The ASX has closed 0.29% lower, snapping its recent five-day streak
\nSectors to rise led by Healthcare\u00a0
\nSmall cap winners: AL8, MHK<\/p>\n
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The benchmark S&P\/ASX 200 (XJO) index has closed Tuesday at 6,977 points, down 20 points or -0.29%.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This arvo at race time-ish, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) decided to hike the cash rate by a further 25 basis points to 4.35%, as inflation continues to play chicken with the central bankers and possum with the Aussie economy.<\/p>\n It was the RBA\u2019s first rate hike since June and new Governor M. Bullock\u2019s first in charge.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the upside surprise in Q3 inflation data meant market commentators were widely expecting today\u2019s move, markets were less certain, with the interest rate market assigning a 58% chance of a rate hike,\u201d says IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore.<\/p>\n \u201cThe discrepancy between commentators and the rates market was a reflection of the uncertainty created by recent discussions in political circles as to whether the Q3 upside inflation surprise represented a material change to the RBA\u2019s inflation outlook.\u201d<\/p>\n Bad news for mortgage holders, not so bad if you\u2019re Australia\u2019s biggest lender:<\/p>\n Via Google Finance<\/p>\n All the major lenders were lower on Tuesday, but perked up pretty quickly at the free kick another official cash rate hike offers them.<\/p>\n According to the financial comparison firm Mozo, up until this afternoon the Big Four banks have so far passed on rate increases of exactly 4.00% to variable rate home loan customers, and now offer an average variable rate of 7.21%.<\/p>\n Westpac shares however, are still some -2.5% the worse, leading sector losses and showing that not even the central bank can throw a dog a bone.<\/p>\n Via Google Finance<\/p>\n WBC dropped a handsome $7.2bn FY23 profit on Monday as well as a $1.5bn buyback, but raining on that parade has been UBS analysts which reckon WBC is beset by\u00a0 higher costs and future risk.<\/p>\n \u201cWestpac\u2019s investment case remains anchored in the group\u2019s ability to extract efficiencies and improve its overall competitiveness by delivering scale benefits and driving down per unit operating costs,\u201d UBS told clients in a morning note.<\/p>\n \u201cNear term upgrades are driven by better-than-expected bad debts as asset quality continues to surprise on the upside and marginal cost downgrades to FY24.\u201d<\/p>\n All the banks are lower at the close with NAB, dropping reports its full year results on Thursday is off 0.9 per cent to $29.09.<\/p>\n Across all lenders on the Mozo database, 3.91% of a possible 4.00% of the RBA hikes have been passed to home loan customers since the cycle started last year.<\/p>\n The Big Four banks have passed on exactly 4.00% to customers.<\/p>\n So far this cycle, the interest rate hikes have seen Aussie mortgage holders with a $500,000 needing an extra $1,037 more every month to cover rising repayments.<\/p>\n Mozo says 57% of mortgage holders admitted they\u2019d be under \u2018financial stress\u2019 when their mortgage rate hit 6.00% or more, and the average variable rate across all providers on the Mozo database is 6.62%<\/p>\n If lenders pass on the 0.25% hike by the RBA today in full, this means the average mortgage holder will be paying an extra $1,116\/month or $13,395\/year more than they were before the hikes started in May 2022.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Via MarketIndex<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n With Albo in town, China\u2019s trade surplus for October narrowed sharply to US$56.53 billion This onerous figure was well below market forecasts of US$82 billion and the smallest trade surplus since February.<\/p>\n Exports \u2013 down 6.4% vs the expected -3.3% were almost twice as bad as forecasts were bracing for, reflecting China\u2019s febrile demand from overseas while imports unexpectedly crept higher.<\/p>\n Imports unexpectedly grew by 3%, the first increase since February, and easily beating market expectations of a 4.8% fall, amid Beijing\u2019s quasi-efforts to boost domestic demand.<\/p>\n The trade surplus with the US narrowed to US$30.82 billion in October from US$33.119 billion in September.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:<\/strong><\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/em><\/p>\n WordPress Tables Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As my erstwhile colleague and former school mate Roberto Badman pointed out a few hours ago, the ASX small cap leader Alderan Resources (ASX:AL8)<\/strong><\/a> is named for the peaceful unaligned planet Alderaan, where Princess Leia grew up under the watchful eye of Jimmy Smits.