The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0655 GMT - South Korea's benchmark Kospi rose 1.2% to close at 2547.06, led by semiconductor and construction equipment stocks. Foreign and institutional investors were net buyers. Wall Street's overnight gains after Trump's inauguration buoyed sentiment. Memory-chip maker SK Hynix rose 3.4% ahead of its likely strong 4Q results due Thursday. Excavator maker HD Hyundai Construction Equipment climbed 10% following local media reports of a new contract win in the Philippines. Compact-loader maker Doosan Bobcat gained 8.8%. USD/KRW settled 0.1% lower at 1,437.60 in Seoul onshore trading. South Korea's 10-year government bond yield was up 1.1 bps at 2.829%. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

0629 GMT - True Corp.'s normalized earnings are likely to triple in 2027 compared to 2024 on some tailwinds, Thanachart Securities' Nuttapop Prasitsuksant says in a research report. One factor is the Thai communications conglomerate's ongoing cost reductions from redundant network assets and the downsizing of service shops and headcount, the analyst says. Also a tailwind is the continuing average-revenue-per-user recovery on easing competition due to industry consolidation, the analyst adds. A third tailwind is cost savings from a spectrum auction later this year. The brokerage forecasts the company's EPS growth at 89% in 2025 and 38% in 2026. It raises the stock's target price to THB15.00 from THB13.50 with an unchanged buy rating. Its shares are 0.8% higher at THB12.00. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0439 GMT - JD.com may benefit from China's multi-year trade-in subsidy program and improvements in supply chain efficiency, Morningstar analyst Chelsey Tam says in a research note. The Chinese e-commerce giant could be a key beneficiary of the consumption subsidy program due to its large revenue contribution from home appliances and electronics, which account for 47% of its revenue in 3Q, the analyst notes. With the program expanding to cover cell phones this year, it could further boost JD.com's revenue, the analyst says, adding that she expects the subsidy program this year to increase materially from the 35 billion yuan-40 billion yuan seen in 2024. Morningstar notes JD's shares are undervalued, naming the stock as its top pick in the China e-commerce space. Its H shares are last at HK$151.40. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0307 GMT - Apple's iPhone shipments to China will likely remain weak in 2025, analysts at DBS Group Research write in a note. Apple will likely keep facing headwinds in China amid soft consumer sentiment and fierce competition, DBS says. Apple's delay in rolling out AI features in iPhones is keeping users from replacing their handsets, DBS says. A major replacement cycle will only happen if the fully fledged Apple Intelligence AI features are launched, and if the next iPhone model comes with significant specification upgrades, DBS adds. DBS expects iPhone sales in China to remain weak until 1Q of FY 2026 ending September. DBS downgrades Apple to fully valued with a reduced target price of $210 from $243, reflecting reduced expectations for iPhone shipment growth this year. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)

2329 GMT - WiseTech Global's bull at Bell Potter reckons that the logistics software provider is likely to reaffirm its downgraded annual guidance when it announces its first-half result, setting the stage for a stronger fiscal 2026. Analyst Chris Savage writes in a note that he expects a wider-than-usual revenue and earnings split between the two halves of the current fiscal year. Annualizing what he expects to be a strong June half through fiscal 2026, and accounting for increased penetration of new products, Savage anticipates a very strong growth in fiscal 2026. He sees Ebitda growth of 38% for the period. Bell Potter trims its target price 2.7% to A$136.25 and keeps a buy rating on the stock, which is up 0.9% at A$120.00. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2148 GMT - Netflix Co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos says on a call with analysts that the wildfires in Southern California won't cause any meaningful disruptions to the streaming giant's Los Angeles-based productions or cash-content spending in 2025. He says the company's goal is to keep productions on schedule, while aiding relief efforts and being mindful of those who need time to work through the challenges of the fires. "This industry has been through a really tough couple of years, starting with Covid, going into the strikes and now this," he says. "So it's really important that we try not to delay anything and try to make sure that these jobs stay safe." Shares jump 14% on surging demand and sharp subscriber gains in 4Q. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

2145 GMT - Netflix added nearly 19 million new subscribers in 4Q, which the streaming giant attributes to its broad slate rather than specific high-profile events. Co-Chief Executive Greg Peters says subscriber adds driven by the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson boxing match, NFL on Christmas Day and "Squid Games" represent a small minority of its total member acquisition during the quarter. "What's really been most encouraging is that the retention behavior of those folks who did come in for those events look a lot like the folks who come in for all of our other big titles," adds Co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos. Shares jump 14% after hours. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

2021 GMT - Diversified semiconductor vendors are expected to face challenging questions in the latest quarter, BofA Securities analysts say in a research note. Companies like Texas Instruments, reporting on Thursday, will likely get hit by incrementally negative sentiment over the past three months on slow industrial and auto demand along with China trade war noise, the analysts add. "China is an emerging risk, where growing trailing-edge capability means intensifying competition in low-end/non-core markets for vendors which could drive pricing down," the analysts say. "Fallout from any trade war retaliation could force a reset of estimates," they add. (sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix)

2011 GMT - Netflix says a top priority in 2025 will be to improve its offering for advertisers in order to substantially grow its advertising revenue. The streaming giant launched its first-party ad tech platform--which the company says allows it to better deliver critical capabilities to advertisers including expanded programmatic availability, enhanced targeting and additional measurement and reporting--in Canada in November. It will expand the platform to its remaining ad countries this year, starting with the U.S. in April. The platform is benefiting from the popularity of the streamer's ad-tier memberships, which accounted for over 55% of sign-ups in 4Q. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

2008 GMT - Netflix has been foraying into live sports with a recent slate that included the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson boxing match and NFL on Christmas Day. Looking ahead, though, the streamer says it isn't focused on acquiring the rights to large, regular-season sports packages. "Rather, our live strategy is all about delivering can't-miss, special event programming," the company says. It plans to continue streaming live sports, such as FIFA's Women's World Cup in 2027 and 2031, and is interested in airing more comedy specials following the success of "The Roast of Tom Brady." "Although our live programming will likely be a small percentage of our total view hours and content expense, we think the eventized nature will result in outsized value to both our members and our business," it says. (connor.hart@wsj.com)

1641 GMT - Rents fell for the 17th straight month in December, dropping by -1.1% year over year to a median of $1,695, marking the first dip below $1,700 since April 2022, according to Realtor.com. This decline is due to new construction outpacing demand, leading to a balanced market with a 55% absorption rate, similar to 2019 levels. Despite a 22.8% inflation increase since 2019, rents have only risen by 16%. Affordable rentals are in demand, with a 56.3% absorption rate compared to 53.8% for pricier units. Regionally, the Northeast sees high absorption rates, while the West faces a sharp decline due to increased supply. (chris.wack@wsj.com)

1532 GMT - Canada faces pressure over President Trump's pledge to slap a 25% tariff on the country's imports, perhaps as early as Feb. 1. Another Trump executive order, this one on withdrawing U.S. participation in OECD-led efforts on a global tax treaty, also threatens retaliation for Canada. University of Ottawa technology law expert Michael Geist says that order compels Treasury and USTR to investigate countries that have taxes in place that "disproportionately affect American companies." Geist says Canada's digital-services tax "is an obvious target." That is a 3% levy on revenue, and is retroactive to 2022. Geist adds that, theoretically, Canada's online streaming regulations could also be captured because streaming companies, mostly American, have to pay a tax on revenue to help fund Canadian productions. (paul.vieira@wsj.com, @paulvieira)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 22, 2025 04:20 ET (09:20 GMT)

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