The ASX benchmark rises circa 0.5pc<\/p>\n
IT Sector jumps more than +2.1pc<\/p>\n
Small caps led by DOC<\/p>\n
Local markets have clocked a three-month intraday high on Tuesday, with the bulk of buying taking place around the more rate sensitive stocks led by names in the IT, Healthcare,\u00a0 Consumer Staples and Property sectors.<\/p>\n
At 4pm on Tuesday December 12, the S&P\/ASX 200 (XJO) index was up 34 points, or +0.47%.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n All 11 sectors were in the green at 3.30pm, although Materials was on borrowed time at just +0.02% in the happy zone.<\/p>\n Around lunchtime in Sydney, Energy and Utilities were the laggards, although both were part of an all-green, broad-based morning rally.<\/p>\n But with 20 minutes of play on the board, both had joined six sectors ahead between +0.4% and +0.5%.<\/p>\n Things have evened out at 4pm, with traders cycling out of the more defensive sectors and betting on IT.<\/p>\n Here are Tuesday\u2019s money-makers in the IT Sector:<\/p>\n\n Via MarketIndex<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Elsewhere, everyone with skin in the game is very pleased China has lifted a ban on three Aussie abbatoirs, originally suspended by Chinese trade officials due to breaching COVID-19 regulations during the pandemic.<\/p>\n The reinstatement for export has the tick of approval of the Australian Meat Industry Council, with CEO Patrick Hutchison telling The Australian<\/em>, it \u201chopes this move represents the first step in addressing a number of remaining access issues for Australian meat processors\u201d.<\/p>\n Hutchison says there\u2019s still a number of meat plants in China\u2019s bad books, \u201cdespite significant corrective actions and steps taken to assure compliance with Chinese requirements\u201d.<\/p>\n The Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell says it\u2019s \u2018another positive step\u2019 toward trade stabilisation with China.<\/p>\n \u201cI will continue to press for the re-entry into China of Australian live lobster, and those red meat establishments which remain suspended.<\/p>\n \u201cI am confident the dialogue we have with China will present pathways for other restrictions to be removed, and more Australian produce reaching Chinese consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n Meat from two of the abattoirs was banned by China in mid-2020, and from a third in 2022, just as bilateral ties were flatlining prompting most analysts to suggest the bans were just more of China\u2019s punitive political campaign against Australia.<\/p>\n Oh, and NAB\u2019s regular measurement of business conditions and confidence fell again in November.<\/p>\n According to NAB\u2019s chief economist Alan Oster, apart from during the pandemic this is as glum, shy, afraid, scared, nervous, unsure, tentative, insecure\u00a0 hesitant and downright self-doubting and all-up mousy that Aussie business has been outside of a decade. I am elaborating, naturally, but his point was clear:<\/p>\n \u201cBusiness confidence is now its weakest since around 2012.\u201d<\/p>\n Every month the bank does a business survey and this one has bidness confidence down six points to nine points on the NAB scale of bidness confidence.<\/p>\n There is almost certainly a useful, granular context to those numbers, which unfortunately requires the study of a graph, which I am not going to do.<\/p>\n Basically confidence was down across pretty much every Aussie industry in every state.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth confidence and conditions declined in the month and after a period of relative stability through mid-2023 appear to be softening further,\u201d according to Alan.<\/p>\n This news, repeated ad nausea by obedient journos like me, is unlikely to do business confidence in Australia any favours.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And we\u2019re still watching gold\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n At circa US$1,990 on Tuesday \u2013 after two straight sessions of falling prices \u2013 it appears bullion is in two minds.<\/p>\n Via TradingEconomics<\/p>\n The run on gold has been more than sterling lately. It\u2019s a hard train to get off when kicking record highs.<\/p>\n But, on the other hand traders are at something of a crossroads ahead of the headline US CPI inflation reading, as well as the concomitant rates decisions out of the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE), which will set the direction of monetary policy, risk sentiment and the US dollar.<\/p>\n The US consumer inflation read will drop later tonight while US producer (PPI) inflation drops\u00a0 on Wednesday in New York.