JB Hi-Fi's shares are trading up 3 per cent, at $23.34, after it revealed a full-year profit forecast ahead of market expectations. Handing down a half-year profit of $160 million on Monday, up 5.5 per cent on last year, JB said it expected full-year profit of $237 million to $245 million. That compares to market consensus of $239 million. JB is the third most shorted stock in the ASX200, according to shortman.com.au, and its shares have been under pressure in recent years due to fears about weak consumer sentiment and competition from the likes of Amazon.

More from Patrick Hatch coming soon.

The federal government's $147 billion Future Fund declined by 1.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2018, from $148.8 billion to $147 billion. However, for the full year it delivered a 5.8 per cent return for the 2018 calendar year, a performance that significantly exceeded the strongest performing superannuation funds over the year. It only just met its performance target for 2018, which was 5.8 per cent, when it usually exceeds its performance target. The performance target was reduced in mid-2017.

The AFR's Jonathan Shapiro and Sarah Turner report the Future Fund touted its ability to deliver positive returns despite a volatile second half to the year when global equity markets slid, and a year in which most major asset classes failed to deliver positive returns. The fund said it has now returned 9.7 per cent annualised over 10-years tracking well ahead of their benchmark target return. The Future Fund's exposure to listed equities, which stands at 30 per cent, declined by $4 billion of the quarter, as equity markets sold off. The value of the fund's positions in illiquid assets increased by $3.3 billion, to $61 billion. That included a $1.7 billion increase in exposure to debt securities.

Journalists are currently in a conference call with fund managers.

The S&P/ASX 200 is up 7.5 points in early trading and is keeping above the 6000 level, currently at 6079.

Early leaders include Estia Health, up 4.7 per cent to $2.44, and Sigma Health, up 4.5 per cent to 58 cents, and JB Hi-Fi is up 3.7 per cent to $23.42.

Early laggers include News Corp, down 4.5 per cent to $17.97, and Spark Infrastructure, down 4.4 per cent to $2.40, and Incitec Pivot is down 3.3 per cent to $3.27.

JB Hi-Fi stocks have jumped out of the starting gate with a 6.3 per cent gain to $24.00 on the back of this mornings half-year profit increase.

Incitec Pivot is down 5.3 per cent to $3.20 and News Corp is down 4.5 per cent to $17.98. The S&P/ASX 200 is up 8.5 points to 6080 in the first few minutes of trading.

Rail freight operator Aurizon has reported a net profit down 19 per cent to $227 million for the December half, as revenue dropped more than $100 million compared to the prior corresponding period.

Aurizon shareholders will feel the pinch from the profit squeeze, with the company declaring an interim dividend of 11.4 cents per share (70 per cent franked), which is down 19 per cent on the first half of fiscal 2018.

Shares have dropped on opening to $4.34 from a closing price of $4.43 on Friday.

Electronics and whitegoods group JB Hi-Fi has grown its profit 5.5 per cent in the first half of the year, but revealed a slowdown in sales momentum in January and warned of ongoing volatility amid sagging consumer sentiment. The company on Monday reported net profit after tax for the half year ending December 31 of $160 million, up from $152 million in the same period last year, off the back of strong sales growth at JB Hi-Fi Australia.

JB Hi-Fi forecast its full-year profit would be between $237 million and $245 million, up 1.6 to 5.1 per cent on last year. The market consensus ahead of Monday was for full-year profit of $239 million.

Read the full story from Patrick Hatch here. There will be more updates after a media and analyst conference call at 10.30am.

IG MARKETS SPONSORED POST

SPI futures down 4 points to 6007

AUD -0.2% to 70.88 US cents

On Wall St: Dow -0.3% S&P 500 +0.1% Nasdaq +0.1%

IG MARKETS SPONSORED POST

The last traded price in SPI futures is pointing to a 4-point drop at the open for the ASX200 this morning. The market demonstrated some signs of short-term exhaustion on Friday, after its face-ripping rally earlier in the week, as higher than average volumes propelled the index higher.

Resistance at ASX200's September low at around 6100/05 was dutifully respected as the week's high. The daily-RSI is still in over-bought territory, though not flashing a sell signal nor a major change in momentum yet. The week's break of the 200-day EMA is seeing that moving average slowly turn higher, which bodes well for the bulls. In the immediate future, the long-awaited pullback could be upon us here, with the November high at 5950 the next logical support level to watch.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's cash profits slipped 2.4 per cent to $219.8 million, as higher funding costs dragged on the bottom line.
The result highlights the pressure on bank profits, with Bendigo's net interest margin - the difference between funding costs and what the bank charges for loans - narrowing from 2.36 per cent to 2.35 per cent.
Bendigo held its fully-franked interim dividend flat at 35c a share.
Chief executive Marnie Baker said there remained a "lack of competition" in Australian banking, and last week's report from the royal commission into industry misconduct had done little to change this.
"Whilst the Royal Commission Final Report makes strong industry-wide recommendations to improve customer outcomes, little goes to the issues of competition and a level playing field, something many inquiries cite as being essential to better customer outcomes, and a point we've made for years," she said.
Shares last traded at $11.15

Good morning and welcome to today's Markets Live blog. Your editor today is Lucy Battersby.

This blog is not intended as financial advice.