Local markets have rallied this morning, with the bulk of the sectors in far happier territory than they have been for the week so far, and the benchmark is up about 0.4% as we head into lunch.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s nothing particularly remarkable \u2013 but it\u2019s nice to see that some semblance of calm has returned to the ASX.<\/p>\n
Except for the InfoTech sector, which is providing a proper white-knuckle thrill ride, whipsawing between great and terrible with awe-inspiring speed.<\/p>\n
But before we get too deep into whatever it is that the market\u2019s doing this morning, I have some curious news from Europe, where certain citizens of Spain and France are teetering on the edge of yet another conflict.<\/p>\n
Being neighbours in Europe rather lends itself to being at war with another country, and neither France nor Spain have been immune from getting a bit greedy, or unhappy with the hooligans they live next to, and sending armies over borders for a bit of a scrap from time to time.<\/p>\n
This is especially true of the years before the invention of football \u2013\u00a0the round ball kind that Europe enjoys, not the oval-shaped ball thuggery that continues to baffle most of the EU to this day.<\/p>\n
But this latest round of intra-European fisticuffs has nothing to do with religious or political ideology, and \u2013\u00a0unlike the ructions currently underway several thousand kilometres to the east in Ukraine \u2013 it\u2019s not about egregious land-grabs by men who really, really underestimated those whose land they were trying to steal.<\/p>\n
The current stoush between France and Spain is about tomatoes \u2013\u00a0specifically, a very public fight over which nation\u2019s organic tomato produce is superior.<\/p>\n
The row erupted because of former French environment minister S\u00e9gol\u00e8ne Royal, who is currently in the running to be the next President of France, and who has taken a leaf from the populist presidential candidate\u2019s handbook by attacking the people next door in a bid to look cool.<\/p>\n
While trying to whip up a spot of nationalist fervour among her voter base, Royal has foregone the usual high-impact fear-mongering topics of debate \u2013\u00a0such as immigration, threats of violence and whichever culturally defining behavioural oddities that could possibly be pinned on the people next door.<\/p>\n
Instead, Royal has been taking aim at Spain\u2019s current tomato crop, as a row between French farmers and everyone else, whether they like it or not, deepened during the week.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you tasted the so-called organic Spanish tomatoes? They\u2019re inedible!\u201d Royal said recently. \u201cSpanish organic is fake organic.\u201d<\/p>\n
On their own, those are clearly fightin\u2019 words, but Royal quickly doubled-down, declaring that \u201cSpanish fruits and vegetables do not meet French standards and should not be on [supermarket] shelves.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments have been like a red rag to a bull \u2013 something Spanish people are all-too familiar with \u2013 prompting a measured response from current Spanish Pedro S\u00e1nchez, who invited Ms Royal to Spain to eat some tomatoes.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Royal] has not had the good fortune of trying a Spanish tomato. You will see that the Spanish tomato is unbeatable,\u201d S\u00e1nchez said, with the air of a man who is highly confident that he knows what he\u2019s on about.<\/p>\n
Sadly, however, the response has not been quite so calm from his countrymen.<\/p>\n
Sputtering with all the outrage they can muster, a Spanish organic farmers\u2019 association has gone bleating to Brussels to lodge a formal complaint over the comments.<\/p>\n
