AU Morning Wrap: Shares lift; Flight Centre jumps 5%

Wall Street Summary
The US’s major indices pared solid weekly gains as Snap’s earnings miss prompted traders to reduce their tech exposure ahead of a big week of earnings and a Federal Reserve rate decision.

The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ declined 37 points or 0.93 per cent. The tech-heavy $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ shed 226 points or 1.87 per cent. The tech-lite $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ dipped 138 points or 0.43 per cent.

AU Market Watch
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 looks set to edge lower at the open following its strongest weekly gain since mid-March. ASX futures are down by 0.2% after U.S. stocks snapped a three-day winning streak on Friday.

Australian shares opened higher this morning. The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ gained 0.10 per cent to 6798.5 as of 10:14 am.

Stocks to Watch
$South32 Ltd (S32.AU)$: Copper, coal and aluminium producer South32 says it expects to meet FY 2022 cost guidance despite labour shortages and inclement weather over the year.

$Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (FLT.AU)$: Travel business Flight Centre says it expects to report an underlying EBITDA loss between $180 million and $190 million for the full year. That compares to previous guidance between $195 million and $225 million.

$Oz Minerals Ltd (OZL.AU)$: Oz Minerals said it produced less copper but more gold in the second quarter of 2022 versus the first quarter and that costs rose as it grappled with pandemic-related absenteeism, supply chain disruptions and inflation pressures.

Ex-dividend: $Praemium Ltd (PPS.AU)$

Dividends paid: $Thorn Group Ltd (TGA.AU)$

Commodities
• Iron ore futures rose 1.1% to US$104.5 a tonne.
• Oil prices managed to hold up relatively well in the face of bearish headlines including weak European manufacturing activity, contracting US business activity and recovering production from Libya.
• Gold is starting to inch higher as recession fears poise a potential reset for global rate hiking expectations.

Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR