Powell comments send market lower, Fortescue beats guidance, retail strength continues

The local market followed an increasingly negative global lead, ultimately finishing 2 per cent lower. The sole driver was commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from the Jackson Hole summit, which suggested aggressive central bank action was unlikely to slow any time soon.

The result was just four companies posting increases on the day, with losses led by the IT sector including the likes of Zip Co. (ASX: ZIP) which fell 8.9 per cent. Materials, financials and staples were also hit, down 2 per cent, with Fortescue’s (ASX: FMG) 4.9 per cent fall a major drag.

This came despite a reasonably strong earnings result that saw the company post its second-largest profit on record, US$10.3 billion, but 40 per cent down on the prior year due to the falling price of iron ore.

Revenue fell 22 per cent and the earnings margin also took a major hit with management guiding for another US$600 million in further investment into Fortescue Future Industries.

The dividend of $1.21 per share will see the CEO receive some $2.3 billion in cash. On the positive side, retail sales in Australia remained resilient, growing 1.3 per cent in June and 16 per cent for the year.
 
A2 Milk jumps on rough day, Next DC growth slows, Adore tanks
 
A2 Milk (ASX: A2M) was among the few winners on a rough day for the market, gaining 10 per cent after reporting much better than expected profit results.

Revenue for the milk and baby formula producer grew 20 per cent for the financial year to $1.4 billion, supporting a 42 per cent increase in profit and an unexpected NZ$150 million on market share buyback.

Shares in data centre owner Next DC (ASX: NXT) fell 6.4 per cent after the company guided to slower growth going forward.

Earnings are expected to reach $190 million, up from $169 million in FY22 with high single-digit revenue growth a cut to previous guidance.

Ampol (ASX: ALD) has successfully negotiated the sale of the Z Energy assets in New Zealand for NZ$132 million with Charter Hall’s (ASX: CHC) Retail REIT purchasing the portfolio on a yield of around 5.5 per cent, the latest confirmation that property is standing up to recent rate hikes. 

Embattled retailer Adore Beauty (ASX: ABY) fell another 10 per cent after confirming that sales had slumped 28 per cent in the first seven weeks of the new financial year but reported strong revenue growth.
 
Selloff slows, Tesla to be launch automation, Bed Bath & Beyond run continues
 
All three US benchmarks continued their Federal Reserve driven selloff, albeit at a slower pace than before with the Nasdaq dropping 1 per cent, the S&P500 0.4 and the Dow Jones 0.3 per cent.

The pressure was widespread but ultimately came down to comments from Chair Jerome Powell that suggest he is willing to push unemployment higher and slow the economy solely to fight off inflation that already appears to be slowing.

The result is that ‘the market’ no longer expected rates to be cut in 2023. With payrolls data the only highlight this week, the news was quite thin outside of an announcement that Tesla (NYSE: TSLA) is set to launch their self-driving vehicles in the US and Europe by year-end, sending shares 1 per cent higher.

The meme stock frenzy in Bed Bath & Beyond (NYSE: BBBY) continued as the stock jumped 29 per cent on hopes of good news in an upcoming ‘strategic update’ from the company.

Drew Meredith

Drew is publisher of the Inside Network's mastheads and a principal adviser at Wattle Partners.