Good morning everyone, and welcome to Tuesday, December 12 \u2013 a date on the calendar of massive importance to the World of Art, as today would have been the 160th birthday of Norweigan artist Edward Munch, if he was some kind of superhuman or possibly even immortal.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s not, of course \u2013 he\u2019s been dead since 1944 \u2013 but before he died, he painted a picture that is arguably one of the most famous works of art in existence, called The Scream.<\/p>\n
It depicts a figure that has variously been described as a ghost, a sperm, a fetus, a woman or a rough, infantile doodle of a humanesque form, posing like Macauley Culkin on the poster of Home Alone<\/p>\n
It is, to be fair, a haunting image \u2013 and it is justifiably famous, mostly because it\u2019s just so unnerving. Scandinavian art expert John Bolton Smith described it as \u201ca unique visual image of panic\u201d \u2013\u00a0but I\u2019m guessing that was before Home Alone was released in 1990.<\/p>\n
Munch himself did his best to explain the painting, writing within the frame of an early version he produced: \u201cI was walking along a path with two friends \u2013 the sun was setting \u2013 suddenly the sky turned blood red \u2013 I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence \u2013 there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city \u2013 my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety \u2013 and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is an undoubtedly deep sentiment (provided you\u2019re 14 years old, and you\u2019ve just discovered black hair dye and mum\u2019s old Morrissey records) \u2013 or it could just be the ramblings of a man who was quite fond of drinking industrial quantities of absinthe with the rest of the Parisian post-impressionist wankers.<\/p>\n
It was there that Munch learned that to lose one\u2019s mind drinking absinthe is a glorious thing, but Toulouse Letrec is just careless.<\/p>\n
*ahem*<\/p>\n
One thing is almost certain about The Scream, and that it\u2019s highly likely that it depicts what Munch himself would have looked like, had he been alive in 2012 when the pastel on board version he created in 1895 went under the hammer at Sotheby\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Some idiot paid just over $180 million for it \u2013 which is enough to make just about anybody scream.<\/p>\n
The Scream is not the only work of art kicking around the Stockhead offices this morning, as our writers have been furiously working their collective crayons into busted little nubs, writing up all the info you need to get your day on the market off to a cracking start.<\/p>\n
That includes Reuben\u2019s deep dig into what\u2019s a-happenin\u2019 on the Canadian lithium scene this week, and Christian\u2019s frantic ringaround to see what the brokers are saying about their favourite hot picks at the moment.<\/p>\n
Plus, below you\u2019ll find all the usual digits and data to get your motor rumbling before the market opens today.<\/p>\n
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Gold: US$1,996.25 (-0.37%)<\/p>\n
Silver: US$22.93 (-0.26%)<\/p>\n
Nickel (3mth): US$16,603.50\/t (+3.37%)<\/p>\n
Copper (3mth): US$8,348.00\/t (+1.55%)<\/p>\n
Oil (WTI): US$71.63 (+0.59%)<\/p>\n
Oil (Brent): US$76.33 (+0.90%)<\/p>\n
Iron 62pc Fe: US$135.45\/t (+0.78%)<\/p>\n
AUD\/USD: 0.6554 (-0.38%)<\/p>\n
Bitcoin: US$42,140.40 (-3.77%)<\/p>\n
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Always an entertaining read, this week\u2019s episode of Bottom Picker was an absolute cracker \u2013 here\u2019s a link if you didn\u2019t manage to catch it over the weekend.<\/p>\n
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Our pet day trader\u2019s in an ice bath after a double blow of CBA breaking his heart, then CSL not coming to his party. Pass the frozen peas. https:\/\/t.co\/nmavrrXqkr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Stockhead (@StockheadAU) December 10, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:<\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/p>\n WordPress Tables Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Yesterday\u2019s Small Caps highlights were:<\/p>\n Leading the Small Caps winners list \u2013 and waaaay out ahead of the rest of the market \u2013 was debutante LTR Pharma (ASX:LTP)<\/a>, which made a stunning entrance on the ASX this morning to be up 70% in the space of a couple of hours, and closed out the day by cracking the ton, up 100%.<\/p>\n LTR Pharma\u2019s immediate success can be pinned on the fact that it\u2019s done what a lot of microcap pharmaceutical companies don\u2019t do \u2013 and that\u2019s come to the ASX with a developed, patent-protected product that makes immediate sense the moment it\u2019s explained.