AU Morning Wrap: ASX Opens Lower; Qantas Slips on Fuel Blowout
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• S&P 500 marks worst seek since March
• ASX opens lower; Qantas slips on customer, fuel costs
• Stocks to watch: Allkem, Synlait, Imugene
- Moomoo News AU
Wall Street Summary
U.S. stock indexes edged lower Friday to end an ugly week after the Federal Reserve signaled it may not be done hiking rates.
The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ fell 0.2% Friday and closed down 2.9% for the week, its worst performance since March and third straight weekly loss. The $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ dropped 0.1% Friday, and logged its third consecutive week of losses, with tech shares bearing the brunt of the recent selloff. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ was 0.3% lower Friday.
AU Market Watch
The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ slipped lower at the open, as last week's bearish market turn bleeds through to a second week.
Shares opened 36.7 points, or 0.5 per cent lower, at 7032.1, adding to a 2.9 per cent decline over last week's five sessions following more hawkish rhetoric from the world’s major central banks.
Early in trade, materials and financial stocks were among the worst hit, down 0.8 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.
In company news, Qantas fell 1.5 per cent, as the embattled airline flagged another $80 million in customer improvement costs and an expected $200 million hit from rising fuel costs.
$Imugene Ltd (IMU.AU)$ rose 6 per cent and is among the best performing on the benchmark, after completing a $18.2 million share purchase plan.
$Allkem Ltd (AKE.AU)$ has slipped 2.4 per cent, following a bevvy of new mineral estimates and forecasts from the lithium producer's mines and projects.
$Santos Ltd (STO.AU)$ eased 0.3 per cent lower. Managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher has been placed in a "flexible working arrangement" while he supports a family member's medical treatment through to the end of the year.
New Zealand dairy giant Synlait posted a FY23 net loss after tax of $NZ4.3 million ($3.98 million). The results arrive amid worsening relations with the company's long-time partner The a2 Milk Company. Despite the loss, the results appear to have come in above market expectations. Shares have edged up 2.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, gaming firm Star Entertainment has put its shares on halt as the casino operator prepares for an expected $750 million equity raising.
Stocks to Watch
$Synlait Milk Ltd (SM1.AU)$: New Zealand dairy giant Synlait has lamented a poor financial performance in its latest full-year results.
The company posted a FY23 net loss after tax of $NZ4.3 million ($3.98 million), an 111 per cent decrease on the 2022's figures.
Operating cashflow sank 83 per cent to $NZ39 million, and total group revenue dipped 3 per cent to $NZ1.6 billion.
$GPT Group (GPT.AU)$: GPT Group has appointed Russell Proutt as the property giant's next CEO.
Proutt is the chief financial officer at fellow ASX-listed property group Charter Hall and was previously managing partner at investment house Brookfield Asset Management.
Proutt is expected to take up the role from March 25, 2024, replacing outgoing CEO Bob Johnston.
$The Star Entertainment Group Ltd (SGR.AU)$: Embattled gaming firm Star Entertainment has put its shares on halt as the casino operator prepares for an expected $750 million equity raising.
It is understood the cash call, to be managed by Barrenjoey Capital Partners and launch as early as Monday, will be accompanied by a $450 million debt package backed by Westpac and Barclays.
$Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AU)$: Qantas says a recent spike in fuel prices could add a further $200 million to the airline's first-half fuel bill.
The airline's fuel prices have jumped 30 per cent since May, amid a sustained rally in the oil price, including a 10 per cent jump in August alone.
If the higher prices are sustained, the airline forecasts its six-month fuel bill in the first half of 2024 will reach $2.8 billion.
Qantas has also allotted a further $80 million in customer improvements, as the airline continues to weather the fallout from its ongoing competition action. That adds to the $150 million already allotted to the scheme.
Listing: None
Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR
Disclaimer: Moomoo Technologies Inc. is providing this content for information and educational use only.
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