AU Morning Wrap: ASX opens higher despite inflation report rattling Wall St

Wall Street Summary
Early optimism fuelled by better-than-expected core inflation figures gave way to further selling as the Federal Reserve indicated it remained committed to a series of rate hikes.

The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ faded to a loss of 15 points or 0.34 per cent after being up as much as 1.3 per cent. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ fell 88 points or 0.26 per cent, reversing an initial gain of more than 360 points. The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ shed 40 points or 0.3 per cent.

AU Market Watch
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is poised to open lower as Wall Street weighs concerns about rising inflation. ASX futures are down 0.1%, suggesting the benchmark index will extend Tuesday's lower close at the open.

Australia shares opened higher this morning. The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ gained 0.23 per cent to 7471 as of 10:12 pm.

Stocks to Watch
$Cooper Energy Ltd (COE.AU)$: Energy exploration and production business Cooper Energy reports it has been granted an exploration permit for the offshore Victoria Wobbegong prospective gas resource.

$Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (PBH.AU)$: PointsBet Holdings has "launched its online casino product in Pennsylvania following an authorisation by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB)".

Ex-dividend Companies: $Future Generation Australia Ltd (FGX.AU)$, $WAM Leaders Ltd (WLE.AU)$

Dividends Paid Companies: $KKR Credit Income Fund (KKC.AU)$, $News Corp (NWS.AU)$, $Southern Cross Electrical Engineering Ltd (SXE.AU)$, $TPG Telecom Ltd (TPG.AU)$, $Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW.AU)$

Commodities
• Iron ore prices rose.
• Oil prices appear to have mostly priced-in the strategic petroleum release plans.
• Gold rallied as bond yields declined. Core inflation is slowing, which means the Fed might not have to go full-blown aggressive with interest rate hikes.

Source: Dow Jones Newswires, Market Index