Morning market spotlight: 11 stocks to watch

All eyes will be on Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX:ANZ) and Asciano Ltd (ASX:AIO) following their profit updates but there're plenty more companies that will be in the spotlight today with our market expected to open in the red.

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Traders aren't willing to bet on another rise for our market despite decent gains on Wall Street as a host of companies prepare to hand down their latest earnings update.

The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is forecast to open 0.2% lower as most commodities fell in overnight trade with the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude price slipping 1.5% to $41.87 a barrel and iron ore inching down 0.1% to $US56.66 a tonne.

But it's Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) that will dominate headlines this morning as the big bank reported a 4% increase in cash profit to $5.4 billion for the nine months to end June 2015 and issued a cautious outlook.

That won't end speculation that it will have to undertake other capital raising measures following its $3 billion new share sale as it doesn't have enough liquidity to meet new banking capital adequacy rules.

Port and rail operator Asciano Ltd (ASX: AIO) will also be in the earnings spotlight as it reported a full year net profit of $359.6 million on sales of $3.84 billion that were a little below consensus forecasts.

However, the earnings numbers will play second fiddle to the takeover bid for the group as Brookfield has sweetened its offer for Asciano. You can read more about Brookfield's initial offer here.

Mining services contractor Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND) reported a 20% drop in revenue to $1.87 billion and warned that conditions are expected to remain soft due to weak demand for construction projects in the resources space; while Dick Smith Holdings Ltd (ASX: DSH) unveiled a net profit of $37.9 million that was below consensus but said it expects profit to increase to $45-$48 million in the current financial year.

Other companies that are expected to announce profit results today include global insurer QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE), Sydney Airport Holdings Ltd (ASX: SYD), investment management company Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF), medical facilities operator Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) and real estate investment trust Shopping Cntrs Austrls Prprty Gp Re Ltd (ASX: SCP).

There is also a handful of stocks that will be trading without their dividend entitlements today. This includes Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and its smaller rival Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN), share registry services group Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU), wagering company Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH), engineering contractor Downer EDI Limited (ASX: DOW), sleep disorder treatment company ResMed Inc. (CHESS) (ASX: RMD), biotech Acrux Limited (ASX: ACR) and consumer and industrial products company GUD Holdings Limited (ASX: GUD).

In other news, takeover speculation for Asian property website operator iProperty Group Ltd (ASX: IPP) will return to the fore after its larger peer REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) upped its stake in iProperty to 22.67%, and investors will be eyeing rail freight operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ) on reports that Baosteel has put its Australian iron ore project under a cost review.

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Downer EDI Limited. Follow me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/brenlau The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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