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

0908 GMT - Investors are dialing up their bets on the life-sciences industry as AI-related demand emerges as a growth driver for lab-tools makers and other companies in the drug supply chain, RBC Capital Markets analysts say. Recent comments from company executives suggest the AI demand is moving from theoretical to evidenced, according to RBC. Traditional pharma companies and AI-native drug discovery startups are investing at a scale that will require a jump in biological data generation, the analysts say. "The demand signal differs by position in the value chain: research and labs now, with instruments first and consumables a few quarters after, preclinical [contract research organizations] picking up volume as new assets progress faster through the research phase, and then [contract drug manufacturing organizations] and bioprocessing companies last," they add. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0900 GMT - A suite of new product launches by Robinhood represents a significant strategic acceleration for the company, Deutsche Bank's Brian Bedell writes. At a company summit in Houston, the brokerage said it will use AI to help build users' investment strategies and eventually to place trades on behalf of users. The launches will "provide institutional-grade tools to Robinhood's retail user base," Bedell writes. The changes aim to equip traders for the turn to 24/7 trading, the analyst says. Robinhood shares rise 2.35% premarket.(josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0844 GMT - AstraZeneca is hedging against a key threat to its antibody drug conjugate portfolio through its collaboration with Summit Therapeutics, Citi analysts say in a research note. The agreement has limited immediate impact, but it is a sensible move by the U.K. drugmaker in case medicines like Summit's ivonescimab--known as PD-1/VEGF--become an alternative backbone therapy to existing treatments called PD-1 and PD-L1, the analysts say. AstraZeneca is testing its Datroway antibody drug conjugate in combination with its PD-L1 medicine Imfinzi for lung cancer in a late-stage clinical trial. Moreover, AstraZeneca's stake in Summit gives it exposure to PD-1/VEGF in the event the drug class takes off, the analysts add. AstraZeneca shares rise 0.1%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0823 GMT - Shares of European semiconductor companies are in the green as investors await Micron Technology results after the U.S. market closes. Investors will be scrutinizing figures and commentary from the memory chip maker for signs of how artificial-intelligence demand is holding up. Micron shares are up 0.6% at $1,071.70 premarket. In Europe, shares of Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International are up 1.2% and 1.8%, respectively. BE Semiconductor Industries, the Dutch supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment, is up 0.4%. German chip maker Infineon Technologies' stock gains 1.5%. STMicroelectronics shares are up 0.1%. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0807 GMT - Nokia could report third-quarter sales and EBIT slightly ahead of consensus, but the market needs to see near-term sales upgrades to take the stock up significantly, J.P. Morgan analysts write. The market remains concerned about Nokia's ability to execute strong AI and cloud orders due to component shortages, so supply commentary will be a key focus. If Nokia can raise near-term sales and margin guidance in network infrastructure, it would increase market confidence in order delivery capability. The bank remains very bullish on the stock, and if Nokia can beat earnings expectations, confirm supply and lift guidance, "we believe the upside on the stock could be very strong." It rates Nokia at overweight with an 18 euro price target. Shares fall 0.2% to 9.14 euros. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

0800 GMT [Dow Jones]--There's no one-size-fits-all solution for managing AI spending within a business, but 75% of the companies who have most effectively leveraged AI have some sort of guideline on token spending, according to a new Boston Consulting Group report. About half of those companies actively encourage employees to maximize their AI usage, while 22% have limits or controls to manage spending. "Organizations that have a strong financial muscle are well-prepared to leverage that capability for AI," BCG Managing Director Natasha Taylor says, adding that businesses are growing smarter about routing less complex AI tasks to cheaper models. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

0800 GMT [Dow Jones]--AI spending is increasingly coming from all parts of the enterprise, not just the IT budget, according to a new Boston Consulting Group report. Non-IT spending on AI was five to six times higher than IT spending among surveyed businesses, and IT budgets held flat year over year while overall AI spending tripled. The growth of spending on AI across business units indicates that effective AI adoption is "a strategic imperative for the whole enterprise," BCG Managing Director Natasha Taylor says. "To be successful requires engagement from all of the functions in an organization." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

0759 GMT - The scope of China's newly announced mortgage subsidies likely disappointed the market, Julius Baer's Richard Tang says in a note. While the mortgage interest subsidy program was widely expected by the market, the actual scope likely falls short of expectations, as the program is restricted to a small subset of housing types and transactions, he writes. The analyst estimates that only 20%-25% of housing deals will qualify, mostly in lower-tier cities, resulting in marginal effect to investments. "For the equity market, we believe the absence of a policy surprise may extend the weak market sentiment and a year-end rally is much less likely to happen," he adds. Julius Baer continues to favor artificial-intelligence hardware and dividend stocks in China.(megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0755 GMT - Axis Bank shares reverse opening losses, with the lender's shares last 2.0% higher at 1,233.50 rupees on the BSE. The stock's gain comes after the launch of Apple Pay services in India, where customers can add Axis Bank-issued Visa and Mastercard credit cards to iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches. The move marks Apple's entry into one of the world's fastest-growing markets for cashless transactions. A large, still-growing working age population and ongoing urbanization support multiyear demand growth in the country, says Franklin Templeton. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0749 GMT - Liontrust Asset Management remains undervalued as the fund management company continues to proactively diversify, Berenberg analysts write. The group's purchase of Hawksmoor's fund management and model portfolio services business seems to be another attractive acquisition, the analysts say. The transaction will add 1.9 billion pounds of assets, with expected operating margins of 60% on 5 million pounds of revenue. Consensus expectations for Liontrust are likely to increase by around 8% next year, with a minimal impact this year, Berenberg says. The stock is trading at a lowly multiple, Berenberg says, as it increases its target price to 390 pence from 360 pence. Shares are up 11% to 289.50 pence. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0749 GMT - Fresenius investors might have overreacted to news that the FDA sent a warning letter to the German healthcare group's Kabi pharmaceutical business alerting it to what the regulator called serious violations at a U.S. facility, Citi analysts say in a research note. Fresenius Kabi said in response that no patient-safety concerns had been identified. While the letter is negative for sentiment, a warning letter doesn't come as a big surprise given that Fresenius had already flagged potential FDA action at its last earnings call, and the company expects no material impact on production or results, the analysts say. "The warning on withholding of new drug approvals until violations are fully resolved is standard warning letter language," they add. Fresenius shares rise 1.8%, after closing 4.9% lower on Tuesday. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0738 GMT - Glencore continues to be Berenberg's preferred large-cap diversified mining stock. The London-listed miner has the most compelling organic copper growth story out of all its peers, Berenberg analysts write. The miner's trading division will continue to benefit this year from volatile energy markets, and it should also gain from elevated thermal coal prices, they add. Shares rise 1.5% to 559.60 pence.