ASX 200 futures indicate marginal rise at Friday’s opening
MGM Resorts flags live dealer online betting at its Vegas casinos
Netflix announces large-scale interactive venues
The ASX 200 is poised to edge slightly higher when the market opens on Friday after a mixed session on Wall Street. At 8am AEST, the ASX200 futures contract was pointing up by +0.1%.
Overnight, the S&P 500 fell by -0.25%, the blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.77%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled by -0.79%.
US tech stocks faced selling pressure as the Nasdaq 100 index, which had been on a 7-day winning streak, declined on profit taking.
Nvidia and Apple led the losses, falling by -3.54% and -2.15% respectively.
Craig Johnson at Piper Sandler said the market had clearly been overbought recently.
“Bullish momentum remains intact for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, but near-term overbought conditions coupled with deteriorating breadth make equities vulnerable to a pullback or correction,”he told Bloomberg.
Dell Technologies fell -0.65% despite CEO Michael Dell announcing plans to establish a “Dell AI factory” in collaboration with Elon Musk’s startup xAI, alongside Nvidia Corp. xAI, Musks’s latest artificial intelligence startup, will utilise Dell’s XE 9680 servers.
United Airlines ticked modestly lower after after one of its planes returned to a Connecticut airport due to a dislodged piece of the liner inside the engine cover. This incident adds to the airline’s difficulties this year, as it continues to be scrutinised for various flight issues.
And shares of MGM Resorts surged by nearly 3% after the company revealed cunning plans to introduce a novel online betting experience. This initiative will feature live dealers stationed at two of its prestigious Las Vegas resorts, marking a pioneering move among casino operators on the renowned Las Vegas Strip.
Netflix plans whacky large-scale, interactive venues
Meanwhile, Netflix has unveiled very curious plans to launch its first-ever large-scale, slightly-unhinged, interactive venues in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and Dallas in 2025.
These Netflix Houses, set to occupy former department store spaces at King of Prussia Mall and Galleria Dallas, will offer a unique blend of shopping, dining, and immersive activities centred around popular Netflix shows like “Bridgerton,” “Stranger Things,” and “Squid Game.”
The venues aim to go beyond traditional theme parks by providing year-round experiences that allow fans to delve deeper into Netflix stories and characters.
Netflix says it does not view these permanent retail destinations as a major new business segment, but rather as marketing tools to drive some sticky fan engagement.
The primary aim is to support the company’s core subscription-streaming business through interactive experiences that deepen viewer connections with their content.
“We’ve launched more than 50 experiences in 25 cities, and Netflix House represents the next generation of our distinctive offerings. The venues will bring our beloved stories to life in new, ever-changing and unexpected ways,” said Netflix’s chief marketing officer, Marian Lee.
Back to markets …
Gold price rose by +1.30% to US$2,359.86 an ounce.
Oil prices were up around +0.4%, with Brent crude now trading at US$85.68 a barrel.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield climbed by 3 basis points (bond prices lower) to 4.26%.
The Aussie dollar was down by -0.25% to 66.55 cents.
The iron ore price retreated by -0.4% to US$106.70 a tonne.
Bitcoin meanwhile has traded flattish in the last 24 hours at US$65,004 while Ethereum was down -1.25% to US$3,516.
5 ASX small caps to watch today
Talga Group (ASX:TLG)
Talga has entered into an Earn-in Agreement with SQM Australia, a subsidiary of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE: SQM), for Talga’s Aero Lithium Project in Sweden. SQM will invest up to US$19.0 million over 7 years to earn up to a 70% interest in the project. Talga will manage the project during this period and retain 100% of the graphite rights within Aero. The agreement also allows for potential collaboration on new lithium projects in Sweden, pending Swedish foreign direct investment clearance.
Strike Energy (ASX:STX)
STX has finalised terms with Macquarie Bank for a $153 million development funding package. This includes a $60 million facility to refinance existing drawn debt and approved but undrawn development facilities totalling $43.7 million. Additionally, $93 million in new debt will support the development of the South Erregulla and West Erregulla projects, subject to internal approvals at Macquarie. The financing is secured against production performance at the Walyering gas field.
Strickland Metals (ASX:STK)
Strickland has restructured its board to support its expansion into Serbia’s Rogozna Project and the ongoing growth of the Yandal Project in Western Australia. New appointments include Paul L’Herpiniere as Managing Director, Richard Pugh as Executive Technical Director for Western Australia, Jon Hronsky as Non-Executive Director, and Peter Langworthy as Non-Executive Director. Anthony McClure remains Non-Executive Chairman, and Trent Franklin continues as Non-Executive Director.
eNova Mining (ASX:ENV)
ENV has reported impressive assay results from its recent sampling at Poços. Highlights include findings of rare earth elements (REE) exceeding 2,000 ppm TREO, with notable results such as 3 meters at 2,744 ppm TREO and 3 meters at 3,030 ppm TREO. The highest assays reached 5,158 ppm TREO, indicating a potential high-grade REE deposit at Poços. These findings confirm the enriched REE potential in the area, suggesting it could host a substantial REE deposit worthy of further exploration.
Jade Gas (ASX:JGH)
Jade continues to achieve impressive drilling results at its Baruun Naran site. Key highlights include finding significant amounts of gassy coal: 45.32 meters in BNG-4 and 13.37 meters in BNG-5. The completion of seven wells at BNG marks a milestone in prospecting efforts aimed at potentially upgrading gas resources and securing a long-term Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). Jade is now actively managing two major energy projects in Mongolia’s South Gobi region, located just 15 kilometres apart. The company’s immediate focus is on advancing commercial activities at Red Lake, with plans to start production wells for gas next month.
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Strickland Metals is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
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