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

1859 ET - Whitehaven Coal's bull at Morgan Stanley raises its price target by 6%, to A$8.95/share, highlighting several tailwinds for the miner. "Higher gas prices, constrained Indonesian supply and Indian restocking should support thermal coal," MS says. It estimates thermal coal prices at the Australian port of Newcastle averaged US$155/ton between July and September. MS adds that Chinese mine restrictions are helping to support metallurgical coal, which is used in steelmaking. Specific to Whitehaven Coal, MS is upbeat about its improving operating performance in Australia's New South Wales state. Strong coal prices are supporting Whitehaven's cash generation and free cash flow yields, MS says. Whitehaven ended Monday at A$7.78. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1810 ET - Metals X likely needs to raise its offer for U.K.-listed First Tin to get a deal done, suggests Shaw and Partners. Metals X's proposal is worth GBP0.15/share. The Australian miner already owns nearly 30% of First Tin. Analyst Peter Kormendy says the offer price looks light against the 2024 definitive feasibility study for First Tin's Taronga project, which is being updated. "The strategic logic fits our consolidator thesis and the cost is modest relative to current Metals X cash," Shaw says. "Key questions from here are the increase likely needed for a successful outcome, and how Taronga capex sits alongside Rentails FID." Rentails is Metals X's tin project in Tasmania. Shaw has a hold call and A$1.90/share price target on Metals X, which ended Monday at A$2.03. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1810 ET - Australian stocks look set to follow the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher in early trade, continuing their recent recovery. ASX futures are up by 0.1% ahead of Tuesday's session, suggesting that the S&P/ASX 200 will build on a 1.4% rise compiled over the past two sessions. The benchmark index has bounced almost 2% since Oct. 1, when it hit its lowest close since early June. Ahead of the open, telecommunications provider Telstra maintained its annual guidance. In the U.S., the DJIA rose 0.4% as continued attacks in Ukraine and the Middle East pushed energy stocks and oil prices higher. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4%. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

1755 ET - Metro Mining's production setback is disappointing, but Shaw & Partners says the investment case is intact. Metro Mining shipped 659,000 tons of bauxite last month. That was about 200,000 less than expected. The difference resulted from a channel collapse that constrained barge capacity. Analyst Andrew Hines now expects Metro Mining to ship 6.2 million tons of bauxite this year. That's below current guidance, which is likely to be downgraded. Still, Shaw views weakness in Metro Mining's share price as a buying opportunity. "Metro Mining is profitable, generating free cash with a strong balance sheet and will finish the year with a cash balance of A$60 million-A$70 million," says Shaw. Its price target falls 13% to A$2.60/share. Metro Mining ended Monday at A$0.88. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1744 ET - Metro Mining's credibility takes another hit after the bauxite miner misses expectations for September shipments, says Ord Minnett. It says the weaker-than-expected monthly outcome puts annual guidance for shipments out of reach. "Metro Mining would need to average roughly 860,000 tons/month across the final three months of 2026 to hit the bottom end of former guidance" of 6.6 million-7.1 million tons, analyst Matthew Hope says. Ord Minnett thinks 6.2 million-6.4 million tons is a more realistic outcome. Achieving that would require shipment rates of approximately 775,000 tons/month through the December quarter. Ord Minnett retains a buy call but lowers its price target by 30% to A$1.75/share. Metro Mining ended Monday at A$0.88. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1739 ET - The Firmus IPO's failure to launch costs Maas Group a bull. Jefferies says the shelved IPO plan is a highly impactful event for Maas across both its earnings and equity investment in Firmus. It notes Firmus represents 50%-60% of Maas's revenues when the Construction Materials business is excluded. "In our view, risks have amplified," analyst John Campbell says. Most data centers that Firmus has in its pipeline don't have development approval. Jefferies notes Firmus still needs equity, and cuts its FY27-29 EPS forecasts by 5%-9%. "We acknowledge the situation is very fluid and a successful outcome on Firmus's private market raising endeavors could be a significant positive catalyst after the difficulties of the past week," Jefferies says, downgrading Maas to hold from buy. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1622 ET - Meta's fluffy Muse AI assistant is only about one month old, but it's already set for a software update. Meta is releasing Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, two foundational models the company says are at the AI frontier. The models will eventually come to power Muse assistants, beginning with paid subscribers, the company says. The new models represent Meta's attempt to prove to investors that it can compete with other frontier AI labs and generate returns from its heavy AI spending. They will also be key in the company's effort to drive adoption and retention for Muse, a cornerstone in CEO Mark Zuckerberg's vision for "personal superintelligence" for billions. Shares in Meta gained 3.4% to $742.96. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1357 ET - IonQ's latest acquisition, a $1.3 billion deal to buy cybersecurity firm Elisity, shows the quantum computing company is seeking to have a hand in the full quantum tech stack, StoneX analyst Gary Mobley says in a note. He believes the deal will help IonQ provide quantum-specific cybersecurity measures in anticipation of "Q-Day," an industry term for the point at which quantum computers become capable of breaking common encryption methods. "By far, IONQ has been the most aggressive in consolidating the full quantum stack, and as a result, IONQ is establishing the most revenue and R&D scale in the quantum industry," Mobley says. "As the industry evolves, this could prove to be a strategic advantage." IonQ falls 9.2%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1345 ET - The estimated funding level of pension plans sponsored by S&P 1500 companies increased by 1 percentage point in September to 113% as a result of an increase in discount rates slightly offset by a decrease in equity markets, according to professional-services firm Marsh. As of the end of September, the plans' estimated aggregate surplus increased by $6 billion, to $181 billion, compared with a $175 billion surplus at the end of August, Marsh says. "Pension funded status for the S&P 1500 rose 1% percent in September after interest rates climbed to 17-year highs," said Marsh partner Matt McDaniel. "Persistent inflation and high energy costs kept pressure on rates, prompting the Fed to raise them by a quarter point in September." (jennifer.williams@wsj.com; @jenkayw)

1302 ET - Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy Inc., which holds the largest bitcoin reserves in the world, announced a new purchase of bitcoin to start the day. The firm buying 250 BTC, bringing its total ownership to 848,250 coins, at an average buying price of $75,444 across its treasury. This is the second purchase the bitcoin treasury made since the start of the month, according to Strategy's data. Strategy's purchases are often a catalyst for how bitcoin moves in a given trading day. Bitcoin falls 1%, ethereum is 0.2% lower, and XRP is down 2.2%. (kirk.maltais@gmail.com)

1252 ET - LVMH would do well to make some of its luxury products more affordable, analysts at Bernstein write in a note. The French luxury-goods giant booked a slowdown in sales growth for the third quarter, led by a fall in sales at the core fashion division. The group should act on its price-mix in order to make its core products more affordable to the "broader consumer audience" targeted by brands like Louis Vuitton, Bernstein says. (joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby)

1245 ET - Chinese consumers are subdued amid a tough macro backdrop, says Cecile Cabanis, chief financial officer at French luxury titan LVMH. The owner of Louis Vuitton and Dior booked a slowdown in group organic revenue growth to just 1% over the most recent quarter, with sales in the mainstay fashion division losing 5% on year. "Newsflow has not been particularly good in China this summer," Cabanis tells analysts in a call. This has created a subdued mood among Chinese luxury consumers, she says. "We hope it will subside, but we don't know when it will," Cabanis says.