Market Highlights: Big rebound on Wall Street, why Bitcoin could fall this week, and 5 small caps to watch

ASX to open 1pc higher on Tuesday after a rally on Wall Street
US tech stocks surged broadly, while Boeing slumped
Why Bitcoin could fall after US SEC approval

Aussie shares are poised to rebound strongly on Tuesday after a broad rally on Wall Street overnight. At 8am AEDT, the ASX 200 index futures was pointing up by +1%.

Overnight, the S&P 500 rose by +1.41%. The blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.58%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged by +2.20%.

US tech stocks rose across the board, with Nvdia, which was up by 6.5%, pacing the Magnificent Seven.

Apple, which accounts for a significant percentage of the benchmark S&P 500 index, also jumped 2.4% after announcing it will release the new Vision Pro headset in the US on February 2.

Boeing meanwhile slumped by -8% amid fears over the safety of its 737 Max 9 planes, after a door plug of an Alaskan Airlines’ fuselage was blown off mid flight last Friday. US regulators have now ordered a temporary grounding of all Max 9 models with those same door plugs.

Over in Europe, the market looked bullish too with the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 up by 0.4%, despite a 0.3% tumble in Eurozone retail sales for November.

Elsewhere, ASX oil stocks will be under pressure today after crude prices tumbled by almost -4% overnight. This comes following sharp price cuts by top exporter Saudi Arabia and a rise in OPEC output.

Back home, the ABS will also be releasing its retail sales data for November this morning, which will include the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales data.

Why Bitcoin could fall after SEC approval

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has reached a 21-month high after surging by 6.5% in the last 24 hours to $46,917.

Rania Gule, market analyst at XS.com, believes that Bitcoin could still face pressure despite expectations that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may approve one or more spot BTC ETFs by January 10.

“This move has already been priced into the crypto market over the past three months, and the cryptocurrency could experience a price drop after approval, contrary to expectations, as a reaction to profit-taking from early pricing of approvals this week,” Gule said.

“I believe the regulatory body will use the January 10 deadline to announce its decision on multiple Spot Bitcoin ETF applications simultaneously.

“Nearly a dozen applicants are awaiting this decision, having prepared initial capital and actively marketed their Spot BTC ETF product.”

In other markets …

Gold price fell by -0.8% to US$2,028.63 an ounce.

Oil prices fell nearly -4%, with Brent now trading at US$76.50 a barrel.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield fell by 3 basis points (bond prices higher) to 4.01%.

Iron ore futures fell another -0.5% to US$137.85 a tonne.

The Aussie dollar climbed +0.12% to US67.21c, ahead of the Aussie CPI reading on Wednesday.

5 ASX small caps to watch today

Widgie Nickel (ASX:WIN)
Total Resource for the Gillett nickel deposit now stands at 3.14Mt @ 1.30% Ni for 40,770 nickel tonnes. This represents a substantial 75% increase in total contained nickel versus the 2023 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). Widgie says Gillett is now the largest, highest confidence resource in the company’s portfolio, with ample exploration upside remaining.

Medallion Metals (ASX:MM8)
Ore Reserve Estimate (ORE) at Medallion’s 100% owned Ravensthorpe Gold Project (RGP) increased to 610koz gold and 24kt copper, a substantial increase from the previous ORE of 270koz gold. The ORE contains approximately 74% of the PFS mine plan (by tonnes processed), confirming the technically robust nature of the study and its conclusions.

Talisman Mining (ASX:TLM)
Assay results have been received from additional Reverse Circulation (RC) drill-holes completed recently at the Durnings Prospect, part of the 100%-owned Lachlan Project in NSW. Results include: 24m at 1.5% Pb, 15.6g/t Ag, 0.2% Zn, 0.02% Cu, 0.04g/t Au from 18m to 42m; and 42m at 2.3% Pb, 25.3g/t Ag, 1.3% Zn, 0.09% Cu, 0.43g/t Au from 244m.

Everest Metals (ASX:EMC)
EMC has acquired two exploration licences and applied for a new exploration licence at the Revere Gold & Base Project located 90km NE of Meekatharra, in the Mid-West region of WA. This wil expands EMC’s Revere tenement package from 82km2 to 171km2. The company says minimum historical exploration work has been undertaken on these three new tenements.

Calidus Resources (ASX:CAI)
Resource drilling has been completed at Bulletin, and assays have been received for 10 of 24 holes. Highlights include: 14m @ 8.58g/t Au from 50m, and 32m @ 3.42g/t Au from 143m. The results show strong mineralisation occurring outside the previous modelled resource, highlighting the potential for an increased resource base for mining.

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