AU Morning Wrap: ASX Rises; Megaport, Bubs Tumble
G'day, mooers! Check out the latest news on today's stock market!
• S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower, Fed and megacap earnings jitters
• ASX 200 rises with consumer staples leading sector gains
• Stocks to watch: Bubs Australia, Woolworths, Megaport
- Moomoo News AU
• S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower, Fed and megacap earnings jitters
• ASX 200 rises with consumer staples leading sector gains
• Stocks to watch: Bubs Australia, Woolworths, Megaport
- Moomoo News AU
Wall Street Summary
The January rally took a breather as investors braced for earnings from the market's biggest companies and the first Federal Reserve policy meeting of 2023. Energy and tech led a retreat that lowered all but one sector.
The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US$ declined 53 points or 1.3 per cent. The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US$ gave up 261 points or 0.77 per cent. The $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US$ shed 228 points or 1.96 per cent.
"The market has had a big run and the trading is a bit more cautious heading into a week which likely will be an inflection point for the overall market," Keith Lerner, co-chief investment officer at Truist Advisory Services, told Reuters.
Megacaps Apple, Amazon and Google parent company Alphabet all lost at least 1.65 per cent ahead of trading updates later this week. This is arguably the biggest week of the current reporting season, with 107 S&P 500 companies scheduled to release updates, as well as six Dow component companies.
AU Market Watch
The $S&P/ASX 200(.XJO.AU$ rose 0.16% per cent with consumer staples leading sector gains up 1.2 per cent. Most other sectors were flat, except information technology down 1.7 per cent.
Heavily shorted $Megaport Ltd(MP1.AU$ led the ASX 200 decliners, tumbling 17.2 per cent after delivering second-quarter earnings and providing a global market update. Total revenue for the quarter was $37 million, up 10 per cent compared to 1Q FY23.
Bubs Australia fell 10 per cent after announcing second quarter China revenue fell 66 per cent as prolonged COVID lockdowns caused significant disruption.
$Woolworths Group Ltd(WOW.AU$ led the gainers up 2.2 per cent.
Stocks to Watch
$BWX Ltd(BWX.AU$: Bombed out beauty retailer BWX has downgraded its sales and adjusted EBITDA guidance for FY 2023 just weeks after returning to the ASX boards on the back of accounting irregularities.
Management blamed poor consumer sentiment in the US and weak stock levels for the downgrade in total sales guidance to between $170 million and $190 million, versus a previous forecast of up to $230 million. Its adjusted EBITDA guidance also got chopped.
$Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd(FLT.AU$: Travel giant Flight Centre is pushing deeper into luxury tourism by acquiring the UK-based Scott Dunn trip agency – which offers trips from "malaria-free safaris" to"foodie holidays" in Vietnam – in a $220 million deal.
$BUBS Australia Ltd(BUB.AU$: Growth in Bubs Australia and US business has been offset by COVID-19 lockdowns in China constraining revenue.
First-half revenue fell 1 per cent to $37.9 million and second-quarter revenue fell 28 per cent to $14.3 million.
$IGO Ltd(IGO.AU$: IGO will pay shareholders a 14¢ interim dividend for FY23 as strong lithium prices drive record earnings.
The company booked a net profile of $591 million for the half-year ending 31 December, up from $91 in the first half, reflecting growth in its share of net profit in Tianqi Lithium.
Commodities
• Iron ore rallied 2 per cent in China as trade resumed after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. Buyers were encouraged by a pledge from the State Council to support consumption and by reports the holiday had not fuelled an uptick in Covid cases.
• Oil fell ahead of likely rate hikes in the US and Europe this week. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies hold a committee meeting on Wednesday. A European Union ban on Russian oil imports starts on Sunday.
Brent crude settled US$1.76 or 2.03 per cent lower at US$84.90 a barrel.
• Gold trimmed its longest run of weekly advances since 2020. Gold for April delivery settled US$6.40 or 0.3 per cent lower at US$1,939.20 an ounce. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index dropped 1.08 per cent.
Source: Dow Jones Newswires, AFR
Disclaimer: Moomoo Technologies Inc. is providing this content for information and educational use only.
Read more
Comment
Sign in to post a comment
Moomoo News Official Account
Australian stock market news that is available at your fingertips
3629Followers
6Following
100KVisitors
Follow