<\/p>\n The company makes a product called Spontan, which looks like a nasal decongestant spray, but acts on an entirely different part of the male anatomy as a rapid, on-demand fix for erectile dysfunction.<\/p>\n LTR Pharma is in the process of commercialising Spontan, it\u2019s got a successful Phase I human proof of concept study under its belt \u2013 which indicates a 6x faster effect compared to\u00a0 oral administration of tablets like Viagra \u2013 and the company says it\u2019s got a clear pathway to market, progressing to bioequivalence study with expedited regulatory filings in the US and Australia within 1-2 years.<\/p>\n The next two on the ladder are slightly curious \u2013\u00a0West Cobar Metals (ASX:WC1)<\/a> and Cauldron Energy (ASX:CXU)<\/a> have both banked better-than +30% gains, despite neither having any recent news that might explain why they\u2019re moving that way today.<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, West Cobar did get a speeding ticket from the ASX, to which it responded with (words to the effect of) \u201cnothing to see here\u2026 we\u2019re also mystified\u201d \u2013 but Cauldron seems to kjust be puddling along, well out in front of the rest of the small cappers with a big grin on its face.<\/p>\n The next best performer with actual news was Pact Group (ASX:PGH)<\/a>, which went sailing through +22.5% today because it\u2019s the target of an off-market takeover that got very juicy this morning.<\/p>\n Bennamon Industries is the entity behind the bid, and today it announced that it really wants to buy Pact holus bolus \u2013 as indicated by Bennamon upping its per share offer from $0.68 cash per Pact share to $0.84 cash.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a chunky 21% push in price, and quite a sizeable step up from Pact\u2019s previous closing price \u2013 whether it\u2019s going to be enough to entice the required number of shareholders over the line remains to be seen.<\/p>\n And a couple of short bursts to round out the list: MetalsGrove Mining (ASX:MGA)<\/a> is up on news that the company has entered into a strategic agreement to acquire six new lithium claims in Zimbabwe, while Grand Gulf Energy (ASX:GGE)<\/a> rose sharply on news that the Jesse-1A well has unexpectedly flowed significant helium to surface at concentrations consistent with the previous downhole sample of 1% helium.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:<\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/p>\n WordPress Tables Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Rimfire Pacific Mining (ASX:RIM)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 pending an announcement by the Company to the market regarding a capital raising.<\/p>\n Elixir Energy (ASX:EXR)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 pending an announcement by the Company with respect to a capital raising.<\/p>\n Technology Metals Australia (ASX:TMT)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 pending an announcement to the market in relation to a merger with Australian Vanadium.<\/p>\n Australian Vanadium (ASX:AVL)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 See above.<\/p>\n Investigator Resources (ASX:IVR)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 pending an announcement by the Company to the market regarding a capital raising.<\/p>\n Sunstone Metals (ASX:STM)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 pending an announcement by the Company to the market regarding a capital raising.<\/p>\n PharmAust (ASX:PAA)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 pending an announcement by the Company to the market regarding a capital raising.<\/p>\n Infinity Mining (ASX:IMI)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 pending an announcement by the Company to the market regarding a capital raising.<\/p>\n Compumedics (ASX:CMP)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 pending an announcement about correspondence received from a China-based distributor regarding additional MEG orders.<\/p>\n Talisman Mining (ASX:TLM)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 pending an announcement in relation to exploration results at the Company\u2019s Lachlan Copper-Gold Project in NSW.<\/p>\n Sacgasco (ASX:SGC)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 pending an announcement to the market in relation to an update by the Company regarding the divestment of its Filipino operations.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"YESTERDAY\u2019S ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS<\/h2>\n
YESTERDAY\u2019S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS<\/h2>\n
TRADING HALTS<\/h2>\n