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.

0732 GMT - Xiaomi's credit profile is likely to remain resilient this year despite weakness in its core smartphone business, says Fitch Ratings in a note. Rising memory costs could lead to a decline in smartphone shipments and profitability for the Chinese consumer electronics company, Fitch says. However, the larger scale and stronger cash generation of Xiaomi's internet of things and internet services segments, compared with previous smartphone downturns, should provide a buffer. "We expect Xiaomi to maintain its global market position in smartphones, a large net cash position and low Ebitda leverage," the ratings company says and sees Xiaomi's outlook as stable. Shares are up 0.3% at 26.22 Hong Kong dollars. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0731 GMT - Valuations for technology, media and telecom stocks in the U.K. still reflect concerns over artificial intelligence, but this means the sector offers attractive opportunities for investors, Berenberg analysts write in a note. "While the market has become slightly more discerning over the impact of AI, concern remains, reflected in still depressed valuations," they say. Meeting market expectations, alongside with AI-driven growth and efficiency gains, should support a rerating, though it might take some time for this to happen, they say. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)

0719 GMT - Bitcoin rises modestly following gains on Wall Street overnight driven by a rally in tech stocks. Investors buying shares of companies tied to artificial intelligence boosted tech stocks, leading U.S. stock indices higher. An easing of oil prices is also supporting risk sentiment. Lower oil prices reflect some profit taking and reports that Saudi Arabia could soon restore some flows through its damaged East-West pipeline which was closed after a drone attack from Iraq. Bitcoin rises 1.1% to $77,392, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

0357 GMT - China Telecom retains its bull at DBS Group Research thanks to its faster pivot toward its artificial-intelligence business. The Chinese telecommunications company set a long-term target for its intelligence service revenue to make up more than 20% of principal business revenue, compared with around 13% in 1H, DBS analysts say in a note. Moves to scale up its AI ecosystem and a shift in capital expenditure toward computing infrastructure point to a faster expansion of its AI business in the medium term. Meanwhile, DBS cuts its estimates of 2026-2027 China Telecom earnings by 6.1%-7.9% due partly to softer growth in the company's traditional business. DBS trims its target price to 5.70 Hong Kong dollars from HK$5.90 and maintains a buy rating. Shares decline 0.6% to HK$4.47. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0153 GMT - Potential initial public offerings of artificial intelligence companies such as DeepSeek and Anthropic could create near-term liquidity headwinds for already-listed AI names like Z.AI, says UOB Kay Hian's Julia Pan in a note. The new listings could divert investor capital away from existing listed names as investors reassess relative growth, monetization and valuations, the analyst says. Still, the near-term dilution could be offset by a stronger valuation read-through from these potential IPOs, she adds. She notes Anthropic is targeting a potential valuation of up to $2 trillion, equivalent to around 20X its estimated $100 billion 2026 annualized revenue run rate, versus Z.AI's roughly 18X. A successful IPO at Anthropic's valuation could establish a higher valuation benchmark and support a broader sector rerating, she adds.(megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0115 GMT - The U.S. rate increase could have minimal impact on Malaysia's semiconductor sector, as strong artificial-intelligence-related investment, data-center expansion and the broader semiconductor growth cycle continue to support demand, TA Securities analyst Chan Mun Chun says in a note. Tighter monetary policy could weigh on valuations, particularly for stocks trading at high multiples, although a stronger dollar could support earnings at export-oriented companies with dollar-denominated revenue, he says. The sector's recovery could remain uneven, with growth led by integrated-circuit design, optoelectronics and semiconductor packaging and testing. Companies exposed to AI and data centers should benefit, while those reliant on PCs and smartphones could face pressure from higher memory costs, he adds. TA Securities maintains a neutral rating on Malaysia's semiconductor sector, pegging Dagang NeXchange as its top pick. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0111 GMT - South Korea's chip-led economic expansion could keep real gross domestic product growth above 3% over the next three years, Citigroup's Jin-Wook Kim says. The economist expects the semiconductor boom to add 3.2 percentage points to Citi's growth estimates for the country, with real GDP growth now projected at 3.7% in 2026, 3.1% in 2027 and 3.0% in 2028. Kim expects chip exports to jump 175% this year and 41% next year, with long-term agreements by semiconductor companies likely to help the country sustain strong exports and current-account surpluses. Citi expects the chip industry boom to lift nominal GDP growth to 25% this year, the strongest since 1981. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

1823 GMT - Palantir CEO Alex Karp isn't bullish on the prospect of President Trump and President Xi agreeing on shared AI risks. "I would love it if it happened," Karp says on CNBC. "The problem is, we're tight enough as competitors that both sides believe they could win." He adds that a framework of joint U.S.-China control over AI would "change the world." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1820 GMT - Palantir CEO Alex Karp says the real goal of frontier labs such as Anthropic is likely to get the U.S. government to nationalize their businesses to cap their liability from skimming their customers' intellectual property. Karp, in a CNBC interview, says he respects Anthropic head Dario Amodei, but describes the company's philosophy as one of migrating business customers' IP into its AI models. "That model would require severe liability protection, and there's only one institution that can do that: the U.S. government," Karp says. "First, you migrate all the IP to your business, and then, because you need capped liability, both vis-a-vis the business and vis-a-vis the dangers, you've got to migrate the business to the government. It has to be nationalized." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1758 GMT - Institutional investors are back to mostly pulling money out of bitcoin ETFs, this after flows returned to being positive in August. Bitcoin ETFs are showing net outflows for 6 out of the past 7 trading sessions, with net outflows Wednesday landing at nearly $300 million, according to data from CoinGlass. "New demand is missing," says Glassnode in a note. "On-chain inflows, ETF flows, stablecoin growth and corporate buying have all stalled." Bitcoin is up 1% to $76,887, while ethereum rises 2.6% to $2,472, XRP is up 0.3% to $1.30 and solana climbing 3.3% to $101.77. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1713 GMT - There needs to be a set of reasonable and enforceable guidelines for increasingly-capable AI models, beginning with liability for the companies that provide them, Palantir CEO Alex Karp says on CNBC. "The first line of defense is, you're liable for your own actions," Karp says. Of the AI companies asking for government intervention, Karp adds, "they're asking for societal regulation to get out of the first line of defense, which is, if you build a technology that can destroy 10% of the world, that has civil and criminal liability attached to it." He adds that regulating AI proves tricky, as many of the people who understand the technology best are on its payroll. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1629 GMT - ChatGPT developer OpenAI's selection of Shopify as its debut ecommerce advertising partner eases fears of AI disintermediation, says TD Cowen's John Shao. In a report, the analyst notes a prevalent theme weighing on ecommerce sentiment this year has been of fears of cutting out the middleman. This was made worse for Shopify after META announced its personal AI assistants. However, Shao sees OpenAI's new ad integration as evidence that "Shopify may be becoming more deeply embedded in agentic commerce rather than being bypassed by it." Under the partnership, merchants can manage ChatGPT advertising campaigns directly through the Shopify platform. This sets up Shopify to benefit from "the infrastructure layer underpinning AI-driven commerce rather than being at risk of displacement."