AU Morning Wrap: ASX rises; Oz Minerals cuts dividends

Wall Street Summary
US stocks rose for a second night as investors waited to hear Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell address the Jackson Hole symposium. The Fed chief is due to speak tonight.

The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ rallied 58 points or 1.41 per cent. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ gained 323 points or 0.98 per cent. The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ put on 208 points or 1.67 per cent.

AU Market Watch
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 looks likely to edge higher at the open after U.S. stocks rose ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. ASX futures are up by 0.1%, suggesting the benchmark index could build on its consecutive gains. The ASX 200 remains 0.9% lower so far this week despite adding 0.7% on Thursday.

Australian shares opened higher this morning. The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ gained 0.32 per cent to 7070.4 as of 10:13 am.

Stocks to Watch
$Costa Group Holdings Ltd (CGC.AU)$: Costa said cost inflation is unlikely to moderate significantly in the second-half, as part of its outlook which promises quality berries, strong demand and pricing in mushrooms and tomatoes, and improving avocados. It took a $2.2 million avocado impairment in the half.

Costa reported an interim dividend of 4¢ a share fully franked will be paid October 6 after first-half revenue increased 15.7 per cent to $708.7 million, earnings 12.6 per cent to $140.1 million and underlying net profit 10.8 per cent to $49.2 million.Costa statutory net profit fell 9.2 per cent to $40.3 million.

$Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (LYC.AU)$: Lynas Rare Earths has reported record results for the year ending June 30, with revenue climbing 88 per cent to $920 million and its net profit after tax jumping 244 per cent to $540.8 million.

$Wesfarmers Ltd (WES.AU)$: Investment conglomerate Wesfarmers has lifted its full-year dividends 1.1 per cent to $1.80 per share, versus $1.78 per share in the prior year period. For FY 2022 its net profit slipped 1.2 per cent to $2.35 billion on sales up 8.5 per cent to $36.84 billion. As at the period end net debt stood at $4.3 billion.

$Bega Cheese Ltd (BGA.AU)$: Bega Cheese has reported a 69 per cent decline in profit after tax to $24.2 million as it battled COVID-19, rising costs and supply chain disruptions. Top-line revenue rose 45.2 per cent to $3.01 billion, with 80 per cent stemming from branded products, while EBITDA fell 18.8 per cent to $149.9 million.

$Ramsay Health Care Ltd (RHC.AU)$: Global hospital operator Ramsay Healthcare has posted a profit before tax down 25.1 per cent to $538.5 million on sales up 3.3 per cent to $13.7 billion. Total dividends per share fell 39.7 per cent to 97¢ per share on earnings down 39.7 per cent to $1.16 per share.

$Oz Minerals Ltd (OZL.AU)$: OZ Minerals posted revenue of $908.6 million for the half year 2022, representing a decline of 7.9 per cent from the period before. Profits after tax attributable to OZ Minerals shareholders were slashed 59.3 per cent to $109.2 million from the year before. OZ Minerals declared a fully franked interim dividend of 8¢ per share for the half-year 2022.

Ex-dividend: $Argo Investments Ltd (ARG.AU)$, $Alumina Ltd (AWC.AU)$, $GUD Holdings Ltd (GUD.AU)$, $Lendlease Group (LLC.AU)$, $Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM.AU)$

Dividends paid: $Djerriwarrh Investments Ltd (DJW.AU)$, $Flagship Investments Ltd (FSI.AU)$

Commodities
• Iron ore futures fell -0.3% to US$104.9 a tonne. After five consecutive weeks of gains, the steelmaking capacity utilisation rate among electric-arc steelmaking furnaces (EAF) mills started to head south again. Some EAF makers had reined in output due to local power shortages and their increasing production costs, Mysteel reported.

• Oil prices fell after reports that OPEC+ was considering lower production. Talks between the EU, the US and Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal are still in progress, which could potentially bring millions of barrels of oil back into global markets.

• Gold was slightly higher after the US dollar softened. The biggest catalyst for gold remains the hawkish or dovish commentary from Powell at Jackson Hole.