ASX set for a drop as Q4 begins
S&P 500 hits longest winning streak since 2021
Elon Musk’s X valued at under US$10 billion after steep decline in users
The ASX is looking at a drop today as we kick off the last quarter of the year. At 8am AEST, the SPI ASX200 futures contract was pointing down by 0.4%
Overnight, the S&P 500 was up by 0.4%, making it four quarters in a row of gains – its longest winning streak since 2021.
The blue chips Dow Jones rose by 0.04%, while the tech heavy Nasdaq climbed by 0.38%.
“We expect the fourth quarter to be quite similar to the third quarter – elevated volatility, but with a strong finish,” said Emily Bowersock Hill at Bowersock Capital.
In a speech last night, Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave markets a boost, saying the US economy is looking “strong overall” and the job market is solid.
He also said that inflation seems to be settling down towards that 2% target, but didn’t commit to any upcoming rate cuts.
“We’re not locked into any plan just yet. There are risks on both sides, and we’ll be making decisions as we go.
“We will do what it takes in terms of the speed with which we move,” Powell added.
Friday’s employment report in the US will now be the next focus as it will affect how the Fed goes about setting interest rates.
In stocks news, automaker Stellantis dropped by 12.5% after the company issued a serious warning about its North American business, causing other auto stocks to fall as well.
Meta is still riding high from its developer conference last week and its shares climbed nearly 1% last night after an analyst raised its price target from US$570 to US$620 (versus current price of US$572.44).
Boeing is still struggling as the factory worker strike enters its third week with no end in sight, and talks have stalled. Shares dropped 2.75%.
Nvidia fell by as much as 2% before rebounding after a Bloomberg report on Friday stating that Beijing is encouraging Chinese companies to purchase chips from local makers instead of Nvidia’s popular GPUs.
Back home, keep an eye out for the Aussie August retail sales data today which should show the Australian economy continues to “muddle along”, according to AMP economist Shane Oliver.
X valued at a fraction Musk bought it at
Elon Musk’s X is now worth less than a quarter of the US$44 billion he paid for it, according to a fresh estimate from investor Fidelity.
Fidelity’s Blue Chip Growth Fund now values its stake in X – formerly known as Twitter – at about US$4.19 million, marking a huge 78.7% drop from the US$19.66 million it originally invested.
Back in July, Fidelity had it valued at around US$5.5 million.
The markdown suggests that Fidelity sees X’s total worth at roughly US$9.4 billion.
A recent report from the Financial Times suggests that X has seen a decline of nearly 20% in its daily active users in the US and around 33% in the UK.
In other markets …
Gold price fell by 1% to US$2,634 an ounce.
Oil prices rose by 0.2%, with Brent crude now trading at US$71.87 a barrel.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield was up by 2 basis point (bond prices lower) to 3.78%.
Bitcoin tumbled by 3% in the last 24 hours to US$63,582, while Ethereum fell by 2% to US$2,604.
Meanwhile, iron ore climbed further by 6% to $US108.90 a tonne after China introduced fresh stimulus measures for its property market on Monday.
5 ASX small caps to watch today
Walkabout Resources (ASX:WKT)
Walkabout has seen a big increase in sales orders for September, receiving two orders totalling 800 tonnes of graphite concentrate from new customers in China and India. Over 60% of this is for coarse flake graphite, and the prices match earlier sales. CEO Andrew Cunningham said that starting regular large volume sales is a key milestone, establishing Lindi Jumbo as a dependable source of high-quality graphite. With ongoing production ramp-up, Lindi Jumbo has produced over 3,200 tonnes of graphite since June, averaging about 50 tonnes per day despite a recent short shutdown for maintenance.
Perpetual Resources (ASX:PEC)
Exploration at PEC’s Isabella Lithium Project has confirmed several spodumene-bearing pegmatite trends stretching up to 800 metres, supported by new artisanal workings. Multiple spodumene occurrences have been found, with lab results pending. Before the project was acquired, rock samples showed high lithium grades of up to 5.62%. The Isabella site is close to two established spodumene projects: Atlas Lithium’s Das Neves Project, which is building a lithium processing plant, and Sigma Lithium’s advanced Sao Jose Project. Perpetual expects to share preliminary rock chip results in the next three weeks.
Lunnon Metals (ASX:LM8)
Lunnon announced results from its gold exploration at the Lady Herial prospect in the Foster area. A new gold zone has been identified, with significant finds near the surface. The best result so far is 23 metres at a high grade of 16.61g/t Au, which includes a section with an even higher grade of 62.47g/t Au. The exploration has revealed two thick mineralised structures about 50 to 60 metres apart. With gold starting from the surface and good widths of mineralisation, the company said Lady Herial is a key focus for Lunnon Metals, and is a resource that could be quickly developed.
Loyal Lithium (ASX:LLI)
LLI has found a seventh spodumene pegmatite dyke at the Trieste Lithium Project, which is the first of its kind in the Trieste Greenstone Belt. This new dyke, named Dyke #07, was discovered during the 2024 Field Program and is located among seven other nearby pegmatite outcrops. The TR3 trend now includes three spodumene pegmatite dykes and stretches 2.4 kilometres. The positive results from a recent Mobile MTm survey give confidence that more mineralised discoveries could be made in the area.
Biome Australia (ASX:BIO)
Biome has reported a record sales revenue of about $4.25 million for the first quarter of FY25. This is a 55% increase compared to the same period last year and a 12% rise from the previous quarter. The strong performance exceeded the company’s $4 million target for the quarter by $250,000. The annualised sales run rate is now $17 million, with further growth expected throughout the year.
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Perpetual Resources is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
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