<\/p>\n Robert also says that has nothing to do with the similarly named Alderan\u2019s share price hitting warp drive on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, we\u2019re struggling to see what exactly is the Force that\u2019s giving it a boost, so\u2026 Bob refers us back to this recent news from the 31st of October, when the\u00a0gold and copper-hunting junior \u2013 among the few hard-rock explorers suddenly inside Brazil\u2019s \u2018Lithium Valley\u2019 hotspot on the search for the white gold battery metal.<\/p>\n In late September, Alderan executed a binding agreement with Parabolic Lithium to acquire a 100% interest in seven lithium exploration projects consisting of 24 granted exploration licences covering 472km2 in Brazil\u2019s Eastern Lithium Belt.<\/p>\n All seven projects are within, and to the south, of the famed \u2018Lithium Valley\u2019 in the resource-rich Minas Gerais state, which hosts 40 of Brazil\u2019s top 100 mines. And those include\u00a0Companhia Brasileire De Litio (CBL)<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Sigma Lithium Corporation (NASDAQ: SGML; TSX: SGML),<\/strong>\u00a0along with the deposits of\u00a0Latin Resources (ASX:LRS)\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Lithium Ionic (TSX.V: LTH)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In October, the company noted that project site visits were currently underway, with geologist-led field inspections looking to provide some expert confirmation of potential lithium mineralisation from pegmatite fields.<\/p>\n Legal due diligence was also reportedly well on track.<\/p>\n Earlier this afternoon, the Aussie clinical stage immuno-oncology upstart, Imugene (ASX:IMU)<\/strong><\/a> dropped a promising clinical trial update of its Phase 1 MAST (Metastatic Advanced Solid Tumours) trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of novel cancer-killing virus CF33-hNIS (VAXINIA).<\/p>\n Imugene CEO Leslie Chong says IMU\u2019s Phase 1 trials are generally designed to look for safety, tolerability and early response signals to determine the optimal dose for further development.<\/p>\n \u201cThe early positive response data we are seeing at the mid-dose level in hard-to-treat bile duct cancer suggests that VAXINIA may be a potent anti-cancer drug as we interrogate higher dose levels.<\/p>\n \u201cWith no adverse safety signals, thus allowing us to dose higher, VAXINIA will have a very high therapeutic window which is valuable in oncology drug development.\u201d<\/p>\n Kill cancer. More please.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Also higher on Tuesday is NickelSearch (ASX:NIS)<\/strong><\/a>. The WA nickel sulphide explorer is having a +40% kind of week so far, and is up another 17% or so at the time of writing\/not looking at the Melbourne Cup form guide today.<\/p>\n Late last week, NIS released the following into the wilds and to\u00a0Stockhead<\/em>.<\/p>\n Per our\u00a0special report<\/a><\/em>, then:<\/p>\n NIS unveiled six new areas of lithium interest at the Carlingup project in WA \u2013 taking the total to 28 areas of interest for Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) pegmatites identified to date. \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the least performing ASX small cap stocks:<\/strong><\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/em><\/p>\n WordPress Tables Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Reward Minerals (ASX:RWD)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Pending the release of an announcement in relation to a potential material acquisition<\/p>\n Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Pending the release of the Lake Hope Scoping Study<\/p>\n Challenger Gold (ASX:CEL)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Pending the release to the market of a material announcement in relation to a Scoping Study for the Hualilan Gold Project in Argentina<\/p>\n Inca Minerals (ASX:ICG)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Pending an announcement regarding a capital raising<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Closing Bell: Local markets close lower as RBA bites before Christmas<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n
Westpac (ASX:WBC)<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n
ASX Sectors on Tuesday<\/h2>\n
Ripped from the Headlines<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nfrom US$82.35 billion in the same period last year.<\/p>\nTODAY\u2019S ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS<\/h2>\n
\nIn September, the explorer teamed up with major lithium producer\u00a0Allkem (ASX:AKE)<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to assess the lithium prospectivity of Carlingup, about 10km from AKE\u2019s 140,000tpa Mt Cattlin lithium mine.
\nAllkem also recently flagged latent capacity at Mt Cattlin to potentially toll-treat third party product \u2013 which could bode well for the company if Carlingup\u2019s lithium potential is confirmed.
\nIn April an independent geochemical review highlighted the lithium potential at Carlingup, identifying 22 areas of LCT pegmatite potential.
\nFurther review and targeting work across a larger portion of the project area has flagged another six areas of exploration interest.<\/p>\nTODAY\u2019S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS<\/h2>\n
TRADING HALTS<\/h2>\n