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And staying in the US\u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Overnight in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both found +0.4%, but only the latter closed at its highest level in about 21 months. Among the best S&P 500 stocks \u2013 the banks, the healthcare names and the major technology stocks.<\/p>\n The tech heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile, ended +0.2% higher.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n At 4pm in Sydney, Futures tied to the 3 major US indices were ahead of the Tuesday open in New York:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Via Fox<\/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 Leading the Small Caps winners on Tuesday was UK-based telehealth company Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC (ASX:DOC)<\/span><\/a>, which is making some decent (and rapid) gains this morning after news broke that the company is set to repay its December 2022 senior loan facility with AXA PPP Healthcare Group.<\/p>\n From what I\u2019ve been able to glean from a rapid scan through the announcement, DOC is looking to raise some to raise \u00a310.6 million under an offer of convertible notes, subject to shareholder approval.<\/p>\n The company says the notes would be due 31 December 2027, with no repayment of principal required until maturity, at a conversion price of Conversion price of $0.0875 per share, which is a whopping 94% premium on the previous DOC closing price.<\/p>\n In second place, it was Widgie Nickel (ASX:WIN)<\/span><\/a>, which took off on an uphill sprint late in the day, seemingly of its own accord, as the company hasn\u2019t had much to say to the market for quite some time.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also been on a steady decline in trading price since early October, falling from $0.23 to $0.082 yesterday, so this afternoon\u2019s sudden rush of blood to the head is a little mysterious \u2013 the price for nickel did jump overnight to reach US$16,300\/tonne, but that\u2019s hardly enough to move Widgie\u2019s needle to the extent that it\u2019s moved today.<\/p>\n Titomic (ASX:TTT)<\/a><\/span> was on a slow burn Tuesday, but managed to squeak into the Top 3 by the close of play, thanks to news that the company has signed on to a strategic manufacturing partnership agreement with St\u00e4rke Advanced Manufacturing Group (St\u00e4rke), a global, advanced manufacturer headquartered in South Australia.<\/p>\n The announcement makes no specific mention of precisely what the two companies are going to be collaborating on, but it does mention that St\u00e4rke is quite heavily into \u201cvarious high-performance sectors, including defence, aerospace, and automotive\u201d \u2013 make of that what you will.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s early leader, Compumedics (ASX:CMP)<\/span><\/a> , gave back some of its gains throughout the rest of the day, after rising sharply on news that the company has added two China-based clients to the business roster.<\/p>\n The company alerted the market that it has received two new orders for its Magnetoencephalography (MEG) tech \u2013 from Tsinghua and Tianjin Universities \u2013 worth around $9.3 million.<\/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 Propell (ASX:PHL)<\/a><\/span> \u2013 pending an announcement to the market in relation to a capital raising.<\/p>\n Atturra (ASX:ATA)<\/a><\/span> \u2013 pending an announcement regarding a fully underwritten Arrow Minerals (ASX:AMD)<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 halt called in respect of a proposed capital raising and proposed board restructure.<\/p>\n HyTerra (ASX:HYT)<\/a><\/span> \u2013 requested for the purposes of finalising an announcement regarding a prospective resources assessment on Project Nemaha in Kansas, USA.<\/p>\n Raiden Resources (ASX:RDN)<\/a><\/span> \u2013 pending an announcement by the Company to the market in relation to a pending strategic partnership.<\/p>\n Dome Gold Mines (ASX:DME)<\/a><\/span> \u2013 pending the release of an announcement regarding a memorandum of understanding relating to an off-take.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Closing Bell: ASX highest it\u2019s been in three months<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/h2>\n
ASX Sectors on Tuesday<\/h2>\n
<\/h2>\n
TODAY\u2019S ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS<\/h2>\n
TODAY\u2019S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS<\/h2>\n
TRADING HALTS<\/h2>\n