AU Morning Wrap: ASX opens higher; CVC eyes $20b Brambles bid

Wall Street Summary
US stocks soared on Friday, paring heavy losses from earlier in the week amid worries central bank efforts to rein in inflation will drag the economy into recession.

The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ climbed 94 points or 2.39 per cent. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ rose 466 points or 1.47 per cent. The $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ soared 434 points or 3.82 per cent, its biggest percentage gain since 2020.

AU Market Watch
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 looks likely to open strongly at the start of the new trading week, following a surge by U.S. stocks. ASX futures are up by 0.8%. The benchmark index rose 1.9% on Friday, but still lost ground for a fourth consecutive week.

Australian shares opened higher this morning. The $S&P/ASX 200(.XJO.AU)$ gained 0.83 per cent to 7134 as of 10:13 am.

Stocks to Watch
$Brambles Ltd(BXB.AU)$: The board of pallets business Brambles has confirmed it has talked to private equity group CVC Capital Partners over a potential takeover deal.

$Integrated Research Ltd(IRI.AU)$: Software player Integrated Research has warned FY 2022's net profit is now likely to below the $7.9 million reported in FY 2021. Previous guidance was for it to beat FY 2021's net profit.

$Cooper Energy Ltd(COE.AU)$: Cooper Basin-based gas producer Cooper Energy has lifted its underlying FY 2022 EBITDAX guidance to between $57 million and $68 million, versus previous guidance between $53 million and $63 million. It says the upgrade is partly because of higher east coast Australian gas prices.

$Calix Ltd(CXL.AU)$: ASX-listed environmental tech company Calix and building products group Boral have secured $30 million in funding from the government under the government's Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS) Hubs and Technologies Program.

Ex-dividend Companies: $Macquarie Group Ltd(MQG.AU)$, $Plato Income Maximiser Ltd(PL8.AU)$, $QV Equities Ltd(QVE.AU)$, $WAM Global Ltd(WGB.AU)$

Dividends paid Companies: $Qualitas Real Estate Income Fund(QRI.AU)$

Commodities
• Iron ore futures up 0.6% to US$130.9 a tonne.
• Oil prices were modestly higher after Russia rolled out gas sanctions on some European importers, raising a potential spillover into oil markets.
• Gold continues to fall as investors seem to favour other safe haven assets like the US dollar and US bonds.

Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR