Investing.com - The Australian stock market opened slightly higher on Monday, with about 80 leading listed companies set to announce their earnings over the next five days.
The ASX 200 futures are up by 0.1% to 7607, indicating a promising start to the week for the Australian market, despite a lackluster performance from Wall Street.
Trading may start off at a slower pace this week, given the closure of the U.S. market in observance of Presidents’ Day.
On Friday, the S&P 500 receded from its peak, closing down by 0.5% after a U.S. inflation report, specifically the producer price index, revealed an increase in prices due to a substantial rise in service costs.
For the ASX 200, last week ended on a positive note, with a 0.2% increase over five days of trading, closing at 7658.32. This places it just 0.5% shy of its record high, attained on February 2.
The current earnings season in both Australia and the U.S. has surprised many market observers with its strength, providing a boost to equity markets. Out of approximately a third of ASX's major companies that have reported their results for the December half, 47% have exceeded market expectations, whereas 34% have fallen short.
Among the companies to watch this week, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) has reported a cash profit of $1.5 billion for the first quarter of its calendar year. This figure is 6% lower than the average of its two previous halves, as the competition for loans and deposits has reduced the net interest margin to 1.78%.
In the meantime, A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX:A2M) has reported a marginal increase in its revenue and profit for the first half of FY24, attributing this growth to the performance of its products in the Chinese market.
Cochlear Ltd (ASX:COH), a medical technology company, has also seen a substantial increase in its sales revenue, which rose by 25% to $1.1 billion. Additionally, its statutory net profit surged by 35% to $191 million.