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

1949 ET - Japanese stocks may remain rangebound as uncertainty over the Middle East conflict and the U.S. interest rate outlook continues. Some technology stocks may be supported after Micron Technology's profit and revenue surged in the fiscal fourth quarter. Nikkei futures are up 0.3% at 67240 on the SGX. The dollar is 157.47 yen, compared with Y156.81 as of Wednesday's Tokyo stock market close. Investors are focusing on developments in the Iran conflict, crude oil prices and bond yields. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.9% to 66753.72 on Wednesday. (kosaku.narioka@wsj.com)

1943 ET - The rise in long bond expectations has ended a short-term trade where investors rotated into infrastructure stocks, viewing them as a safer bet than other assets. RBC Capital Markets says market concerns now reflect global macro uncertainty and longer-term inflation concerns. It notes the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield is above 5% for the first time since 2007. As a result, infrastructure stock valuations have begun to fall. RBC moves to reset its yield forecasts, driving cuts to price targets for six infrastructure stocks in Australia and New Zealand. They include a 20% fall in RBC's price target for Atlas Arteria to A$3.60/share, and a 13% decline for Infratil to NZ$13.75/share. Atlas Arteria ended Wednesday at A$3.95. Infratil is down 2.1% at NZ$13.86 early on Thursday.(david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1938 ET [Dow Jones]--Macquarie retains an outperform call on Amplitude Energy following its decision to advance the East Coast Supply Project in Australia. Still, it thinks investors may want to see results from drilling the Nestor natural-gas prospect and progress in development work before factoring in the full value of the project. "We have risked Nestor at 50% for now," Macquarie says. Amplitude says there's an 81% chance of geological success at Nestor. Macquarie notes there was a 84% probability applied to the Juliet prospect with similar characteristics to Nestor. Juliet was a natural-gas discovery, and flow testing has shown a reservoir of excellent quality. Macquarie retains an outperform call on Amplitude and A$2.50/share price target. Amplitude ended Wednesday at A$1.735. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1918 ET - A more than 20% fall in the share price of Imricor Medical Systems since it entered the ASX 300 index in early September creates a great buying opportunity for investors, according to its bull at Morgans. Imricor ended Wednesday at A$1.585, having traded as high as A$2.07 in August. Morgans suggests seasonal weakness and rising interest rates may have contributed to the share-price fall. Recent news flow has been positive. "As we move into a seasonally stronger part of the year, together with our view that material news flow (NorthStar orders, submit clinical data, FDA approval) is expected, we believe the share price should move back over A$2.00," Morgans' analyst Scott Power says. Morgans has a speculative buy call on Imricor. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1914 ET [Dow Jones]--Australian stocks are set to fall in early trade after a muted end to the quarter for U.S. equities. Local stock futures are down by 0.5% ahead of Thursday's open, suggesting that the S&P/ASX 200 will kick off the fourth quarter with a slight drop. The benchmark index is coming off a 0.9% rise that was its best day in more than two months, but still fell 3.2% in September. Ahead of the open, fuel refiner and retailer Ampol said it would pay A$225 million for one of the country's largest electric-vehicle charging networks. Lynas Rare Earths said it would acquire Meteoric Resources. In the U.S., the DJIA lost 0.9%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.25%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.2%. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

1902 ET [Dow Jones]--Investors are likely to become more bullish about Amplitude Energy's cash flow outlook as the East Coast Supply Project advances, signals Ord Minnett. Amplitude's decision to proceed with the ECSP follows success with the Juliet-1 well. Analyst Tim Elder views Amplitude's plan to drill the Nestor prospect as a sound decision because it makes best use of the available Transocean Equinox rig. The developments materially derisk Ord Minnett's forecast for 57% production growth by FY30. "We expect this should encourage investors to look more favorably on Amplitude's capacity to significantly grow free cash flow by FY29-30, even if there are some near-term risks to exploration (i.e. Nestor) and net debt will increase to A$300 million in FY27," Ord Minnett says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1401 ET - Workday's workforce reduction is likely part of its effort to streamline its business, Deutsche Bank analysts say. The company is cutting 2.5% of its staff, primarily within its product and technology teams. The analysts believe the move was not intended to free up investment capacity for this year, since Workday reiterated its full-year guidance when it announced the layoffs. Instead, the cuts likely create some additional capacity for other investment priorities next year, the analysts say.(katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1230 ET - Qatar leads most major Gulf stocks lower on the last trading day of 3Q. Qatar's QE Index falls 0.7%, Abu Dhabi's benchmark index declines 0.6%, the Dubai Financial Market General Index loses 0.5% and Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index slips 0.1%. The declines cap a weak September for regional equities. The S&P GCC Composite Total Return Index falls 3.0% for the month and is essentially flat for 3Q, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The S&P GCC Investable Total Return Index loses 2.7% in September and gains 0.1% for the quarter. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)

1127 ET - The egg market is oversupplied, putting downward pressure on wholesale prices, Cal-Maine CEO Sherman Miller says. "The key question is the timing of rebalancing," he says on a call with analysts. No one can be sure of that timeline, Miller says, but there are some early indicators worth watching. He says the number of egg-laying hens in the U.S. and the number of chick hatchings are both decreasing, citing recent data from the American Egg Board. "These indicators do not establish that the market will turn, but they provide important context on the potential direction of supply," Miller says. Cal-Maine shares fall 4.1% after the company swings to a loss in the latest quarter. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

0934 ET - Oil prices rebound as tensions in the Middle East remain high despite a recent pickup in exports that calmed supply fears. Brent crude November futures were up 0.9% to $103.52 a barrel, while the more-active December contract climbs 2.3% to $98.37 a barrel. Front-month West Texas Intermediate traded 1.8% higher at $90.99 a barrel. Brent is headed for a monthly ​gain of around 16%, while WTI is on track for a 9% rise. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said Wednesday that it received a report that a tanker transiting through the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an unknown projectile. Meanwhile, in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency meeting with security officials over the incident involving a FlyDubai flight that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after one of the pilots was reportedly stabbed. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0913 ET - Gold prices extend gains, but remain on track for a monthly loss of more than 6% as investors await U.S. inflation data for more cues on the Federal Reserve's interest-rate path. New York futures rise 1.6% to $4,245.20 a troy ounce. The rebound was supported by an easing dollar and falling U.S. Treasury yields after New York Fed President John Williams pushed back against expectations for an imminent follow-up Fed rate hike. "Attention now turns to September ADP employment and August personal spending and PCE inflation," says Fawad Razaqzada from Forex.com. "A stronger-than-expected core PCE reading could push October rate hike pricing higher again." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0827 ET - Bitcoin's recent rise to a near eight-month high largely reflected exchange-traded funds inflows but demand is now thinning, CoinMarketCap's Alice Liu says in a note. "ETF buys are a major driver for the recent price rally above $87k, with over $2.4 billion inflows in within a week." However, eight straight sessions of inflows read as $999 million, $715 million, $347 million, $191 million, $135 million, then $31 million on Monday, she says. Bitcoin rises 0.2% to $83,807 after reaching a high of $87,315 on Sep. 21, according to LSEG. In the past three months it has strengthened 39%. CoinMarketCap expects it to reach $80,000-$95,000 by year-end if the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged.