Markets Live: ASX rallies from opening fall

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12:21pm

US federal securities regulators have served Tesla with a subpoena, according to a person familiar with the investigation, increasing pressure on the electric car company as it deals with the fallout from several recent actions by its chief executive, Elon Musk.

The subpoena, from the Securities and Exchange Commission, comes days after regulators began inquiring about an August 7 Twitter post by Musk, in which he said he was considering converting Tesla to a private company. In the post, he said that the financing for such a transaction, which would probably run into the tens of billions of dollars, had been "secured".

Tesla shares, a popular target for so-called short sellers who bet on certain stocks losing value, soared about 11 per cent on the day Musk posted the message.

It has become clear since then that neither Musk nor Tesla had actually lined up the necessary financing aside from having preliminary conversations with some investors.

Read the full story here.

12:07pm

The Australian sharemarket has recovered some of its losses at the open and rallied through the morning.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is down 17.2 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 6311.8.

The major miners are still lower although have softened from some of their earlier losses. BHP Billiton is down 2.4 per cent, Rio Tinto is down 1.3 per cent and South32 is down 1.5 per cent.

Invocare is the index's worst performer, down 9.3 per cent while Origin Energy is down 7.3 per cent. Mineral Resources is also lower, down 6.7 per cent.

Domino's Pizza is the index's best performer today, up 7.7 per cent. Breville Group is up 7.7 per cent also while QBE Insurance is up 7.4 per cent.

Telstra has lifted 4.8 per cent while Treasury Wine Estates has lifted 3.1 per cent.

11:42am

Origin Energy has returned to profit thanks to the rise in wholesale electricity prices and LNG demand, but shareholders will still have to wait before they can hope for a dividend.

The energy company said on Thursday it made a net profit of $283 million in the year to June 30, having posted a stunning $2.05 billion loss in the previous year. This was despite a $533 million write-down of its Ironbark CSG assets and its divested Lattice Energy subsidiary.

Net cash flows jumped 92 per cent, from $1.27 million to $2.65 billion, driven mainly by high wholesale electricity prices and the performance of Origin's Queensland based Australia Pacific LNG project.

Cole Latimer has the full story here.

11:23am

Sonic Healthcare has posted an 11.2 per cent rise in full-year net profit after tax to $467.2 million, driven by strong earnings growth in its laboratory and imaging divisions.

On Wednesday the company reported revenue was up 8.2 per cent to $5.5 billion.

The company said underlying earnings before interest tax (EBITDA) would grow between 3 and 5 per cent in 2018-19 on a constant currency basis.

Sonic Healthcare shares are down 1.4 per cent at $26.41.

11:01am

A comprehensive overhaul of the way Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates distributes its wine in the United States has caused a short-term headache for the company through a one-off hit to profits of $25 million as shipments slowed .

Treasury's Asian operations also began to show the first sign of some flattening out in the handsome profit margins which that business has been delivering, although chief executive Mike Clarke signalled that overall profit growth at Australia's biggest wine company should be around 25 per cent in 2018-19.

Treasury lifted its final dividend by 23 per cent after generating a 33.9 per cent lift in net profit after tax for 2017-18 to $360.3 million, even though the US distribution network revamp caused profits in the Americas region to go backwards.

Treasury will pay a final dividend of 17¢ per share on October 5, up from 13¢ a year ago.

Simon Evans has the full story here.

10:42am

Telstra reported a near 9 per cent fall in full-year net profit due to intense mobile competition and shrinking margins on the National Broadband Network.

Telstra reported net profit of $3.5 billion in 2017-18, compared with nearly $3.9 billion in the previous year.

The board declared a final dividend of 11¢, taking total dividends for the year to 22¢, compared with a total of 31¢ for the 2016-17 financial year.

Over the last 12 month, Telstra shares have fallen more than 33 per cent due to massive headwinds facing the telecommunications sector.

The telco outlined its radical new 'Telstra2022' strategy in June and chief executive Andy Penn recently shook up his management team.

Max Mason has the full story here.

10:20am

The Australian sharemarket has fallen at the open this morning as investors react defensively to the US-Turkey trade tensions.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is 40.9 points, or 0.6 per cent, lower at 6288.6.

Resources are leading the losses on the market this morning. BHP Billiton is down 3.2 per cent while Rio Tinto has fallen 2.7 per cent.

Iluka Resources and Origin Energy are both down 7 per cent while Treasury Wine Estates is down 5 per cent.

Telstra has lifted 1 per cent after reporting its results this morning while QBE Insurance is up 4.3 per cent.

Primary Healthcare has risen 1.6 per cent and Insurance Australia Group is up 1.7 per cent.

10:00am

SPONSORED POST

Global risk appetite diminished once again overnight, sparking sell-offs across equity markets, setting up the ASX for a negative start to trading, writes Kyle Rodda.

The concerns about the fragile state of the Turkish financial system as well as China concerns were behind the fall, as traders sought out safe havens to park their money. The US Dollar held its advance consequently, but it was the JPY that saw the most activity, with the USD/JPY falling as low as 110.43.

Following Tuesday's relief rally, it would appear investors aren't quite prepared to let go of the risk associated with Turkey's financial crisis, which is compounding fears about trade wars and slower global economic growth. The risk-off play may find itself fuelled today, as investors become wary of the next round of Brexit negotiations, due for kick-off in the next 24 hours.

Read the full 8@eight here.

9:39am

Here are some of the overnight market highlights:

SPI futures down 61 points at 6233.

AUD at US72.39 cents

On Wall St: Dow -0.7% S&P 500 -1% Nasdaq -1.3%

In Europe: Stoxx 50 -1.5% FTSE -1.5% CAC -1.8% DAX -1.6%

Spot gold -1.4% at $US1176.92 an ounce

Brent crude -1.7% at $US70.80 a barrel

Iron ore -1.2% at $US67.21 a tonne

9:21am

There are a number of company's reporting today, including Origin Energy, Treasury Wine Estates, OZ Minerals, Telstra, Downer EDI, QBE, Invocare and ASX.

To follow all the results action today, you can view the results wrap blog here.