On October 9th, Fonterra Co-Operative Group (ASX:FCG) announced that growth in milk output across key export countries is anticipated to be below average for the fiscal year 2024.

The agricultural cooperative also increased the forecast range for the 2023/24 season’s Farmgate price of milk to NZ$6.50 - NZ$8.00 per kilogram of milk solids, with a new median price of NZ$7.25 per kilogram of milk solids.

Moreover, the El Niño weather pattern could further impact supplies, a factor which could be influencing recent buyer sentiments.

Fonterra is a global dairy company that processes and markets dairy products.

Jefferies predicts a difficult retail climate to persist for Australian retailers due to the sluggish consumer sentiment negatively impacting discretionary goods demand.

Forecasts suggest independent retailers will likely continue to cede market share, which translates to significant volume windfalls for retail giants Coles (ASX:COL) and Woolworths (ASX:WOW).

Nevertheless, Jefferies indicates that supermarket sales are beginning to balance out as inflation eases.

The brokerage interprets this as a sign that the tailwind from inflation is commencing to dissipate.

With Woolworths, seven of 15 analysts assign a ‘buy’ or higher rating, while five maintain a ‘hold’, and three recommend a ‘sell’.

Their median price target is A$40.20, according to LSEG data.

Conversely, for Coles, three of 15 analysts rate it as ‘buy’ or higher, eight advise to ‘hold’, and four suggest to ‘sell’; their median price target is A$17.08, as per LSEG data.

To date, Woolworths' shares have experienced a 12.2 % increase while Coles' shares have dropped by 7.3%.

Coles (ASX:COL) is a leading Australian retailer, serving millions of customers throughout the country.

Citi analysts have trimmed their price target on the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) to A$5.00 per share, a reduction from the previous A$5.75 per share target.

The brokerage had also revised its stock rating for the bank from ‘neutral’ to ‘sell’.

They suggest a wide discrepancy between the expectations of the bank’s management and consensus estimates.

A short-term earnings shortfall is anticipated for the mid-cap Australian bank, according to Citi projections.

The bank is expected to fall short of core earnings by 7% and cash earnings by 9% compared to consensus estimates.

Furthermore, Citi has reduced its earnings estimates for the bank by 4% and 9% respectively for fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025.

The year has seen the bank’s stock fall by 17.3% as of last close.

• The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) is a leading Australian bank offering financial and insurance services to its customers.

According to Morningstar, Steadfast Group’s (ASX:SDF) recent acquisition of U.S.

private insurance agency ISU Group may not be its final purchase in the US.

The financial services firm believes that Steadfast Group’s approach is logical.

Morningstar appreciates the small scale of the acquisition, which allows the company a better understanding of the market without placing substantial capital at risk.

Morningstar notes that the deal, expected to increase earnings per share, is small considering the brokerage’s previous year 2024 EBITDA forecast of AUD 517 million.

The fragmented U.S.

market presents significant profit opportunities for Steadfast to pursue further acquisitions, and the company is well-positioned to organically increase market share by attracting network members with superior offerings.

Morningstar maintains a fair value estimate of AUD 6.00 for Steadfast.

Five out of eleven analysts rate the stock as ‘buy’ or higher, with six holding.

The median price target is AUD 6.40, according to LSEG data.

Steadfast’s stock has risen by 1.3% year-to-date.

Steadfast Group is a prominent general insurance broker in Australia.

Jefferies, the brokerage, asserts that Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) is more favourably positioned than its American competitor, Constellation Brands, due to its higher average price point.

The analysts believe the company has an edge because its weakness lies in lower-priced wines, while their luxury wines still manifest good performance.

The brokerage set a price target of A$13.50 for Treasury Wine, rating it as a ‘buy’.

It is worth noting that the stock of Treasury Wine is down by 13.7% year-to-date as of the latest closing.

Among 16 analysts, eleven rate the company as ‘buy’ or higher, two suggest ‘hold’, and three advice ‘sell’ or below with a median price target of A$13.40.

Treasury Wine is an Australia-based company that possesses a more premium portfolio in the U.S than Constellation Brands.

There are several shifts in broker activity this morning.

Considered noteworthy among them, Goldman Sachs downgrades Equinor to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’, attributing it to the recent strong share price performance.

Likewise, a rating downgrade has been assigned to Galp Energia, moving from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’.

