Wall Street closed overnight for Juneteenth holiday, European markets lower
Guzman y Gomez debuts on ASX with $22 share price
Australia’s first ever Spot Bitcoin ETF will also debut today
The ASX200 is poised to edge slightly lower when the market opens on Thursday, with Wall Street out for the Juneteenth national holiday. At 8am AEST, the ASX200 futures contract was pointing down by -0.2%.
Overnight, stock markets in Europe were generally lower as traders looked for new catalysts to sustain the recent tech-driven rally.
The benchmark European Stoxx 600 index slipped -0.2% following two consecutive days of gains. The French CAC40 also fell by -0.77%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 closed +0.17% higher.
Investors kept an eye on developments in France after the European Union criticised it for not adhering to the bloc’s deficit and debt rules. The French 10-year bond yields jumped by 4 basis points.
The Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision tonight. Despite inflation dropping to the target level of 2%, the market believes a rate cut might not be considered until August.
Meanwhile, for the first time in nearly two years, the London Stock Exchange has become the biggest in Europe.
The total value of companies listed on the LSE reached US$3.18 trillion earlier this week, surpassing the US$3.13 trillion total of companies listed in Paris, according to Bloomberg data. The French market has struggled due to election-related uncertainty, while the UK market is bouncing back after years of underperformance.
Elsewhere, oil prices dipped on news that US crude stockpiles grew by 2.26 million barrels last week, marking the third consecutive increase.
Before last night, crude prices were on the rise following reassurances from OPEC+ that any increase in the cartel’s production output will be contingent on market conditions.
Two new listings on the ASX today
Mexican food retailer Guzman y Gomez (ASX:GYG) is set to debut on the ASX today with a share price of $22 and an initial market cap of approximately $2.2 billion.
While analysts have expressed doubt about the aggressive IPO price, the company contends that it is justified by its strategy to open 30 new restaurants by FY25, with plans to increase this number to 40 annually within the next five years.
“Our fair value estimate for GYG is $15 per share. Against this, the $22 offer price is too high,” said research firm, Morningstar.
Now read: IPO Watch: Is Guzman y Gomez’s ambitious growth story spicy enough for investors?
Another new listing today is the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (ASX: VBTC), the first ever spot Bitcoin ETF in Australia.
The listing follows the success of US Bitcoin ETFs, which have collectively amassed US$57 billion this year, introduced by prominent fundies such as BlackRock, Fidelity, and VanEck.
“Notwithstanding that crypto investing is a polarising topic, we recognise Bitcoin is an emerging asset class that many advisers and investors want to access,” said Arian Neiron, CEO for VanEck in the Asia-Pacific.
Sydney-based BetaShares and DigitalX, both local players, are reportedly also preparing to debut their Bitcoin ETFs on the ASX.
A spokesperson from BetaShares told Bloomberg the company is actively progressing towards launching spot Bitcoin and Ether funds, aiming to introduce them to the market soon.
In other markets …
Gold price traded flattish at US$2,329.88 an ounce.
Oil prices were down around -0.25%, with Brent crude now trading at US$85.05 a barrel.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield remained at 4.23% as the bond market did not trade due to US holidays.
The Aussie dollar was up by +0.2% to 66.72 cents.
The iron ore price lifted a further +1% to US$107.30 a tonne.
Bitcoin meanwhile tumbled by -0.2% last 24 hours to US$64,945 while Ethereum was up +2.5% to US$3,566.
5 ASX small caps to watch today
Control Bionics (ASX:CBL)
CBL has achieved a significant milestone with its DROVE autonomous wheelchair, after the TGA classified it as a Class 1 Medical Device in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. After rigorous testing over nearly a year, CBL says it now ready to begin commercial sales in Australia. DROVE is a pioneering assistive mobility technology designed and made in Australia, which allows independence and ease of use for powered wheelchair users.
Belararox (ASX:BRX)
Geological mapping has been completed for a promising area in the TMT project. Results from Tambo South confirmed the presence of another porphyry system alongside Malambo. This area features a complex of dacite and diorites, showing typical hydrothermal alteration patterns seen in porphyry systems. Zones with increased fractures, late-stage quartz veins, and magnetite veinlets coincide with alteration zones like potassic, intermediate argillic, and phyllic, associated with a porphyritic diorite. The mapping also pinpointed an exploration-worthy area extending approximately 400m northwest by 250m northeast from Tambo South.
Tambourah Metals (ASX:TMB)
Historic gold prospects at Beatty Park South and Baxters South within Tambourah’s Bryah tenements have shown strong potential. Beatty Park South yielded up to 5m at 22.92 g/t Au in altered mafic-ultramafic rocks, while Baxters South intersected up to 8m at 5.05 g/t Au in quartz veining near the Harmony open pit. Additionally, Bryah has expanded its holdings with E51/2235, located near significant Cu-Au deposits and adjacent to the Revere gold project under evaluation by Everest Metals.
Haranga Resources (ASX:HAR)
Saraya Uranium Project in West Africa’s upgraded Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) reveals an Indicated Mineral Resource of 6.04 million pounds of eU3O8 at a grade of 752 ppm eU3O8, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 10.1 million pounds of eU3O8 at a grade of 484 ppm eU3O8, totaling 16.11 million pounds at 558 ppm eU3O8 (cut-off grade of 250 ppm). Approximately 80% of the resource is near surface and suitable for open pit mining, with mineralization extending along strike, down-dip, and down-plunge. Laboratory assay results from 29 RC holes completed in Q1 will inform further updates. The project in Senegal covers 1,650 square kilometers and shows potential for significant exploration expansion beyond current known mineralisation.
Killi Resources (ASX:KLI)
A geophysical survey has started at the Mount Rawdon West Project in Queensland. It focuses on two promising copper-gold targets, following up on strong rock chip results showing 7.2% Cu and 12.4 g/t Au. Induced Polarisation (IP) surveys, known for identifying porphyry-style copper-gold systems, will target potential sulphide units up to 300 meters deep. This effort aims to create a 3D model to guide the project’s inaugural drill program.
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Belararox and Haranga Resources are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
The post Market Highlights: GYG and VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF to make ASX debut today, and 5 small caps to watch appeared first on Stockhead.
