\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n Wall Street closed for Presidents\u2019 Day, Stoxx 600 hits 2-year high<\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n The ASX is poised to open flattish on Tuesday as Wall Street was closed for Presidents\u2019 Day.<\/p>\n Europe\u2019s benchmark stock index, the STOXX 600<\/strong>, hit a two-year high, led by healthcare stocks. The STOXX 600 had earlier notched its fourth consecutive weekly gain on Friday.<\/p>\n London-listed AstraZeneca<\/strong> rose by +3% after the pharma company said its Tagrisso drug<\/strong> shows \u2018highly impactful\u2019 results in a lung cancer trial.<\/p>\n Paris-listed Forvia<\/strong>, the world\u2019s seventh-largest automotive supplier, slumped by -13% after announcing that it will cut 10,000 jobs to better compete in the EV transition.<\/p>\n Commodity prices meanwhile were mostly lower overnight on concerns about China\u2019s outlook.<\/p>\n Iron ore<\/strong> shed -3%, copper<\/strong> dropped -1%, and crude prices<\/strong> eased by -0.5% as markets focused on China\u2019s ailing property market.<\/p>\n Back home, earnings season continues, and ASX stocks on the docket to report their earnings today include BHP, Megaport, Sonic Healthcare, and Judo Bank.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the dominance of Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia, along with Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and Tesla, the so-called Magnificent Seven<\/strong>, is beginning to rattle nerves among some investors.<\/p>\n Analysts fear that a speculative bubble is forming as the S&P 500 keeps hitting record highs.<\/p>\n Nvidia, in particular, has been making headlines with an astonishing 50% surge in its stock value within the first two months of the year.<\/p>\n However, Nigel Green of de Vere Group<\/strong> says the surge in these stocks is indicative of \u201ca fundamental shift\u201d, primarily propelled by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI).<\/p>\n \u201cRather than a speculative mania, the market\u2019s response to the Magnificent Seven seems to be grounded in the transformative power of AI, which is reshaping entire industries, enhancing productivity, and paving the way for the creation of new ones.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the heart of this paradigm shift is the increasing integration of AI technologies across various sectors,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n As industries across the board integrate AI into their operations, the need for powerful hardware accelerators will become ever more paramount.<\/p>\n \u201cWe expect to see some more volatility in the markets than we\u2019ve seen recently, but it\u2019s almost inevitable that the longer-term winners will be stocks which are driven by AI,\u201d said Green.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Gold price<\/strong> rose by +0.25% to US$2,017.98 an ounce.<\/p>\n Oil prices<\/strong> were down -0.5%, with Brent now trading at US$83.30 a barrel.<\/p>\n The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield<\/strong> lifted by 5 basis points (bond prices lower) to 4.29%.<\/p>\n Iron ore futures<\/strong> slumped by -3% US$127.25 a tonne.<\/p>\n The Aussie dollar<\/strong> inched higher by +0.1% to US65.40c.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Bitcoin<\/strong> fell by -0.2% in the last 24 hours to US$51,785.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Step One Clothing (ASX:STP)<\/a><\/strong> Count (ASX:CUP)<\/a><\/strong> Adelong Gold (ASX:ADG)<\/a><\/strong> Cyprium Metals (ASX:CYM)<\/a><\/strong> MLG Oz (ASX:MLG)<\/a><\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Market Highlights: Stoxx 600 hits 2-year high, is Magnificent 7 a bubble, and 5 ASX small caps to watch<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nAstraZeneca says its Tagrisso drug is effective on lung cancer<\/strong>
\nAnd is Magnificent Seven a growing bubble?<\/strong><\/p>\nIs the Magnificent 7 a bubble?<\/h2>\n
In other markets \u2026<\/h2>\n
5 ASX small caps to watch today<\/h2>\n
\nFor the half, STP reported revenue of $45.1 million, representing a 25.5% increase on pcp. EBITDA was $10.1 million, up 35.6% vs pcp. STP closed the half in a strong financial position with closing cash of $43.9 million and no debt. Interim dividend was declared at 4 cents per share, fully franked.<\/p>\n
\nThe accounting services company booked a first half revenue increase of +6% compared to the pcp. Underlying EBITA was up by +9% to $5.436m. Statutory profit for the period increased by +135% to $2.014m. An interim dividend of 1.5 cents per share was declared.<\/p>\n
\nAdelong has appointed Ian Holland as Managing Director, effective 1 March 2024. This appointment introduces an experienced mining executive with a strong track record of operations management, who has successfully transitioned an exploration project to production, and will be charged with accelerating the development of the Adelong Gold Project.<\/p>\n
\nCyprium has made a shallow high-grade discovery near Cue at the Heeler Prospect approximately 10km southwest of the company\u2019s Hollandaire copper-gold deposit.\u00a0Highlights include: Drill intercept of 15m at 3.26% Cu, 0.70g\/t Au, 7.4g\/t Ag, 151ppm Co from 70 metres downhole in 24CURC004. Second intercept in 24CURC004 was: 3m at 1.09% Cu, 0.44g\/t Au from 108m.<\/p>\n
\nMining services stock, MLG, announced materially stronger H1 profitability compared to the pcp. Statutory revenue was up 28.7% vs pcp to $226.4 million. Statutory NPAT was up 174.4% vs pcp to $7.1 million. In terms of FY24 outlook, MLG says demand for MLG service offerings is showing no immediate signs of slowing, but the company acknowledged the challenging commodity pricing environment currently being experienced across lithium and nickel producers. \u201cOur industry exposure to the gold sector continues to be a material factor in the ongoing demand for higher volumes and broader satellite mine coverage,\u201d said MLG.<\/p>\n