Local farmer Bartolo Ramirez has called into question Royal\u2019s ability to taste food, claiming \u201cThat lady has a palate problem\u2026 Unlike in France and elsewhere, we have sun all year round. And that\u2019s why our tomatoes, in addition to complying with all the strict regulations, have the flavour they have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strong words indeed, but they are nothing compared to a string of attacks on trucks carrying Spanish produce, the most recent of which ended with the total destruction of a cargo of fruit, vegetables and wine at the Boulou tollgate, just a few kilometres from the border.<\/p>\n
The conflict\u2019s got all the hallmarks of a typically European disagreement. It\u2019s dumb enough that it\u2019s memorable, while at the same time being exactly the kind of ideological proxy that can put a much-needed sheen of respectability on generational hatred of \u2018those bastards from over the fence\u2019.<\/p>\n
If it escalates any further, I\u2019ll let you know\u2026 but for now, it\u2019s probably best to focus on far less tomatoey happenings. Like \u2018how the market\u2019s going this morning\u2019, that kinda thing.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s lunch time, and the ASX 200 benchmark is sitting at +0.53%, thanks to solid rallies from Utilities, Real Estate and a well-overdue rebound for the beleaguered Materials sector, with each of those sectors better than 1.2% higher at the tail end of the morning session.<\/p>\n
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Chart via Marketindex.com.au<\/p>\n
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However it\u2019s not all plain sailing today. Consumer Discretionary has taken a hit this morning, and investors with InfoTech heavy portfolios are no doubt begging for the morning\u2019s wild ride to slow down, as that sector has bounced around like an unmedicated child since the bell rang today.<\/p>\n
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Chart via Marketindex.com.au<\/p>\n
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A more granular look at who\u2019s doing what has the XJR All Ords Resources index at the top of the ladder, with the likes of miners Champion Iron (+5.28%) and Lynas Rare Earths (+5.41%) putting in some decent numbers.<\/p>\n
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Chart via Marketindex.com.au<\/p>\n
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A number of the market\u2019s lithium players are also surging this morning, including Latin Resources which has delivered a better-than 10% jump, and Patriot Battery Metals has added 13.2% this morning as well.<\/p>\n
Up the fancy end of town, global luxury online platform Cettire has soared nearly 23% this morning, after announcing that it has achieved Great Things in H1-FY24, which have delivered an adjusted EBITDA of $26.1 million.<\/p>\n
The juicy numbers for Cettire are in the detail, though \u2013 the company has reported spectacular revenue growth on PCP, with gross revenue of $460.5 million (+90% on PCP) and sales revenue of of $354.3 million (+89% on PCP), with a +83% surge in customer numbers to about 576,000.<\/p>\n
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So\u2026 I\u2019ve been getting emails pointing out that I keep kicking US Fed Chair Jerome Powell at every opportunity, which some of you reckon is a little unfair. Probably because he super-old and it\u2019s not really a fair fight.<\/p>\n
Tto which I respond with a hearty \u201cwhatever\u201d, followed up with \u201chere\u2019s why you\u2019re wrong and I\u2019m right\u201d.<\/p>\n
Wall Street rallied last night \u2013 which isn\u2019t surprising, because that\u2019s what Wall Street does from time to time, when the mood strikes it.<\/p>\n
The reason that rally is interesting is because not one, but two Fed Reserve bigwigs had their turn at the podium last night.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be a mistake to move rates down too soon or too quickly without sufficient evidence that inflation was on a sustainable and timely path back to 2%,\u201d said\u00a0Fed Reserve Bank of Cleveland president Loretta Mester.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari said we\u2019ve seen good progress on inflation, but \u201cwe\u2019re not all the way there yet\u201d.<\/p>\n
Both of those statements are materially identical to the tone and messaging that we got from Jerome Powell since Friday \u2013\u00a0yet, overnight, the S&P 500 rose by +0.23%. The blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.37%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lifted by +0.1%.<\/p>\n
When Powell said the same thing, it was enough to send the ASX into a miserable nosedive for two whole sessions.<\/p>\n
QED, it\u2019s Powell that\u2019s the problem \u2013\u00a0him and the overall decline of America into political and social chaos. But mostly Powell. He\u2019s a menace, and needs to be stopped.<\/p>\n
I am considering setting up a GoFundMe page to finance the purchase of a solid platinum gimp gag to present to him for Valentine\u2019s Day \u2013 which I reckon is just the ticket for telling him that we love him, but we\u2019d really like it if he stopped talking in public for a while.<\/p>\n
(I look forward to more angry emails \u2013 but just so you guys know, the angrier you get, the funnier I find it.)<\/p>\n
In brief US stock news, software company Palantir soared more than 30% after unveiling its artificial intelligence advancements and Toyota jumped +5% as it raised full year profit guidance by 9%, while Spotify was up +4% after reporting strong guidance and user growth in Q4.<\/p>\n
In Asian markets, Japan\u2019s Nikkei is up just a tickle on +0.09%, Shanghai markets are similarly inching forward at +0.07% and Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng is 0.90% better off in early trade.<\/p>\n
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WINNERS<\/p>\n
Company Price % Volume MARKET CAP LNU Linius Tech Limited 0.003 50% 500,000 $9,878,481 PUA Peak Minerals Ltd 0.003 50% 36,457 $2,082,753 SHN Sunshine Metals Ltd 0.014 40% 15,213,414 $12,240,084 PVL Powerhouse Ven Ltd 0.044 38% 3,836 $3,863,782 GTI Gratifii 0.008 33% 303,659 $8,215,336 MRD Mount Ridley Mines 0.002 33% 158,227 $11,677,324 ADY Admiralty Resources 0.009 29% 75,360 $9,125,054 IS3 I Synergy Group Ltd 0.009 29% 71,000 $2,128,563 HMY Harmoney Corp Ltd 0.675 29% 83,791 $53,531,177 HTG Harvest Tech Grp Ltd 0.029 26% 693,137 $16,237,157 CTO Citigold Corp Ltd 0.005 25% 3,339,119 $12,000,000 DOU Douugh Limited 0.005 25% 100,000 $4,328,276 TMX Terrain Minerals 0.005 25% 200,000 $5,726,683 NKL Nickelx Ltd 0.048 23% 2,200 $3,424,792 CTT Cettire 3.89 23% 6,833,155 $1,208,525,157 YOW Yowie Group 0.034 21% 45,851 $6,119,901 FAU First Au Ltd 0.003 20% 330,016 $4,154,983 DVL Dorsavi Ltd 0.013 18% 509,772 $6,563,278 GSM Golden State Mining 0.013 18% 403,333 $3,073,077 MRR Minrex Resources Ltd 0.013 18% 639,344 $11,933,543 CC9 Chariot Corporation 0.3 18% 195,595 $20,855,521 AGN Argenica 0.68 17% 198,212 $57,710,477 ASP Aspermont Limited 0.007 17% 97,737 $14,632,582 CNJ Conico Ltd 0.0035 17% 33,412 $4,710,285 MTL Mantle Minerals Ltd 0.0035 17% 7,289,152 $18,592,338 <\/p>\n
WordPress Table Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sunshine Metals (ASX:SHN)<\/strong><\/a> was out in front on Wednesday morning, popping a 40% spike on news that there\u2019s been a significant upgrade to the company\u2019s Liontown resource (not to be confused with Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR)<\/strong><\/a>, which is a whole different company).<\/p>\n Sunshine\u2019s Liontown resource (again, not the company) has increased 21% to 2.94mt @ 10.6% ZnEq, which includes a 116% increase in Indicated Resources to 1.85mt @ 10.9% ZnEq, now 63% of the total resource.<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, Liontown Resources (the company, not the resource) is also moving sharply today \u2013 up nearly 10% last time I checked, without any announcement\u2026 so I am growing concerned that there might be investors throwing money at the wrong thing in their rush to get behind Sunshine\u2019s fabulous news.<\/p>\n Direct-to-consumer unsecured personal loan specialists Harmoney Corp (ASX:HMY)<\/strong><\/a> posted a solid gain for the morning as well, up 28.6% despite not having much to say to the market for about a week.<\/p>\n Yowie Group (ASX:YOW)<\/strong><\/a> is up again as well, after the apparently-stalled takeover bid by Keybridge Capital (ASX:KBC)<\/strong><\/a> was thrown a lifeline by regulators late on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cKeybridge has sought, and received, consent from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) \u2026 to enable unaccepted offers under its takeover bid for Yowie,\u201d\u00a0 according to an announcement that arrived after hours on Tuesday.<\/p>\n There was, apparently, a SNAFU at Keybridge during the Christmas break, and I suspect someone forgot to put something in the mail \u2013 meaning Keybridge \u201cdid not dispatch the Bidder\u2019s Statement within the 28-day time period prescribed by item 6 of subsection 633(1)\u201d.<\/p>\n But, ASIC has seen fit to allow things to continue like nothing happened, and Keybridge is set to deliver a new bidder\u2019s statement shortly as the takeover bidding continues.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n LOSERS<\/p>\n Company Price % Volume MARKET CAP EE1 Earths Energy Ltd 0.015 -63% 21,391,041 $21,728,533 JAV Javelin Minerals Ltd 0.001 -50% 101,087 $3,267,458 SLB Stelar Metals 0.08 -45% 4,497,528 $7,599,149 BP8 BPH Global Ltd 0.0015 -25% 947,368 $3,671,126 MOH Moho Resources 0.006 -25% 2,415,400 $4,287,529 NRZ Neurizer Ltd 0.006 -25% 10,119,602 $11,273,566 SCN Scorpion Minerals 0.015 -25% 726,139 $8,189,124 88E 88 Energy Ltd 0.004 -20% 39,599,694 $123,627,103 CTN Catalina Resources 0.004 -20% 202,477 $6,192,434 NFL Norfolk Metals 0.15 -19% 874,364 $6,535,124 CHW Chilwa Minerals 0.13 -19% 10,000 $7,340,000 MRZ Mont Royal Resources 0.09 -18% 50,000 $9,353,277 AHN Athena Resources 0.0025 -17% 19,000 $3,211,403 CCO The Calmer Co Int 0.005 -17% 7,703,175 $5,144,971 NVQ Noviqtech Limited 0.0025 -17% 25,000 $3,928,336 TMK TMK Energy Limited 0.005 -17% 205,444 $36,735,476 FCG Freedom Care Group 0.15 -14% 5 $4,179,684 BUY Bounty Oil & Gas NL 0.006 -14% 7,053,457 $10,489,507 MHC Manhattan Corp Ltd 0.003 -14% 570,983 $10,279,429 FRX Flexiroam Limited 0.019 -14% 183,328 $14,533,358 RC1 Redcastle Resources 0.013 -13% 277,200 $4,924,262 SPX Spenda Limited 0.014 -13% 3,745,815 $69,191,325 VFX Visionflex Group Ltd 0.007 -13% 30,750 $11,335,930 DEL Delorean Corporation 0.052 -12% 70,988 $12,727,534 PAT Patriot Lithium 0.115 -12% 50,000 $9,050,227 <\/p>\n WordPress Table Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Golden Mile Resources (ASX:G88)<\/strong><\/a> has secured a cornerstone investment, through a placement worth just over $1 million to Gage Resource Development, which has received 81,833,348 fully paid ordinary shares at $0.013 a pop.<\/p>\n Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals (ASX:PAR)<\/strong><\/a> has been given a handsome R&D tax benefit, pocketing a $7,363,876 incentive refund for the 2023 financial year, bringing the company\u2019s current cash balance to approximately $34.5 million.<\/p>\n Pursuit Minerals (ASX:PUR)<\/strong><\/a> has kicked off\u00a0 drilling activities at the Rio Grande Sur Lithium Project following the recent granting of environmental permits and commissioning of drill rigs, for a maiden drilling program comprised of an initial 4 diamond drill holes at the Salar tenement.<\/p>\n And Neurotech (ASX:NTI)<\/strong><\/a> has announced that 11 autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients taking part in the Company\u2019s world-first Phase I\/II clinical trial examining the daily use of Neurotech\u2019s proprietary broad spectrum cannabinoid drug therapy, NTI164 have successfully passed the 90-day mark in the study.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post ASX Small Caps Lunch Wrap: Are tomatoes about to push Spain and France to the brink of war?<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ICYMI \u2013 AM Editon<\/h2>\n