The ASX 200 could have another crack at all-time highs set earlier this month, after rising 0.5% and breaching the 7,800 barrier on Monday.
All sectors closed higher today with the exception of Discretionary, which fell modestly.
Traders continue to look for clues on probable Fed rate cuts as they remain optimistic about equities.
In the US, the S&P500 is now up around 10% for the year leaving many analysts to recalibrate their targets following the bullish FOMC meeting last week.
“We remain optimistic about equities. However, volatility is likely to remain elevated this FY as stocks follow the “three steps forward, two steps back” tune,” said James Gerrish at Market Matters.
Iron ore stocks had a good today after a volatile week last week where futures price stumbled below US$100/t for the first time in months on Monday, before threatening US$110/t by the end of the week.
ANZ’s commodity strategists Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari say iron ore should trade between US$90-110/t for the remainder of 2024, levels that would keep iron ore profits relatively safe even as China’s real estate sector continues to stumble.
Energy related stocks also rallied today after a three-day drop as continued drone strikes by Ukraine are crippling Russia’s crude-refining capabilities.
BTC to the moon?
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Coinbase Global, which recently returned to profitability, is looking to fill 200 positions worldwide.
Binance and Gemini are hiring as well, and so are some traditional companies such as Fidelity.
This follows the recent recovery in the crypto market, which saw Bitcoin surge by 30% in the past month.
Famed stock picker Cathie Wood calls Bitcoin a ‘financial super highway’, pointing to her previous call of a US$1.5 million price target.
ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS
Today’s best performing small cap stocks:
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Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap JAV Javelin Minerals Ltd 0.15 50.00 10,416,017 $2,176,231 REZ Resourc & En Grp Ltd 1.10 37.50 3,282,511 $3,998,446 NRX Noronex Limited 1.45 31.82 35,138,891 $5,153,249 JPR Jupiter Energy 2.10 31.25 11,600 $20,378,435 AXE Archer Materials 60.50 28.72 7,094,978 $119,778,096 CGR Cgnresourceslimited 29.50 28.26 2,198,909 $20,878,984 VIT Vitura Health Ltd 20.00 25.00 568,971 $92,139,806 1CG One Click Group Ltd 1.00 25.00 335,722 $5,505,431 CZN Corazon Ltd 1.00 25.00 1,987,051 $4,924,783 ESR Estrella Res Ltd 0.50 25.00 3,967,105 $7,037,487 FAU First Au Ltd 0.25 25.00 370,000 $3,323,987 MCT Metalicity Limited 0.25 25.00 14,640,716 $8,970,108 MEA McGrath Ltd 58.50 24.47 3,310,166 $74,813,429 GLV Global Oil & Gas 3.70 23.33 12,150,229 $16,720,010 SGC Sacgasco Ltd 1.10 22.22 1,322,532 $7,017,184 MPP Metro Perf.Glass Ltd 16.50 22.22 37,018 $25,026,042 VMS Venture Minerals 2.30 21.05 9,792,667 $43,066,914 IBG Ironbark Zinc Ltd 0.60 20.00 6,945,647 $7,969,363 INP Incentiapay Ltd 0.60 20.00 428,866 $6,219,650 NWF Newfield Resources 13.00 18.18 103,765 $100,177,321 AN1 Anagenics Limited 1.30 18.18 492,063 $4,610,461 EOF Ecofibre Limited 10.50 16.67 155,353 $34,098,651 SRL Sunrise 66.50 16.67 121,513 $51,429,674 BFC Beston Global Ltd 0.70 16.67 905,280 $11,982,281 M4M Macro Metals Limited 0.70 16.67 42,275,172 $19,392,401
Top of the news-making winners was Venus Metals (ASX:VMC), charging more than +20% on news that drilling at its 100%-owned Youanmi lithium project has confirmed that the company has, in fact, hit a significant, high-grade lithium deposit, with some of the best results coming at or near surface. Top intersections such as 24m @ 1.71% Li2O, including 14m @ 2.54% Li2O from 0-14m, and 15m @ 1.34% Li2O, including 8m @ 2.19% Li2O from 0-8m have the team pretty excited.
McGrath (ASX:MEA) was up 25% after founder and CEO John McGrath struck a 60c/share takeover deal with a consortium of global real estate consultancy Knight Frank and New Zealand’s largest private held real estate agency Bayleys.
Likewise, MMA Offshore (ASX:MMA)rose 10% after getting a buyout proposal from Cyan, a subsidiary of Cyan Renewables, for a cash amount of $2.60 per MMA share.
Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) also enjoyed a boost on news that it and research partner PFL have developed a pulsed electron spin resonance chip, advancing Archer’s 12CQ quantum technology project.
Auking Mining (ASX:AKN) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi operator Barg Alsaman Mining Company – a subsidiary of the expansive Segia Gulf Group – for the purpose of jointly exploring and developing mineral projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Argenica Therapeutics (ASX:AGN) jumped +15% on the back of an FDA-related announcement. The brain tissue focused biotech says the US FDA has granted its neuroprotective drug ARG-007 a Rare Pediatric Disease Designation (RPDD) for the treatment of Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE) in newborn term infants. An RPDD is given by the FDA to those drugs that show promise in preventing, diagnosing or treating a rare disease or condition in the pediatric population (children 18 years and younger).
ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS
Today’s best performing small cap stocks:
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Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap AXP AXP Energy Ltd 0.10 -50.00 10,107,445 $11,649,361 RMX Red Mount Min Ltd 0.10 -50.00 3,400,000 $5,347,152 RFT Rectifier Technolog 2.00 -44.44 15,881,605 $49,751,422 ADX ADX Energy Ltd 12.00 -36.84 16,931,896 $81,478,288 SIH Sihayo Gold Limited 0.10 -33.33 350,000 $18,306,384 SIT Site Group Int Ltd 0.20 -33.33 20,000 $7,807,471 SKN Skin Elements Ltd 0.30 -25.00 196,151 $2,357,944 AKG Academies Aus Grp 19.00 -22.45 93,425 $32,490,544 IS3 I Synergy Group Ltd 0.70 -22.22 118,000 $2,736,723 BSX Blackstone Ltd 6.00 -20.00 413,403 $39,312,834 TZL TZ Limited 2.00 -20.00 351,190 $6,418,953 CNJ Conico Ltd 0.20 -20.00 860,854 $3,925,237 GMN Gold Mountain Ltd 0.40 -20.00 50,090,909 $14,877,528 ROG Red Sky Energy. 0.40 -20.00 1,073,395 $27,111,136 OLL Openlearning 1.70 -19.05 633,529 $5,625,251 EOS Electro Optic Sys. 170.00 -18.27 2,570,950 $356,170,892 EVR Ev Resources Ltd 0.90 -18.18 44,747,346 $14,533,986 AQX Alice Queen Ltd 0.50 -16.67 10,328 $4,145,905 GCM Green Critical Min 0.50 -16.67 240,000 $6,819,510 GTI Gratifii 0.50 -16.67 5,223,143 $8,215,336 HHR Hartshead Resources 0.50 -16.67 29,430,684 $16,852,093 IPB IPB Petroleum Ltd 1.00 -16.67 300,000 $6,781,469 LNR Lanthanein Resources 0.25 -16.67 2,227,792 $5,864,727 OAR OAR Resources Ltd 0.25 -16.67 4,784,000 $7,959,933 RML Resolution Minerals 0.25 -16.67 2,000,000 $3,779,990
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT – PM Edition
ADX Energy (ASX:ADX) has declared its Welchau-1 exploration well as a discovery after logging tools revealed a high correlation between the hydrocarbon shows and open fracture networks essential for well productivity over a large gross interval of 365m.
Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) is set to bolster its gold resources and production outlook with the acquisition of public unlisted company Linden Gold Alliance via a unanimously recommended off-market scrip takeover offer.
Sunshine Metals (ASX:SHN) raised $4 million via a placement to institutional and sophisticated investors to accelerate exploration efforts at the Liontown prospect in North Queensland.
Toubani Resources (ASX:TRE) continues to hit numerous thick, high-grade oxide intersections, including a huge 71m @ 1.86g/t gold, in the first 30 holes of an ongoing resource definition drilling program at its Kobada gold project in Mali.
Nickel-focused Corazon Mining (ASX:CZN) will receive up to $9.5 million for the sale of the lithium rights over its Miriam project in the WA Goldfields to Future Battery Minerals (ASX:FBM) which is currently exploring the Kangaroo Hills lithium project directly to the south.
FBM, meanwhile, has confirmed the elevation of former Fortescue (ASX:FMG) boss Neville Power as its new chairman, with predecessor Mike Edwards staying on board as a non-executive director.
St George Mining (ASX:SGQ) has confirmed further continuity of the clay-hosted REE discovery at the Destiny project first announced in December 2023, with new drilling assays including results of up to 3,160ppm TREO.
DY6 Metals (ASX:DY6) hit maximum values of 1.21% TREO and 0.12% niobium from 128 soil and 386 rock chip samples taken from its Salambidwe project in southern Malawi.
The decision to digitise historical analogue datasets for the northern half of its Radium Point project appears to have paid off for White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) with the identification of multiple high-grade uranium and copper targets.
New World Resources (ASX:NWC) has defined new and “very strong” copper and zinc geochemistry anomalies over 1.5km of strike immediately along trend to the south-west of the company’s Antler copper deposit in Arizona where a resource of 11.4Mt @ 4.1% copper equivalent already exists.
And uranium developer Aura Energy (ASX:AEE) has given notice the first tranche of fully paid ordinary shares for its previously announced $16.2 million placement at 18c have been issued to new and existing institutional and sophisticated investors.
TRADING HALTS
Power Minerals (ASX:PNN) – capital raising.
Environmental Clean Technologies (ASX:ECT) – pending the release of an announcement in relation to a capital raising.
Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) – pending an announcement concerning a capital raising.
Entyr (ASX:ETR) – pending an announcement to the market regarding financial and strategic matters.
Prodigy Gold (ASX:PRX) – pending an announcement to the market in relation to a capital raising.
Hastings Technology Metals (ASX:HAS) – pending finalisation of underwriting arrangements in relation to a capital raising.
Amaero International (ASX:3DA) – pending an announcement in relation to an equity capital raising and the finalisation of a material contract.
Black Rock Mining (ASX:BKT) – to allow a capital raising to take place in an orderly fashion.
Barton Gold (ASX:BGD) – pending an announcement to the market in relation to a capital raising.
Clarity Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CU6) – pending the planning and preparation for, and an announcement in relation to, an equity raising.
Vintage Energy (ASX:VEN) – pending an announcement by Vintage in relation to a proposed equity raising.
Future Battery Minerals (ASX:FBM) (ASX: FBM) – pending the release of an announcement in relation to a capital raising.
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Aura Energy, Brightstar Resources ,Sunshine Metals, Toubani Resources, Corazon Mining,St George Mining, DY6 Metals, New World Resources are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
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