The latest Market Talks covering Basic Materials. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0446 GMT - Paladin Energy's Patterson Lake South uranium project already contributes more to Macquarie's valuation of the stock than the company's operating Langer Heinrich mine. "And with time passage and resource growth, this gap looks set to expand further," says the bank. Recent drill results have increased management's confidence in PLS resource growth, and Paladin has time to consider offtake strategies, Macquarie says. It upgrades the stock to outperform from neutral and raises its target by 7% to A$13.85/share. The stock is up 4.2% at A$11.58. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0242 GMT - Copper prices are higher in early Asian trade, supported by supply concerns after Chile's July output fell 9.4% from a year earlier due to severe weather and mine maintenance, Huatai futures analysts say. Low domestic inventories also continue to underpin the market, though elevated prices are capping demand as downstream buyers remain cautious ahead of the traditional September peak season, they say in a note. Investors also look ahead to U.S. economic data--namely the upcoming nonfarm payrolls report--for clues on the Federal Reserve's policy path. Overall, copper remains cautiously bullish, with any price pullback likely to attract buying interest. The three-month LME copper contract is 0.3% higher at $14,261.00 a ton.(jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0159 GMT - It's possible that Anglo Teck--a planned tie-up of Anglo American and Teck Resources--will benefit from M&A "as either predator or prey," says Jefferies. The bank says the merged company will become one of the world's biggest and highest-quality copper miners, and has significant re-rating potential over the next two to three years. Jefferies expects a rotation out of other copper miners and into Anglo Teck, driving relative outperformance in the shares. "All things considered, and despite justifiably high expectations in the equity markets, Anglo continues to be one of our top picks in the sector," Jefferies says. "Our impression after spending time with the management team this week only reinforces this view." Jefferies thinks the merger could close before the end of this year. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

1757 GMT - Gold futures snap a three-session losing streak as Treasury yields ease. The market is closely watching for Friday's employment report, where a strong jobs showing could add to Fed rate-hike expectations. ADP reported a smaller-than-expected 38,000 increase in private-sector jobs in August. "Softer data can ease the downside risk, while stronger figures or more hawkish Fed comments may trigger additional weakness," Konstantinos Chrysikos of Kudo.com says in a note. Front month gold rises 0.4% to $4,366.30 a troy ounce. Silver edges up 0.2% to $64.723 a troy ounce. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1414 GMT - Gold futures are making a modest recovery as oil prices retreat and Treasury yields pull back from overnight highs. The rise in yields has been behind the slide in precious metals in recent days. "Both gold and silver have reached levels that, in the past, have acted as strongholds," Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital says in a note. "Therefore, we believe these levels may prove to be attractive entry points." Gold for December delivery is up 0.7% in New York at $4,428.50 a troy ounce. Silver gains 0.8% to $65.91 a troy ounce. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1311 GMT - Bitcoin is down 0.6% to $76,987, under pressure after Fed Chair Warsh's recent speech that pushed overall market sentiment toward a quarter-point rate hike later this month. Alternative store-of-value assets like gold and bitcoin have been hit by higher Treasury yields, which come at a time known to some in the cryptocurrency space as "Rektember". The month of September is often considered by some as a negative month for bitcoin, although September prices in recent years have been mostly rangebound, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Ethereum falls 1.4% to $2,387, XRP is down 1.7% to $1.33, and solana is off 1.8% to $98.26. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1155 GMT - Algoma Steel Group holds significant upside potential if a U.S.-Canada trade deal is finalized. RBC's James McGarragle says a reduction in US tariffs to 25%, from 50%, with an annual 4 million ton export quota, in line with recent negotiations, would reopen the US market. McGarragle also says increased U.S. exports would drive a Canadian domestic pricing recovery. "A deal of this structure would potentially drive meaningful FCF [free cash flow] (C$378MM/yr, 60% yield), enable debt repayment, and represent a significant re-rating catalyst," McGarragle says, adding that "we are not calling for a U.S.-Canada trade deal--but we think investors should be ready for one." (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1022 GMT - Palm oil ended lower, tracking weakness in the soybean oil market, according to David Ng, a trader at Kuala Lumpur-based Iceberg X. Recent weakness in export performance also weighs on the vegetable oil's price, he says. Ng sees prices for palm oil supported above 4,900 ringgit a ton and resistance at 5,050 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for November delivery falls 13 ringgit to 4,970 ringgit a ton.