and to negotiate down bills. Though the AI landscape is nascent and mustn't be dismissed, "we see numerous reasons why the impact on European telecoms should be contained," the analysts say. AI agents currently on the European market rarely prompt users to look to discount providers, they note. Incumbents should look to consolidate to crowd out the risk, they say. European telecoms shares fall sharply Friday after SpaceX moved to enter the mobile network market. Deutsche Telekom shares fall 6.3%, while Vodafone and Telefonica drop 4.1% and 3.9%, respectively. Orange shares fall 2.5%.(josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

1040 GMT - Italian, Spanish and Portuguese banks should report another solid quarter, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' Hugo Cruz and Ben Maher write. The banks will report net interest income growth quarter-on-quarter due to positive average volumes and interest rates staying higher-for-longer, KBW says. Operating costs and asset quality for the banks will also remain under control, the analysts note. Mergers and acquisitions will continue to be a major topic, particularly in Italy due to progressing live deals. KBW keeps its price targets, annual estimates and recommendations for Iberian and Italian banks unchanged. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

1026 GMT - European equities are set to perform in line with global peers after a period of underperformance, Bank of America strategists Sebastian Raedler and Thomas Pearce say. European stocks have underperformed global peers by 4% over the past month they say, amid pressure from higher 10-year Treasury yields and slower European growth. The continent's stocks should now keep pace with peers from a low starting point, they say. However, risks remain. The risk premium investors demand for holding European stocks has remained at historically low levels, leaving stocks vulnerable to any wobble in the dominant AI market narrative, the strategists say. The Stoxx 600 could fall as much as 7% into the second quarter of 2027, they say. The index rises 1% Friday, after falling 3.7% over the past month. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

1025 GMT - French stocks will outperform global peers after their recent sharp underperformance, Bank of America strategists Sebastian Raedler and Thomas Pearce say. French stocks have lagged the wider European market by 3% over the past month, bringing their underperformance to over 20% since spring 2024, the strategists say. Moreover, the risk premium attached to French government bonds is unlikely to increase significantly further, they say. The strategists raise their outlook for French equities from market weight to overweight. The CAC 40 gains 0.8% Friday after falling 7% over the past month. The index is down 4.4% so far this year. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

1004 GMT - IG Group's acquisition of U.S. sports-gambling and prediction-market company Underdog has longer-term upside, Panmure Liberum's Barun Singh writes. In July, the U.K. online trading platform agreed to buy Underdog for up to $1.3 billion. Panmure Liberum is now more positive on the acquisition, following a seminar from IG on Thursday. Net revenue for Underdog more than doubled in the third quarter--its seasonally slowest quarter--the analyst says. "We do not expect a big swing from Underdog in the near term, but we think its upside is a longer-term story." However, IG Group's core over-the-counter business is still less stable than assumed, so shares will trade on the core business rather than on Underdog, the analyst notes. Shares are up 1.35%. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0949 GMT - Soitec's gross margin should expand significantly over the coming years due to a contribution from photonics, Bank of America analysts write in a note to clients. The French semiconductor-materials maker generates revenue from Photonics-SOI--a platform to integrate photonic components on a silicon-on-insulator substrate that are widely used in data centers. Soitec reported a gross margin of 16.3% for the fiscal year that closed at the end of March. Analysts say that should grow to 29% in fiscal 2027, 39% in fiscal 2028 and 44% in fiscal 2029. "We think consensus underappreciates the margin accretion effect of the increasing mix of Photonics-SOI," they say as they upgrade their rating on the stock to buy from neutral. Soitec shares trade 6.3% higher at 162.00 euros.