AU Morning Wrap: ASX Flat Ahead of Jobs Data; GrainCorp Rallies

Moomoo News AU wrote a column · Nov 16, 2023 07:41

G'day, mooers! Check out the latest news on today's stock market!
• S&P 500 gains on more easing inflation data
• ASX flat ahead of jobs data
• Stocks to watch: A2 Milk, GrainCorp, Sonic Healthcare
- Moomoo News AU

AU Morning Wrap: ASX Flat Ahead of Jobs Data; GrainCorp Rallies

Wall Street Summary

Growing evidence of a gradually cooling economy helped push stocks higher once again Wednesday.

The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ rose 0.2%. The tech-heavy $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ gained 0.1%. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ rose 0.5%, or around 164 points. Seven of the 11 sectors within the S&P 500 closed higher.

The major indexes have risen sharply so far this week, prompted by growing investor confidence that the Federal Reserve can achieve a so-called soft landing, a scenario where inflation drops but the economy avoids a significant contraction.

AU Market Watch

The Australian sharemarket slipped at the open despite an extended rally on Wall Street, as investors await key jobs data that may help determine the Reserve Bank's next move on interest rates.

The benchmark $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ slipped 0.1 per cent or 4.6 points to 7101.3 at market open, while the Australian dollar hit a three-month peak of US65.14¢ overnight ahead of the local labour force data due at 11.30am AEDT.

Stocks to Watch

$The a2 Milk Co Ltd (A2M.AU)$: A2 Milk added 1.5 per cent despite a warning from the company's boss David Bortolussi that China's infant formula market is in a steep decline and will be a more challenging place to do business this year.

$Graincorp Ltd (GNC.AU)$: GrainCorp jumped 6.9 per cent even as it reported a net profit after tax of $250 million for financial year 2023, down from $380 million a year ago. Earnings before net interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was booked at $565 million, a decline from FY22's figure of $703 million.

$Sonic Healthcare Ltd (SHL.AU)$: Sonic Healthcare dropped 3.7 per cent after it revealed to the market it's set to acquire US medical technology company Pathology Watch. The ASX listed healthcare provider said in an announcement that the purchase price of $US130 million ($199.8 million) will be funded in USD from Sonic's existing cash and debt facilities.