\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/strong>ASX200 closes about 0.2pc lower, and flat for the week \u00a0<\/p>\n The ASX benchmark has closed lower in the wake of a hotter-than-expected US consumer inflation read, which reversed the flood of bets on the US Federal Reserve initiating rate cuts as soon as March.<\/p>\n At 4.10pm on Friday, the S&P\/ASX200 index (XJO) was down 17 points or about 0.25% to <\/strong><\/em>7,489.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Via Google<\/em><\/p>\n The All Ordinaries (XAO) index could\u2019ve done better as well:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Via MarketIndex<\/em><\/p>\n In New York overnight, Microsoft briefly took the crown from Apple as the world\u2019s most valuable company for the first time since 2021. Love for the iPhone maker dwindled following several early New Year downgrades over China concerns and worries around demand.<\/p>\n In local corporate news, we\u2019re on Nuix (ASX:NXL)<\/strong><\/a> watch again.<\/p>\n The sassy SaaS confidence succubus has given away almost 12% after revealing that its onerous ongoing legal costs \u2013 stemming from being dragged by ASIC through the Federal Court \u2013 would be leaving an almost 20% 1H hole in its prospective earnings sheet.<\/p>\n Otherwise, as Eddy said this morning<\/a>, Nuix expects to meet its FY24 strategic target for revenue growth to exceed operating cost growth for the full year.<\/p>\n In an update in the AM, NXL expects to report first half Annualised Contract Value of between $196-$199mn, up 15-17% on the pcp, while H1 Underlying EBITDA is expected to come in between $27-$29mn, up 8-16% on the pcp. Stripping out one offs, like a dirty great Federal Court case, things could even be looking up.<\/p>\n Transport sector small cap A2B, is in a feverish pit of red, no one knows exactly why.<\/p>\n Just before Christmas, the personal transport and payments firm A2B Australia (ASX:A2B)<\/strong><\/a> was flying high after selling its property on O\u2019Riordan Street, Sydney for a sweet $78m, and subsequently announced a fully franked dividend of $0.60 per share and<\/em> entered into a $182mn scheme implementation arrangement with Singapore\u2019s ComfortDelGro Australia subsidiary to acquire 100% of A2B for $1.45 per A2B share in cash.<\/p>\n On Friday, A2B shares crashed by a full third\u00a0 to $1.42 \u2014 falling under the scheme\u2019s offer price.<\/p>\n A lot of the day\u2019s early leaders were making headway thanks to market conditions and commodity price movement, leaving Lodestar Minerals (ASX:LSR)<\/a>\u00a0out in front on a no-news Friday for the company.<\/p>\n However, in amongst the winners list there are a handful of noteworthy mentions, including\u00a0Duketon Mining (ASX:DKM)<\/a>\u00a0with an early 16% lift off the back of an upbeat quarterly delivered this morning, showing that the company is still beavering away at its Tate Prospect, located north of the Duketon Greenstone Belt \u2013 and that there\u2019s still money in the bank to keep the hunt going for a while yet.<\/p>\n And 88 Energy (ASX:88E)<\/a>\u00a0dropped a flow-test update on the market news list this morning, letting everyone know that things are full steam ahead for the Hickory-1 discovery well next month.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Energy and Materials Sector were doing best they could on Friday, but to no avail. Rising commodity prices were smothered by the avalanche of bets in need of unwinding.<\/p>\n The iron ore heavyweights were in the money after iron ore prices lifted. Likewise for the energy names like Santos which followed oil prices higher after we helped the US and Friends bomb bits of Yemen.<\/p>\n None of this could offset the various growth and interest rate sensitive sectors which were all lower led by Consumer Staples, down 1.6%.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Via MarketIndex<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, around the \u2018hood, Asian-Pacific markets were mixed at lunchtime in Beijing and Tokyo.<\/p>\n Once again the trading was at its most furious on the Nikkei 225 and the Topix, as a weak yen, a dovish tilt from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and bullish corporate results continued to boost the optimism.<\/p>\n Hong Kong and mainland China stocks also advanced as investors digested robust trade figures in China, while consumer and producer prices in the country remained.<\/p>\n US stockmarket futures at 3pm on Friday in Sydney:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Via Fox<\/em><\/p>\n Looking ahead to next week,\u00a0 Westpac\u2019s Consumer Confidence drops on Tuesday, along with Melbourne Institute\u2019s inflation expectations, both of which hinge on a consumer outlook rather than pure economic indicators, according to eToro analyst Josh Gilbert.<\/p>\n \u201cMarkets are now fully pricing in a rate cut from the RBA by August this year, but that may come sooner if economic data continues to move in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n This week delivered a promising outlook for the year in the form of the Monthly CPI read, Josh told Stockhead<\/em> on Friday, Year on Year consumer price growth has slowed faster than expected, hitting 4.3% compared to a forecast of 4.4%.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Aussies still concerned that additional rate hikes are still within the RBA\u2019s scope, the arrival of the most significant decrease since January 2022 is welcome news.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first RBA monetary policy meeting of the year commences at the start of February, where the board is largely expected to keep rates on hold and that would more than likely mean the peak in interest rates,\u201d Josh says.<\/p>\n The other vital number in the battle against inflation is unemployment and on that front, next week marks the year\u2019s first insights into the health of the job market.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s likely we\u2019ll see a small rise in unemployment, with December unlikely to have been a key month for new hires. If the figure slips above 3.9% to 4% or higher, we will be well and truly on track to reach the Treasurer\u2019s \u2018sustainable unemployment\u2019 target of 4.5%.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile some economists believe it\u2019s unnecessary for the rate to climb that high for the economy to recover, anything above 4.25% will give the RBA the confidence it needs to consider cutting rates sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Today\u2019s best performing small cap stocks:<\/strong><\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/em><\/p>\n WordPress Table Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Singular Health (ASX:SHG)<\/a><\/span> has risen to the top of the ladder late in the day, on yesterday\u2019s news that it has received its first binding enterprise licence order for 5,000 annual licences of the 3Dicom Patient software in the US.<\/p>\n What it means in essence, is that a small number of US military veterans are now able to access their medical records digitally, rather than having to order (and wait for) a hard copy\u00a0\u2013\u00a0which is a massive step forward for them.<\/p>\n Details of the enterprise sale are \u201ccommercial-in-confidence\u201d, but SHG says revenue generated from this order \u201cexceeds the total direct-to-consumer sales of the 3Dicom software in 2023 of ~A$50,000 by more than 40%\u201d.<\/p>\n Which means, if I\u2019m reading this correctly, this is an enormous jump for Singular \u2013 it\u2019s up 110% for the week, adding close to $7 million in market cap off the back of a $70k contract.<\/p>\n Uranium player Basin Energy (ASX:BSN)<\/span><\/a> has seen a rise this afternoon as well, up a tidy 24% and climbing along with the rest of the uranium market as interest in yellowcake booms this week.<\/p>\n That\u2019s off the back of a recent decision by the US Department of Energy (DOE) that it was exploring domestic supply of an enriched uranium fuel to reduce its reliance on Russian supplies, which has re-lit the fuse under local uranium players as well.<\/p>\n And CZR Resources (ASX:CZR)<\/span><\/a> is sailing again on the back of news yesterday of the $102m sale of its Robe Mesa iron ore project in the Pilbara to a Chinese buyer, which will see CZR bank double its pre-bid market cap in cash.<\/p>\n The buyer, as Reubs reported earlier, is Miracle Iron, which will pay a combined $122m to secure Strike Resources\u2019 (ASX:SRK)<\/span><\/a> Paulsens East project, which was briefly mined and shipped through the junior Utah Point Facility in Port Hedland a couple years ago, and CZR\u2019s larger 33Mt Robe Mesa, an extension of Rio Tinto\u2019s (ASX:RIO)<\/span><\/a> Mesa F deposit at its Robe River JV.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Today\u2019s worst performing small cap stocks:<\/strong><\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/em><\/p>\n WordPress Table Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Nada today.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Closing Bell: Down on Friday and flat for the week, it\u2019s not called the ALL Ordinaries for nuthin\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nASX sectors in full retreat save for Energy\/Materials
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\nSmall cap winners led by SHG, BSN, CZR
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nAll Ords (XAO) Performance<\/h2>\n
All Ords (XAO)<\/h2>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Best and Fairest\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u2014\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Worst and Unsportsmanlike<\/h2>\n\n
ASX SECTORS at 3.45pm on FRIDAY<\/h2>\n\n
ASX SECTORS THIS WEEK<\/h2>\n\n
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Next week on the ASX<\/h2>\n
ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS<\/h2>\n
ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS<\/h2>\n
TRADING HALTS<\/h2>\n