AU Morning Wrap: ASX opens 1% lower; Adbri, Magellan dive

Wall Street Summary
US stocks sold off sharply on Friday as Federal Reserve officials pushed back against the idea of a slowdown in rate increases any time soon. Caution set in ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s address this week to the annual Jackson Hall Symposium.

The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ declined 55 points or 1.29 per cent. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ shed 292 points or 0.86 per cent. The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ gave up 260 points or 2.01 per cent.

AU Market Watch
ASX futures declined 29 points or 0.41 per cent. The S&P/ASX 200 has good momentum after rising for five straight weeks for the first time since June 2021.

Australian shares opened lower this morning. The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ lost 0.95 per cent to 7047.2 as of 10:17 am.

Stocks to Watch
$EML Payments Ltd (EML.AU)$: Payments business EML Payments has narrowed its FY 2022 net loss to $4.8 million versus $23.3 million in the prior year period. It reported total revenue up 21 per cent to $232.4 million on total transaction volume up 308 per cent to $80.2 billion. EML declined to provide any specific financial guidance for FY 2023 but said it plans to implement a $20 million share buy-back over the next 12 months.

$Nearmap Ltd (NEA.AU)$: Nearmap has agreed to a take-over deal from private equity firm Thoma Bravo that values the Australian aerial imagery technology company at $1.05 billion, the company announced on Monday.

$Lendlease Group (LLC.AU)$: Lendlease will meet its return on equity target by financial year 2024, aiming for 8 per cent to 11 per cent. It warned of a lower margin from the construction business in 2023, with an EBITDA margin below target at 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent shy of the 2 per cent to 3 per cent level.

$Cooper Energy Ltd (COE.AU)$: Cooper Energy has reported record revenue of $205.4 million for the 2022 financial year, up 56 per cent on the previous corresponding period (pcp).

$The Star Entertainment Group Ltd (SGR.AU)$: The Star Entertainment Group said it was too early to determine what if any impact the opening of Crown Sydney’s gaming floor would have on The Star casino. Group revenue was up 9 per cent on pre-COVID-19 levels up to August 18, 2022, according to its trading update.

$Adairs Ltd (ADH.AU)$: Adairs has reported record sales of $564.5 million for the 2022 financial year, up 12.9 per cent on FY21. Like-for-like sales were down 2 per cent, cycling a record FY21. Group online sales now make up 35 per cent of total group sales.

Ex-dividend: $Aurizon Holdings Ltd (AZJ.AU)$, $Magellan Financial Group Ltd (MFG.AU)$, $Steadfast Group Ltd (SDF.AU)$, $Santos Ltd (STO.AU)$, $Vicinity Centres (VCX.AU)$

Dividends paid: $HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (HDN.AU)$

Commodities
• Iron ore futures fell -0.5% and down -5.1% last week to US$104 a tonne. Starting to see a few bearish headlines from Chinese steel agencies.
• Oil prices are trying to stabilise with WTI trading just shy of US$90 and Brent hovering US$95 a barrel. They've recovered around half the losses they suffered last week.
• Gold continues to sell off as the US Dollar Index extends its winning streak to six days. The momentum behind the dollar and yields continues to make it difficult for the non-yield bearing gold to act as a safe haven.

Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR