AU Morning Wrap: Sezzle and Zip agree to terminate merger

The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US)$ dropped 45 points or 1.15 per cent. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ shed 164 points or 0.52 per cent. The $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ lost 263 points or 2.26 per cent.

AU Market Watch
Australian stock futures are pointing to an opening bounce for the S&P/ASX 200 despite a weak lead by U.S. equities. ASX futures are up by 0.3%, suggesting the benchmark index could rally from Monday's 1.1% decline. That fall was driven by weakness in the materials, tech, consumer and financial sectors.

Stocks to Watch
$Zip Co Ltd(ZIP.AU)$: $Sezzle Inc(SZL.AU)$ and Zip Co have mutually agreed to terminate the agreement and plan of merger signed in February effective immediately. As part of the mutual termination, Sezzle will receive from Zip $US11 million, to cover, among other things, Sezzle's legal, accounting, and other costs associated with the transaction.

$MyDeal.com.au Ltd(MYD.AU)$: Online retailer MyDeal has reported record gross sales of $272.2 million for the 2022 financial year. The result was ahead of guidance and was up 24.8 per cent on the prior corresponding period (pcp). The company also achieved record revenue of $65.4 million which was ahead of guidance and up 70.9 per cent on the pcp.

$Carnarvon Energy Ltd(CVN.AU)$: Carnarvon Energy's renewable diesel business, FutureEnergy Australia, has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the regional Western Australian power provider Horizon Power.

$Spark New Zealand Ltd(SPK.AU)$: Spark New Zealand is set to sell a 70 per cent interest in its TowerCo business to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board for $NZ900 million ($816.4 million).

Ex-dividend: $Metcash Ltd(MTS.AU)$, $Sunland Group Ltd(SDG.AU)$

Dividends paid: $NZME Ltd(NZM.AU)$

Commodities
• Iron ore prices continue to deteriorate.
• Oil prices are weakening amid a double whammy of US inflation jitters and China's rising covid cases.
• Gold prices hit a fresh 9-month low as the US dollar continues to surge. A hot inflation report on Wednesday will embolden the Fed to aggressively hike interest rates, creating a difficult environment for the yellow metal.

Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR