Local markets have recovered from yesterday\u2019s beating, bouncing back with all the vim, vigour and zest you\u2019d expect, considering the mood the ASX has been in over the past two weeks.<\/p>\n
Now, if we could just do something about the unmistakable pong of \u2018dead cat\u2019, a lot of people would be feeling a lot more comfortable about how today\u2019s set to pan out.<\/p>\n
The short version is this: Wall Street did better overnight for two reasons \u2013\u00a0Meta says it\u2019s doing even better than everyone\u2019s wildest expectations, sending the tech behemoth soaring 14% after the bell \u2013 which is, quite\u00a0frankly, absurd for a company that size.<\/p>\n
The fact that Meta\u2019s finally prepping to cough up a divvy for investors might have had something to do with the company\u2019s price hike, though.<\/p>\n
Also, a distinct lack of Jerome Powell talking in public helped soothe the jangled nerves of US investors \u2013 plus the calming presence of IMF boss Kristalina Georgieva in the media has helped calm things down quite a bit.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not sure precisely why it is that Georgieva is such a calming influence on the market \u2013 but at a guess, it\u2019s her killer combo of looking like the money-world\u2019s twinkly-eyed grandma and sounding eerily like The Count from Sesame Street that\u2019s doing the trick.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll get into the market stuff shortly, but first you need to watch this:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s the fastest man in the world and a proud enhanced athlete. He has broken Usain Bolt\u2019s world record. The new Olympics are here, backed by VCs Christian Angermayer and Peter Thiel, where performance enhancements are allowed. https:\/\/t.co\/OydUh3J6uw<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/P0zKpTzA4T<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Enhanced Games (@enhanced_games) January 31, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Yep \u2013 that long-running joke about giving up on dope-testing athletes and just letting them \u2018roid themselves into superhumans has, apparently, been made a reality.<\/p>\n Calling itself the Enhanced Games, the new venture promises to be the \u201cmost inclusive\u201d sporting event ever \u2013\u00a0Bigger, Faster and Stronger than The Olympics, and a whole lot more Special than the special ones, to boot.<\/p>\n Obviously, this is the kind of venture that isn\u2019t going organise itself \u2013\u00a0and there\u2019s a handful of totally not unhinged mega-investors that are willing to put their name on what promises to be the shining pinnacle of Libertarian idiocy.<\/p>\n And here they are:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Pic via Enhance.org<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel, who\u2019s taken a break from bankrolling pro-wrestling sex tape lawsuits, psychedelic drug enthusiast Christian Angermayer and Balaji \u201cI bet you $1 million I can lose $1 million\u201d Srinivasan.<\/p>\n With big brains like that behind it, how could this venture possibly not succeed?<\/p>\n Exact events for the Enhanced Games haven\u2019t been announced yet, but if you reckon you\u2019ve got what it takes to get juiced, jacked and very, very hairy in places you definitely shouldn\u2019t be growing hair, you can register your interest in becoming a very public human guinea pig on the website<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Local markets are recovering nicely from yesterday\u2019s body slam, with the ASX 200 benchmark up 1.12% as we head into lunch today \u2013\u00a0largely because a team of trained professionals were able to corner US Fed Chief Jerome Powell in New York overnight, get a few tranquiliser darts through his scaly hide and load him into a crate, safely away from any microphones or journalists.<\/p>\n A rapid look at the sectors and everything\u2019s looking peachy-keen \u2013 except for Utilities, which is lagging behind the rest of the market and the only one losing ground in the middle of the session.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Real Estate stocks leading the local charge, with some big names including Centuria Capital, Goodman and Pexa all boosting through 3% on their way to the money this morning.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Chart via Marketindex.com.au<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A more granular look shows that yesterday\u2019s tumble drove more than a couple of investors back to their favoured safe haven, nestled at the motherly bosom of gold stocks.<\/p>\n The XGD All Ords Gold index is topping the list this morning with a market-leading 2.43% climb.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Chart via Marketindex.com.au-<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Still up the fancy end of town, the best-performer among the Large Caps is uranium hunter Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL)<\/strong><\/a> which is showing off the latest 16% addition to its bottom line today.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As previously mentioned, Wall Street staged a turnaround from the previous session\u2019s gut-wrenching sell off, setting up the S&P 500 to rise by +1.25%, the blue chips Dow Jones index to climb +0.97%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq surging by +1.3%.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the tech surge that has the wary of US investor fixed firmly upon it, with a slew of Big Tech names delivering quarterlies \u2013\u00a0some good (Apple and Amazon), and some not as great as many investors would have been hoping for.<\/p>\n In Asia, Japan;s Nikkei is up 1.14%, Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng is up 1.85% and Shanghai\u2019s on the improve as well, +0.26%.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for 02 February [intraday]:<\/strong><\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n WordPress Table Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A lightning quick wrap-up as working conditions here have become highly sub-optimal\u2026<\/p>\n Mako Gold (ASX:MKG)<\/strong><\/a> is shining today, making great headway on news that rock chip sampling at the Tchaga North prospect within its Napi\u00e9 project in Co\u0302te d\u2019Ivoire has discovered gold-mineralised areas with top assays of up to 79.5g\/t gold.<\/p>\n Delorean (ASX:DEL)<\/strong><\/a> is moving upwards for the second time this week, up another 25% today to take the company past +66.6% for the year so far \u2013 the only news we\u2019ve had from them is the quarterly that dropped earlier in the week.<\/p>\n Metallica Minerals (ASX:MLM)<\/strong><\/a> and Freedom Care Group (ASX:FCG)<\/strong><\/span> are on the move for reasons known only to them, and Yandal Resources (ASX:YRL)<\/strong><\/a> has jumped a Richie Benaud-pleasing 22.22%, on news that the company has received firm commitments for 31.2 million shares at $0.08 a pop, set to raise A$2.5 million before costs, with the money earmarked to accelerate exploration.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the most-worst performing ASX small cap stocks for 02 February [intraday]:<\/strong><\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n WordPress Table Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n Basin Energy (ASX:BSN)<\/strong><\/a> has received firm commitments to raise $3.3 million at $0.16 per share from institutional, sophisticated and professional investors, providing additional funding capacity to expand the ongoing exploration programs at its Athabasca Basin uranium projects, including the proposed maiden drilling at its North Millennium project.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post ASX Small Caps Lunch Wrap: Who reckons the world is finally ready for \u2018roid-friendly sports?<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TO MARKETS<\/h2>\n
NOT THE ASX<\/h2>\n
ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
ICYMI \u2013 AM Edition<\/h2>\n