AU Morning Wrap: ASX to fall; Pilbara books first profit

Wall Street Summary
US stocks swooned ahead of this week's Jackson Hole economic symposium amid concerns the market has been overly optimistic about the outlook for interest rates. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to push back against the idea peak inflation will allow the central bank to slow the pace of rate hikes.

The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ tumbled 90 points or 2.14 per cent to its worst loss since mid-June. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ shed 643 points or 1.91 per cent. The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ lost 324 points or 2.55 per cent.

AU Market Watch
ASX futures dropped 43 points or 0.62 per cent. The S&P/ASX 200 slumped 68 points or 0.95 per cent yesterday to its heaviest loss in five weeks.

Australian shares opened lower this morning. The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ lost 0.57 per cent to 7006.5 as of 10:15 am.

Stocks to Watch
$Breville Group Ltd (BRG.AU)$: Breville Group has reported record revenue of $1.41 billion for the year ended June 30, up 19.4 per cent on the prior year. The company's EBITDA increased 14.4 per cent to $186.8 million, while its gross margin fell to 34.3 per cent, from 34.8 per cent in FY21.

$Pilbara Minerals Ltd (PLS.AU)$: Pilbara Minerals has delivered an inaugural full-year profit after tax of $561.8 million for the full year to 30 June 2022, buoyed by strong global demand for lithium raw materials and positive pricing conditions for spodumene concentrate, particularly in the second half of the year.

$Endeavour Group Ltd (EDV.AU)$: Owner of large liquor chains Dan Murphy's and BWS Endeavour Group has booked an 11.2pc increase in FY22 net profit to $495 million against a backdrop of ongoing impacts from COVID-19, severe weather events, team shortages and a range of supply chain disruptions.

$Kogan.com Ltd (KGN.AU)$: Online retailer Kogan.com has posted a $35.5 million loss in FY22, down 1102 per cent from a profit of $3.5 million in FY21, and will increase the price of its Kogan First program to combat inflation in delivery costs.

$Boral Ltd (BLD.AU)$: Boral has reported a statutory net profit after tax of $961 million for the year ended June 30, 2022, which included a post-tax significant gain of $811 million.

Ex-dividend: $Australian Clinical Labs Ltd (ACL.AU)$, $Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (DHG.AU)$, $IPH Ltd (IPH.AU)$, $Qualitas Ltd (QAL.AU)$

Dividends paid: $Dexus Convenience Retail REIT (DXC.AU)$, $Dexus Industria REIT (DXI.AU)$, $Transurban Group (TCL.AU)$

Commodities
• Iron ore futures rose 0.5% to US$104.85 a tonne. Imported iron ore prices in China's portside and seaborne markets experienced steady falls during the week of August 15-19. Though more steelmakers resumed production, their ore buying was slow and market sentiment turned negative, according to Mysteel.
• Oil prices closed slightly higher after a brief -3.5% intraday dip. "The crude demand outlook is taking a big hit from elevated risk that Europe's recession will be severe and as several Chinese companies are following the government's advice to conserve energy," said OANDA senior market analyst, Ed Moya.
• European natural gas futures up 13.2% to 276.8 euros. Russia completely shut off Nord Stream gas flows to Europe. The pipeline is expected to be closed for three days of maintenance on August 31, but raises concerns that the link won't return to service as planned after the works.
• Prices are up 44.9% in August alone. Gold is on a six day losing streak as the US Dollar powers ahead.

Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR