AU Morning Wrap: ASX Drops 0.3%, Weighed by AGL and Whitehaven Coal
G'day, mooers! Check out the latest news on today's stock market!
• Google shares tumble on botched AI demo, hawkish Fed speeches
• ASX 200 down 0.5 per cent, weighed by AGL and Whitehaven Coal
• Stocks to watch: Charter Hall Long WALE REIT, Megaport, AGL
- Moomoo News AU
Wall Street Summary
US stocks reversed much of Tuesday's rally as Fed officials walked back some of the optimism fuelled by dovish remarks this week from Chair Jerome Powell. A string of earnings disappointments and a disastrous PR stunt by Google added to down-pressure.
The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ fell 46 points or 1.11 per cent. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ shed 208 points or 0.61 per cent. The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ lost 203 points or 1.68 per cent.
New York Fed President Williams dented hopes of rate cuts later this year during an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Williams said interest rates would be elevated for years to ensure inflation returned to previous levels.
AU Market Watch
The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ dipped 0.32 per cent in early trade, weighed by AGL and $Whitehaven Coal Ltd (WHC.AU)$.
AGL was the biggest laggard. It tumbled 7.2 per cent after posting a bottom-line loss for the first half of $1.1 billion, and halving its interim dividend to 8¢ per share, from 16¢ 12 months ago.
Charter Hall Long WALE REIT rose 1.5 per cent after affirming guidance of 28¢ per share.
$Santos Ltd (STO.AU)$ slipped 0.4 per cent. It resumed its gas production offshore WA after a leak halted operations
Mirvac was unchanged at $2.4 despite a slump of 62 per cent in half-year statutory profit.
Megaport rallied 5.2 per cent after trimming its net loss in the six months to December.
Shares in major banks and mining heavyweights drifted lower.
Stocks to Watch
$Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (CLW.AU)$: Charter Hall Long WALE REIT reported first-half operating earnings of $101.2 million or 14¢ a share.
In a statement, the company reiterated its fiscal 2023 operating EPS guidance of 28¢ and distribution per security guidance of 28¢. Based upon Wednesday’s closing price, this represents a 6.1 per cent distribution yield, it said.
Charter Hall said it sold $112 million worth of assets and added $105 million, of which the key acquisition was Geosciences Australia headquarters.
$Arena REIT (ARF.AU)$: Childcare centres owner Arena REIT's net profit for the six months to December dropped to $47.6 million, from $185.8 million a year ago.
It expects to pay a distribution of 16.8¢ per security in fiscal 2023.
$AGL Energy Ltd (AGL.AU)$: AGL halved its interim dividend to 8¢ per share after reporting a 55 per cent drop in profit to $87 million in the six months to December from a year ago.
It said an accounting loss on the value of hedge contracts and unplanned outages drove underlying profits down.
AGL will pay 12.9¢ in earnings per share, from 30.3¢ a year ago.
$Mirvac Group (MGR.AU)$: Mirvac Group has reported an operating profit of $305 million for the half year ended December 31, up 3 per cent on the prior corresponding period, primarily driven by growth in its integrated investment portfolio.
The company's statutory profit of $215 million was down 62 per cent on the pcp, due to lower investment property revaluations. Mirvac reported net tangible assets of $2.79, in line with the same period last year.
Mirvac declared a half-year distribution of 5.2¢ a share, up 2 per cent on the same period last year.
$Seek Ltd (SEK.AU)$: Seek job ads rose 2.8 per cent in January, breaking a string of seven consecutive monthly declines, suggesting some stabilisation after sharp falls, said a NAB employment report.
Still, the number of jobs advertised is 39 per cent higher than pre-pandemic December 2019 levels, indicative of overall continuing strong labour demand, commented Taylor Nugent, an economist at NAB.
$Megaport Ltd (MP1.AU)$: Telco infrastructure play Megaport trimmed net losses by 37 per cent to $US9.2 million in the six months to December, from a year ago, and will not pay a dividend for the period.
The profit after direct network costs and partner commissions for the half-year ended 2022 grew 38 per cent to $US31.1 million from the year before, taking gross margin 66 per cent higher.
Commodities
• Iron ore rebounded from a three-week low in China. The most-traded May contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange fell 1.1 per cent in early action before swinging to a gain of 0.7 per cent at 848 yuan (US$124.99) a tonne in daytime trade.
• Oil shrugged off a seventh straight week of rising stockpiles in the US. Brent crude rose for a third session as analysts identified some evidence of improved demand for refined products.
The international crude benchmark settled US$1.40 or 1.67 per cent ahead at US$85.09 a barrel.
• Gold continued to claw back heavy losses at the end of last week, rising for a third session. Gold for April delivery settled US$5.90 or 0.3 per cent higher at US$1,890.70 an ounce. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index declined 0.65 per cent.
Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR
Disclaimer: Moomoo Technologies Inc. is providing this content for information and educational use only.
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