Aussie shares marked time for a third session after weak earnings from Walmart dulled the outlook for tonight’s US trade.
The S&P/ASX 200 see-sawed between gains and losses before reaching mid-session 10 points or 0.15 percent ahead.
The Australian benchmark finished within 0.1 percent of its starting point on each of the previous two sessions as investors await tomorrow’s inflation report, a US rate hike and trading updates from both sides of the Pacific.
Advances this morning in resource stocks were partly offset by declines across the broader market. Buy now, pay later companies provided much of the morning’s excitement as a recovery continued.
What’s driving the market
Mixed leads from Wall Street were quickly superseded by a plunge in US equity futures after retail bellwether Walmart issued its second profit warning in ten weeks. The company warned surging food prices prompted shoppers to spend less on clothing and electronics.
“The increasing levels of food and fuel inflation are affecting how customers spend, and while we’ve made good progress clearing hardline categories, apparel in Walmart U.S. is requiring more markdown dollars,” CEO Doug McMillon said.
Shares in the retailer plunged 9.94 percent in extended trade this morning. Amazon, Target and other retailers also sank.S&P 500 futures fell 13 points or 0.33 percent.
Aussie retailers caught a chill from the spending warning. While inflation has been lower here, Australian shoppers have not been immune from recent rises in fuel and food prices.
Breville Group dropped 4.63 percent, JB Hi-Fi 1.42 percent and Harvey Norman 1.93 percent.
Fourth-quarter inflation data tomorrow is expected to highlight pressures on the Australian wallet.
“Headline CPI is expected to rise by 1.8%… which would take the annual rate of inflation to 6.2%, its highest level since 2001 on the back of price rises in petrol, electricity, gas, food and new home construction costs,” Tony Sycamore, market analyst at City Index, said.
“A firmer AU Q2 CPI number on Wednesday, followed by a hawkish Fed on Thursday morning, would raise the chances that the RBA opts for a larger rate hike of 65 or 75bp when the Board meets next Tuesday,” he added.
Overnight, Wall Street’s main indices finished mixed. The S&P 500 edged up 0.13 percent. The Dow gained 0.28 percent. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.43 percent as Snap’s weak outlook continued to weigh.
Going up
Beaten-down BNPL players provided much of the sizzle as a recovery gathered pace. Last financial year’s worst-performers have rebounded with the start of a new fiscal year. Zip Co soared 19.88 percent. Sezzle gained 21.15 percent. Splitit added 14.29 percent.
Energy was the best-performing sector on both sides of the Pacific as crude reclaimed some of this month’s losses. Brent crude firmed another US$1.11 or 1.06 percent this morning to US$106.26 a barrel.
Beach Energy rose 3.76 percent, Santos 2.43 percent and Woodside Energy 2.25 percent.
Chinese plans to fund a rescue package for troubled property developments kept iron ore prices on the rise. The most-traded ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange climbed 4.44 percent on top of yesterday’s 7.1 percent bump.
Fortescue Metals rallied 2.9 percent, BHP 2.42 percent and Rio Tinto 2.07 percent.
Long-suffering investors in Myer welcomed news profits jumped at least 160 percent in the second half. The department store expects to report a half-year net profit after tax of $23-$28 million, up from $8.8 million in the first half. The share price jumped 20.42 percent.
Origin Energy firmed 1.41 percent after increasing its investment in fast-growing UK renewables group Octopus Energy. Origin injected another $163 million to maintain its 20 percent equity interest in Britain’s fifth-largest energy retailer.
A takeover offer from Spanish-owned mining services giant Thiess lifted MACA 23.12 percent to 98.5 cents. The board intends to support the off-market offer of $1.025 cash for all the shares in MACA.
Going down
Gold miners fell after a cost warning from the world’s largest gold producer. US giant Newmont slumped 13.23 per cent overnight after forecasting a sharp increase in the cost of production.
Perseus Mining dropped 2.37 percent, Newcrest 2.44 percent and St Barbara 0.55 percent.
Asset managers retreated after Morgan Stanley downgraded its price targets for the industry, citing limited growth options. Magellan fell 1.27 percent, Perpetual 2.12 percent and Pendal Group 0.32 percent.
Fruit and veg grower Costa Group dropped 1.18 percent after varroa mite honey bee disease was detected near the firm’s Corindi berry farm, north-west of Coffs Harbour.
The retirement of long-serving CEO Andrew Walsh helped drive Iress down 12.09 percent. Walsh has been with the trading software supplier since 2001. Former PEXA Group CEO Marcus Price will replace him.
Other markets
A broadly positive morning on Asian markets saw the Asia Dow gain 0.6 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite 0.53 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.85 percent. Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.1 percent.
Gold bounced US$5.10 or 0.3 percent to US$1,724.30 an ounce.
The dollar built on a four-week high, rising 0.33 percent to 69.73 US cents.
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