Exane BNP Paribas, on the other hand, promotes investment management firm Man Group to ‘outperform’ from ‘neutral’.

Oddo modifies Phoenix Group’s status to ‘neutral’ from ‘outperform’, and also Hannover Re is cut to ‘underweight’ from ‘neutral’.

UBS boosts mining and metals firm Rio Tinto to ‘neutral’ from ‘sell’ banking on low inventories and estimated steady iron ore prices, as well as Voestalpine which is deemed fairly valued now.

New entrants include Dutch payment services provider Adyen (ASX:ADYEN) which has been given a ‘market perform’ initiation rating by TD Cowen.

They note potential for long-term gains but caution about impending margin pressures in H2.

Barclays is launching coverage with an ‘underweight’ designation for Atlas Copco as they predict flat or declining 2024 orders and EPS momentum, and potential valuation downgrades.

Morgan Stanley initiates the Swedish SaaS company, Fortnox, with ‘underweight’ due to dubious long-term growth durability.

Lastly, VAT Group commences with an ‘underweight’ from Barclays due to an unfavorable risk/reward scenario.

Adyen (ASX:ADYEN) is a Dutch payment services provider which is anticipated to profit from long-lasting trends.

Expectations for the release of U.S.

jobs data for September vary widely among big banks.

The poll median anticipates 170k non-farm payroll jobs added in September, down from 187k in August, and estimates span from 90k to 256k.

Unemployment is expected to dip slightly to 3.7% from August’s figures (3.4%-3.9%), with average hourly earnings predicted to increase by 0.3%, up from a 0.2% increase in August (0.1%-0.4% range).

Goldman Sachs predicts 200k Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) jobs, aligning with consensus unemployment and average hourly earnings at 0.3%.

JP Morgan anticipates a 175k increase in NFP, also with 3.7% unemployment and 0.3% average hourly earnings.

Similarly, Morgan Stanley predicts 180k for NFP, 3.7% unemployment, and 0.3% average hourly earnings.

Deutsche Bank foresees 165k extra jobs, 3.7% unemployment, and a 0.2% increase in average hourly earnings.

Citi Group projects the NFP to rise by 240k, unemployment dropping to 3.6%, and a 0.3% rise in average hourly earnings, comprising a tighter labor market overall.

(Source: Richard Pace, market analyst)

Tambourah Metals (ASX:TMB) has announced the resignation of Ralf Kriege from his position as Chief Executive Officer.

Tambourah Metals is a company specializing in the extraction and processing of precious metals.

There appears to be a boon coming for the Indian pharmaceutical industry from easing price pressure in the US generics market, as per reports from Phillip Capital.

The firm anticipates that pharmaceutical companies within its coverage universe will likely experience a 12% year-on-year earnings growth in the Q2.

The list includes Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (ASX:REDY), Cipla, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Lupin, and Zydus Lifesciences.

This prediction of growth comes backed by margin expansions and a projected 15% sales bump.

Additionally, the firm suggests that the incremental benefits from key launches will further aid the growth of U.S generics.

In particular, Lupin is predicted to lead growth with a near-three-fold jump in earnings.

Simultaneously, companies like Zydus Lifesciences, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Cipla are seen to continue benefiting from the sales of generic cancer drug, Revlimid.

Indeed, the Nifty Pharma index has risen by 0.72% following a gain of 13.29% in the previous quarter.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (ASX:REDY) is an integrated pharmaceutical company, producing a wide range of medicinal products.

Following an upbeat review of financial stability, Australian financial stocks saw as much as a 1.6% increase.

This represents the most substantial intra-day percentage gain since June 28.

Despite high rates of inflation and interest rates, the majority of Australian borrowers managed to service their debts, according to the financial stability review conducted by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

It was also mentioned in the review that banks are in a good position to manage an increase in loan defaults.

Interestingly, the RBA left the key policy rate at an 11-year high of 4.10% for a 4th consecutive month on Tuesday.

Despite the upward trend, the sub-index lost over 0.4% for the week.

In individual stocks, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA), National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB), and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) each experienced a surge of over 1.5%.

QBE Insurance (ASX:QBE) and Medibank Private (ASX:MPL) also saw significant gains on the sub-index, with both advancing by over 2.5%.

However, as of last closing, AXFJ has experienced a downturn of 2.5% this year.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is a multinational banking corporation that offers a variety of financial services.