The latest Market Talks covering the Auto and Transport sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1442 ET - February auto sales are expected to show improvement over January's numbers, with an estimated sales pace of 16.1 million units, up from 15.6 million in the prior month, S&P Global Mobility said. Chris Hopson, principal analyst at S&P Global Mobility, said "We expect that auto sales in February should recover mildly from the January 2025 result, but sustained momentum seems tough to come by, given the swirling economic and policy conditions facing auto consumers and automakers alike." S&P Global Mobility also said vehicle pricing levels are seen declining, although they will still remain high. Also, interest rates are expected to shift further downwards, but inflation levels are anticipated to remain sticky, according to S&P Global Mobility. (stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com)

1252 ET - Most of Europe's top stock indexes close lower, with carmakers among the biggest losers, after President Trump floated 25% tariffs on the European Union. The Stoxx Europe 600 index falls 0.5%, having closed at a record high Wednesday. Italy's FTSE MIB sheds 1.5%, Germany's DAX ends the session 1.1% lower and France's CAC 40 is down 0.5%. Meanwhile, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gains 0.3%. "European markets looked glum with shares in car makers and luxury goods brands lower, along with tequila maker Diageo," AJ Bell's Danni Hewson says in a market comment. BMW closes 3.8% lower, Porsche is down 3.6% and Mercedes-Benz falls 2.4%. Ferrari plunges 7.9%, hit by news that top shareholder Exor is cutting its stake. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0451 ET - Exor's move to reduce its stake in Ferrari shouldn't be seen as a negative signal on the Italian sports-car maker, ING analysts say in a research note. In late 2023, Exor flagged that at some point "it would need to act on its Ferrari participation, due to concentration risk, from a risk management point of view." At the same time, Exor's buyback plan is a positive for the investment company, in that it confirms its willingness to allocate part of its free cash flow. Exor trades up 0.05% at 93.80 euros, and Ferrari is down 7.6% at 446.20 euros. (sarah.sloat@wsj.com)

0134 ET - Cebu Air will likely benefit from the positive tourism outlook for 2025 in the Philippines, Maybank Securities' Ronalyn Joyce Lalimo says in a research report. Visitors to the Philippines rose 9% on year in January, notes the brokerage, which expects to see full recovery in tourism by 2025. She says the recovery will be aided by government initiatives and infrastructure upgrades. The analyst also notes that Cebu Air is also undertaking a strategic re-fleeting plan, including the launch of new routes and aircraft deliveries. Moreover, airport rehabilitation and expansion projects are likely to enhance Cebu Air's long-term growth prospects, she says. The brokerage re-initiates its coverage of the stock with a buy rating and a target price of PHP40.00. Shares are 0.65% lower at PHP30.80. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

2247 ET - BYD's decision to launch God's Eye, its smart driving system, and incorporate it into its mass-market models should help the automaker retain its leading position in China's EV space, Nomura analysts write in a note. The Chinese EV market leader has now entered the next phase of auto sector evolution, which is intellectualization. While this improves its competitive edge compared with peers, it also signals that BYD is trying to be less aggressive in terms of price war this year, they say. This should help ease BYD's margin pressure, Nomura says, and raises its EV shipment forecasts for BYD by 9% to 5.5 million units for 2025. Nomura raises the stock's target to CNY509 from CNY379 and maintains a buy rating. Shares last at CNY375.51. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

2130 ET - Qantas, which plans to begin ultralong-haul flights from Australia to North America and Europe with new A350s in an initiative dubbed Project Sunrise, says the first A350 for Project Sunrise is expected in the second half of calendar year 2026. When asked about Project Sunrise during a press conference, CEO Vanessa Hudson says the exact time of delivery will firm up in the future, but that "we still feel that Airbus is delivering right on time." Pilots will need to do training flights, though, so when asked if that means passenger flights will actually begin in 2027, she says "that is what we've actually been saying." Last year, Qantas said manufacturing delays had pushed back the delivery of A350s by six months to mid-2026. Qantas said in an investor presentation today that it is still incurring minor aircraft delivery delays. (mike.cherney@wsj.com; @Mike_Cherney)

1925 ET - When asked about the potential threat from a Virgin Australia-Qatar Airways alliance, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson responded that "we always said that we welcome competition." She adds that the government struck the "right balance" in approving Qatar taking a 25% stake in Virgin Australia while also putting in place some guidelines around aircraft leasing. Among the guidelines are secondment opportunities for Virgin Australia crew with Qatar so they can get long-haul experience, and a pledge that certain future lease arrangements use Australian-based labor. Virgin Australia initially plans to lease aircraft with crew from Qatar to operate international services to the Middle East. "Having more competition, that actually makes us better, and we're focused on delivering for our customers and investing in our aircraft," Hudson says. (mike.cherney@wsj.com; @Mike_Cherney)

1835 ET - Australian airline Qantas said it would pay dividends for the first time since 2019, but RBC Capital Markets analyst Owen Birrell points out that the dividends are essentially replacing share buybacks. In the half year ended in December, Qantas completed A$431 million of share buybacks, roughly equivalent with the A$400 million in dividends the airline just announced with its 1H result. No new buybacks were offered. Birrell adds that the Qantas result was broadly in line with analyst consensus, but that the picture was more muddied at the segment level: Qantas domestic, Qantas international and Qantas loyalty all missed expectations, though budget unit Jetstar was a beat. Birrell keeps a "perform" rating on Qantas shares, though investors seem pleased, with Qantas shares recently trading 4.5% higher at A$9.29. (mike.cherney@wsj.com; @Mike_Cherney)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2025 16:50 ET (21:50 GMT)

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