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.

1126 ET - BlackBerry's shares rise and one analyst says a widely shared feature story may have helped push the stock higher. The Wall Street Journal article highlights how QNX-BlackBerry's behind-the-scenes automotive and industrial software now powers 275 million vehicles and has become the company's main growth driver. Shares are up 9% to C$8.02. Kingsley Crane, a Canaccord Genuity analyst who follows the stock, says the coverage likely contributed to the rally. "To be honest, I think the article is a meaningful contributor," he says in an email. The renewed attention comes as BlackBerry has posted a good run profitable quarters and emphasized QNX's expanding role across cars, medical machinery and factories, suggesting also its turnaround efforts are gaining traction. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1038 ET - While evidence is building of improving confidence in bitcoin trading, the market is struggling with establishing a clear trend, says Bitfinex in a note. "Buyers are still active, but the market has not yet generated enough demand to absorb overhead supply and confirm a sustained structural breakout," says the firm. Buying of bitcoin by Strategy continues to be a bigger source of demand than ETFs, says the firm, and without more demand from elsewhere prices could still be at risk of pulling back to the low-70,000s. Bitcoin is down 0.4% to $78,611, according to LSEG data. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1021 ET - Bitcoin is flat at roughly $78,900, according to data from LSEG. The threshold of $80,000 remains a difficult line for bitcoin to cross and stay above, with caution surrounding the latest developments in the Middle East conflict keeping risk appetite limited. However, money flow into bitcoin is growing, suggesting that interest in the cryptocurrency is strengthening. "Last week, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly USD 160 million in net inflows, with Friday alone accounting for over USD 600 million," says market analyst Ramy Zeytouni in a note. "If sustained, these flows could allow Bitcoin to remain resilient." Ethereum is up 0.3% to $2,334, and XRP is flat at $1.39. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

0958 ET - In an interview on CNBC, GameStop Chief Executive Ryan Cohen says that his compensation incentives are aligned with shareholder interests in response to a question about whether he is pursuing an acquisition of eBay to boost his own compensation. "I obviously want to build something much larger, but I don't benefit unless shareholders benefit," he says. "Unless our market cap increases substantially and earnings increase substantially, I don't get any salary, any cash, no golden parachutes, nothing." (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

0830 ET - EBay says that it will carefully review and consider GameStop's acquisition bid. "The Board will review this proposal with a focus on the value to be delivered to eBay shareholders, including the value of the GameStop stock consideration and the ability of GameStop to deliver a binding, actionable proposal," eBay says. "Until the Board has further carefully and thoroughly considered the proposal, the company does not intend to comment further at this time." GameStop Chief Executive Ryan Cohen made an unsolicited offer to buy eBay for about $56 billion. Cohen told WSJ Sunday that GameStop built a roughly 5% stake in eBay and was offering $125 a share in cash and stock, a roughly 20% premium to its closing price on Friday. Ebay is up 7.4% premarket. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

0540 ET - Concerns are growing over the dynamism of the European economy, say Governor Pierre Wunsch and economist Geert Langenus at the National Bank of Belgium. Rising economic competition from both the U.S. and China, as well as a declining international rules-based order, mean Europe must adapt, they say. "Europe needs a greater sense of geopolitical realism and must find its way in a changing world, one based on power plays rather than shared rules." While many Europeans prefer a focus on economic redistribution and lower social risk, this will limit growth amid a new geopolitical reality, the officials say. "Due to Europe's more conservative policies and low-risk mindset, it consistently lags behind in fast-moving tech industries." To remain competitive, the EU must rethink its model and accept difficult policy trade-offs, they say. (don.forbes@wsj.com)

0431 ET - Maoyan Entertainment is likely to benefit from China's five-day labor day holiday, according to Citi analysts in a research note. The company is the key distributor and producer of the movie, "The Vanishing Point" and also participated in "The Devil Wears Prada 2,"--the most popular movies during the holiday, they note. "The Vanishing Point" is a low-cost movie and Maoyan is highly likely to be profitable on this project, the analysts say. Citi reiterate Maoyan as its top movie-sector pick and has a target price of HK$8.0 for its stock, which last traded traded at HK$5.94. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0414 ET - Returns on capital from the unprecedented global AI capex buildout remain uncertain, CGS International analyst Lim Siew Khee says in a research note. U.S. equities surged to fresh highs last week, driven by liquidity momentum and the technology sector. Earnings revisions in semiconductor and tech hardware have also accelerated across Asia's supply chain, the analyst notes. However, "the sector is priced as though capacity constraints in semis will persist indefinitely, yet historically the sector has been highly cyclical," she says. Meanwhile, if near-term inflation volatility due to the oil supply shock generates sufficient interest rate volatility, it could be disruptive for global equity valuations, she adds. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0230 ET - Xiaomi's electric-vehicle business is poised for a rebound, according to Deutsche Bank's Bin Wang. The analyst expects Xiaomi to see a significant sequential improvement in new energy vehicle sales and margins after the first quarter. The stronger EV performance will be driven by the new SU7 sedan launched in late March, Wang adds in a note. Xiaomi's plan to introduce two new plug-in hybrid models this year could also boost sales volumes, the analyst writes. DB keeps a buy rating on the stock with a target price of HK$67.00. Shares rise 7.2% to HK$31.10. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0043 ET - Tokyo Electron's stronger-than-expected guidance points to likely above-market growth, says Morningstar's Kazunori Ito in a note. The Japanese semiconductor-fabrication equipment supplier is projecting 41% equipment sales growth in 1H, the director notes. This suggests the company's robust position in certain semiconductor-manufacturing equipment and growing presence in other technologies, he says. While the company is likely to fall short of its 35% operating margin target this fiscal year, this could be due to rising costs from inflation, a weaker yen, and higher research and development costs, which might already be priced in, he adds. Morningstar raises its fair-value estimate by 22% to Y50,000. Shares last closed 6.9% higher at Y47,450. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0010 ET - Xero's bull at Citi reckons that the accounting-software provider's latest Australian price rises suggest it is confident in its market position. Analyst Siraj Ahmed acknowledges that customer churn could rise slightly given the increase for Xero's so-called Ignite plan, but still views the move positively. He tells clients in a note that he expects Xero to grow fiscal 2027 average revenue per user in Australia by 5% in constant currency terms. Ahmed thinks Xero could beat the consensus forecast of an 11% rise in New Zealand dollar terms. Xero reports in New Zealand dollars, which has declined in value against its Australian counterpart. Citi has a last-published buy rating and A$112.65 target price on the stock, which is up 3.3% at A$83.26. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2354 ET - Advantest's shares appear undervalued, says Morningstar's Kazunori Ito in a note. A risk of a potential cyclical slowdown is overemphasized in markets for the Japanese maker of chip-testing equipment, Ito says. The company's revenue exceeded guidance by more than 20% for the three months ended March, boosted by robust artificial-intelligence demand, he notes. Advantest's accelerating capacity expansion plans likely also signals strong medium-term AI demand, he adds. Morningstar raises its FY 2027 and FY 2028 revenue projections for Advantest by 9% and 13%, respectively. It also lifts its fair-value estimate on the stock to 34,000 yen a share from Y29,000. Shares last closed 1.6% lower at Y27,815.(megan.cheah@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2026 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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