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.

0816 GMT - Shares of European semiconductor companies are in decline after investors dumped Asian stocks linked to artificial intelligence. South Korea's SK Hynix closed 10% lower, while Samsung Electronics shed 7.4%. In Japan, chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron lost 7.2%. In Europe, shares of Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International are down 1.8% and 2.3%, respectively. Dutch supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment BE Semiconductor Industries is down 1.5%. German chip maker Infineon Technologies stock loses 1.9%. STMicroelectronics shares are down 2.5%. Meanwhile, the E-mini Nasdaq 100 futures contract is 0.7% lower, pointing to a weak opening for tech stocks in the U.S. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)

0806 GMT - China's data-center investment story is shifting from securing power capacity and customer contracts to generating attractive returns on invested capital, Goldman Sachs analysts write in a note. Higher U.S. interest rates have sharpened investors' scrutiny on whether accelerating AI infrastructure spending can generate returns that exceed the cost of capital, they add. While moving closer to AI workload monetization offers greater ROIC potential, it also exposes operators to greater execution, technology and earnings risks, they say. Powered-shell data centers remain lower-return assets, the analysts say.(jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0738 GMT - The memory market is still cyclical despite the current AI-driven boom, Morgan Stanley analysts say in a research note. Memory demand is structural so far as demand from artificial-intelligence data-center construction is still outstripping what the industry can supply, while on-device AI and humanoid robots also require increasing memory, they say. However, "in this demand-led super cycle, we think super profits will eventually bring on new supply, with inevitable consequences for returns and ultimately for share prices," they say. Historically, memory companies have been poor at predicting their own inflection points, they say. China will also be a major swing factor, as CXMT is expanding fast in DRAM and HBM3 and YMTC is already a global competitor in NAND, they add. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0738 GMT - Indonesia's telecommunications companies should benefit from Southeast Asia's AI-ready data-center boom, as tightening power availability in neighbors Singapore and Malaysia lead operators to seek alternative host markets, say CGS International analysts in a note. Industry participants currently view Indonesia's data-center development stage as comparable with Malaysia's early data-center expansion cycle in 2022. The analysts expect investor attention on the market to grow and increasingly focus on opportunities related to AI specialized cloud computing providers, given Indonesia's earlier development stage. Indosat is seen as Indonesia's strongest AI proxy, as it has exposure across the AI value chain, including an Nvidia cloud partner platform. Other well-positioned players with a data-center footprint include Telekomunikasi Indonesia, CGSI adds. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

0722 GMT - Half of prospective smartphone buyers are expected to stay on the sidelines awaiting holiday deals as prices rise, with promotions expected to play a bigger role in purchasing decisions, according to Counterpoint Research. The research firm says 63% of consumers intending to buy a smartphone within six months have noticed price increases, with such awareness in China the highest rate, at 81%. Driven by memory costs, global smartphone prices are expected to rise by an average of 20% by the end of 2026, with some new models jumping by up to 30%. Still, 44% of consumers remain willing to stretch their budgets for preferred devices, while 37% plan to delay purchases, Counterpoint says. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0621 GMT - South Korean chip stocks' retreat, despite elevated profit estimates for semiconductor companies amid the artificial-intelligence boom, may partly reflect investors' skepticism about the sustainability of earnings, KB Securities' E.T. Lee and D.E. Lee say. Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were last down about 9% and 10%, respectively, putting them on track for a fifth consecutive session of losses. "Investors still appear to view semiconductors as a cyclical industry and remain skeptical about the sector's ability to generate sustained earnings," the analysts write in a note. While bottlenecks can drive a surge in profits during boom periods, their eventual easing can lead to excess inventory and overinvestment, they say. Similar patterns emerged in sectors such as diagnostic kits, masks, toilet paper and container shipping after the pandemic, they add. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

0556 GMT - Indonesian telecom tower companies may be hit by higher interest rates, Bahana Sekuritas' Nicolas Lumy says in a research report. Dayamitra Telekomunikasi's 100% floating-rate debt profile poses a major risk in a higher rate environment, the analyst notes. Also, tower companies are locked into long-term contracts with fixed, non-negotiable lease rates, so returns will decline as their interest burden increases amid fixed revenue. The brokerage downgrades the sector's rating to neutral from overweight. However, it still likes Sarana Menara Nusantara due to its strong presence in Indonesia's Java. Bahana Sekuritas has a buy rating and a target price of 712 rupiah on Sarana Menara Nusantara's shares, which are down 0.9% at 454 rupiah. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

0332 GMT - TSMC could raise its annual revenue guidance again when it reports third-quarter results on Thursday, Vincent Fernando of Zero One says. The Taiwanese chip maker last week posted September revenue near August's record, pushing the quarterly total beyond the company's estimated range. The sales beat has made TSMC's 2026 revenue growth forecast of "slightly above 40%" in dollar terms look conservative, the investment research firm's founder and executive director writes on Smartkarma. "Holding the current language would imply fourth-quarter growth at a third of the pace guided for the third quarter," slower than where the business is running at, he says. "That makes a further lift to the full-year growth guide a live possibility." (farah.elias@wsj.com)

2022 GMT - 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)

1757 GMT - 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)

1702 GMT - 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)

1459 GMT - Material shortages in the German manufacturing sector rose somewhat in September, Germany's Ifo Institute says. A total of 14.6% of companies reported shortages of intermediate products, up from 13.3% in August, although there is still no sign of a broad-based rise in supply, it says. "In individual industries, however, shortages of intermediate products are once again becoming a bigger problem," says Klaus Wohlrabe, head of surveys at Ifo. Supply remains strained in particular among manufacturers of data-processing equipment and electronic and optical products, where the share of companies with material shortages rose from 33.2% to 37.8%, Ifo says. "In parts of the electronics industry in particular, strong demand is running up against tight material supplies," Wohlrabe says.