Wall Street pulls back again for the second straight session
Donald Trumps’ social media company jumps 16pc on IPO debut
Trump is now in the 500 world’s rich list after the listing
The ASX is set to open lower again on Wednesday, in line with Wall Street. At 8am AEDT, the ASX 200 index futures contract was pointing down by -0.2%.
Overnight, stocks in New York pulled back further. The S&P 500 fell by -0.28% , the blue chips Dow Jones index was down by -0.08%, and tech-heavy Nasdaq lifted by -0.42%.
Some have speculated this is the correction we’ve had to have after a stunning start to the year.
“On average, the S&P 500 has peaked six months before the start of a recession,” said Peter Berezin of BCA Research.
Making news overnight was Digital World Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq:DJT), the SPAC company that merged with Donald Trump’s social media startup, Truth Social.
DJT rose as much as 60% on the first day of public trading, before paring gains to close just 16% higher. The merger, which valued Trump’s company at US$7.9bn, provided a windfall for Trump as he faces mounting series of legal problems.
Tesla shares rose +3% after CEO Elon Musk said US customers can use the company’s self-driving software, the so called Full Self-Driving or FSD, as part of a monthlong free trial.
Biggest mover however was Krispy Kreme, which jumped 40% after announcing that its donuts would be available across all of McDonald’s US outlets by the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, cocoa futures touched above US$10,000 a metric ton for the fist time ever, which will make the price of chocolates more expensive ahead of the Easter holiday.
Trump’s net worth jumped to US$6.5bn overnight
Following DJT’s listing overnight, Trump’s net worth has now hits US$6.5 billion, putting him into the elite World’s 500 Richest People list.
The timing couldn’t be better as he faces a deadline to either pay his US$454 million verdict or post a US$175m bond. But he still won’t be able to sell his DJT shares as they are locked up for six months under listing rules.
The stock became public after completing a SPAC deal with Digital World Acquisition Corp that took 29 months to wrap up.
The unprofitable platform Truth Social was set up in 2021 as a right-leaning platform much like Gettr and Parler.
It’s been marketed in opposition to mainstream media apps, which Trump and his supporters allege discriminate against their views.
In other markets …
Gold price rose by another +0.3% to US$2,178.68 an ounce.
Oil prices slumped by -0.8%, with Brent now trading at US$85.83 a barrel.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield was flattish at 4.25%.
Iron ore futures crashed by -4 % to US$104.05 a tonne.
The Aussie dollar was trading flat at US65.33c.
Bitcoin meanwhile rose +0.2% in the last 24 hours to US$70.160.
5 ASX small caps to watch today
Lincoln Minerals (ASX:LML)
Multiple high-grade graphite intercepts in recent step-out drilling have extended Lincoln’s Kookaburra Gully Mineral Resource mineralisation to the north, both at surface and downdip. Eight of 11 holes that targeted the northern portion of the designed open-pit intersected graphite, extending open-pit to the north.
Osteopore (ASX:OSX)
Osteopore has secured Singaporean and Vietnamese market approvals to supply its orthopaedic products. The regulatory clearance includes a suite of off-the-shelf products for High Tibial Osteotomy (HTO), bone grafting, and customisable implants for complex bone loss.
Argent Minerals (ASX:ARD)
High-grade surface rock chips have highlighted potential for significant extensions to the Kempfield Deposit. Two major mineralisation extensions from the Kempfield Deposit have been discovered through surface sampling along strike from Lode 300 Mineralised Block which contains: 5.1M oz Ag @ 102 Ag Eq (g/t), totalling 65.1 Moz Silver equivalent resource.
Power Minerals (ASX:PNN)
Power reported excellent results from its first lithium brine pumping well at Incahuasi, Argentina. Rotary well PM24-IN-RW-01 has been completed to 360m depth, with 8-inch diameter slotted casing. Pumping step tests indicated it is a highly productive aquifer, and this is being confirmed by continuous tests.
Tivan (ASX:TVN)
Tivan has upgraded the Sandover Project in the Northern Territory to a “strategic priority”. The decision reflects the substantial progress achieved at Sandover over the past year, in partnership with EARTH AI; and the proximity of a maiden drill campaign through mid-year, focused on high quality targets, including lead surface sampling at 12.2% Pb.
The post Market Highlights: Trump’s IPO stock jumps on debut; and 5 ASX small caps to watch today appeared first on Stockhead.
