The ASX200 has ended\u2026 well,\u00a0 just be glad it\u2019s ended
\nEnergy stocks lead soft gains\u00a0
\nSmall Caps led by Lord Resources<\/p>\n
The ASX has ended Wednesday lower\u2026 well, we\u2019ve all ended a bit lower during a session that promised a little and gave slightly less than nothing.<\/p>\n
At 4.15 pm on Wednesday, the S&P\/ASX200 closed seven points or 0.01% lower\u2026<\/p>\n
Via Google<\/p>\n
A day after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates on hold for another month and a few hours before the US Fed probably does the same, local markets gave up early leads to spend the afternoon leaking money.<\/p>\n
The Fed is roundly expected to keep the fed funds rate steady at a 23-year high of 5.25%-5.5% for a fifth straight month when the FOMC crew emerge bleary eyed from their two-day meet at circa 5am this morning, Sydenham time.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s been some positive movements in Hong Kong as equity traders picked up a fallen baton by China\u2019s own central bank, the People\u2019s Bank of China (PBoC), which has kept its key lending rates steady \u2013 the one-year loan prime rate at 3.45%, and the five-year rate at 3.95%. They lopped a record 25bps off the 1-yr LPR in February.<\/p>\n
The other mildly supportive factor supporting the Hang Seng is doing the opposite here.<\/p>\n
The notable improvement over the first two months of the year in China\u2019s industrial output and some punchy fixed investment might be good for the goose, but all these ASX-listed ganders selling rocks and such into China would\u2019ve been hoping for further softness\u2026 and in turn some panic from policymakers who appear intent not to reach into Beijing\u2019s Big Bag of Infrastructure-based stimulus.<\/p>\n
Iron ore prices had collapsed into a seven-month low of US$98 a tonne on Friday, but have since recovered about 6% in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Of the 11 ASX sectors, the impetus came from toppy global oil prices, which are sitting comfy at four-month highs.<\/p>\n
All the majors rallied in the AM, and traders took the cream off in the PM. Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS)<\/strong><\/a> , Santos (ASX:STO)<\/strong><\/a>, coal miner New Hope Corp (ASX:NHC)<\/strong><\/a> and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC)<\/strong><\/a> all trimmed early gains.<\/p>\n The Financial sector also trimmed morning gains with a large knife this arvo.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Via MarketIndex<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Small Ords (XSO) and the Emerging Co\u2019s (XEC) ended a smidgen either side of nothing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Wall Street ended higher overnight as investors ho-hummed ahead of the Fed\u2019s big day.<\/p>\n The lately-a-laggard 30-stock Dow Jones IA found 0.8% \u2013 its best session in almost a month.<\/p>\n The fatter S&P500 added 0.55% \u2013 a fatter fresh record high.<\/p>\n The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained about 0.4%, as four of seven mega tech stocks ended higher.<\/p>\n Tesla was not one of them.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Via Fox<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Today\u2019s best performing small cap stocks:<\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/p>\n Code Company Price % Volume Market Cap RIL Redivium Limited 0.005 67% 12,195,807 $8,192,564 ADS Adslot Ltd 0.003 50% 3,000,000 $6,448,991 LRD Lord Resources 0.076 49% 25,840,382 $1,893,738 LIO Lion Energy Limited 0.036 44% 30,604,108 $10,924,444 PLG Pearl Gull Iron 0.034 36% 285,984 $5,113,545 SRX Sierra Rutile 0.105 35% 9,253,036 $33,090,443 SOV Sovereign Cloud Holdings 0.044 34% 110,936 $11,126,776 AVE Avecho Biotech Ltd 0.004 33% 12,908,653 $9,507,891 AVD Avada Group Limited 0.65 31% 135,165 $42,042,837 BEO Beonic Ltd 0.026 30% 214,805 $8,489,899 SCN Scorpion Minerals 0.039 30% 3,358,893 $12,283,686 PBL Parabellum Resources 0.069 28% 79,199 $3,364,200 COD Coda Minerals Ltd 0.14 27% 175,151 $15,660,851 DME Dome Gold Mines Ltd 0.19 27% 457 $54,682,304 KNB Koonenberry Gold 0.03 25% 16,700 $3,305,075 ECT Env Clean Tech Ltd 0.005 25% 221,245 $11,457,242 SGC Sacgasco Ltd 0.01 25% 1,069,605 $6,237,497 PEK Peak Rare Earths Ltd 0.23 24% 1,829,578 $49,199,226 1AI Algorae Pharma 0.011 22% 889,391 $14,952,172 MXO Motio Ltd 0.028 22% 40,000 $6,168,562 ASM Ausstrat Materials 1.19 20% 745,489 $165,124,062 AQX Alice Queen Ltd 0.006 20% 1,425,872 $3,454,921 BLZ Blaze Minerals Ltd 0.006 20% 58,262 $3,142,791 GTI Gratifii 0.006 20% 1,162,240 $6,846,113 ABE Australian Bond Exchange 0.025 19% 59,388 $2,366,030 <\/p>\n WordPress Table Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Making late moves is cybersecurity and cloud services provider Sovereign Cloud Holdings (ASX:SOV)<\/strong><\/a>, which has successfully locked in the institutional component of its 2.95 for 1 pro-rata accelerated renounceable entitlement offer announced on Monday.<\/p>\n The company says the institutional component of the Entitlement Offer raised circa $21mn at $0.03 per new SOV fully paid ordinary share.<\/p>\n Sovereign Cloud Holdings \u2013 trading as AUCloud \u2013 launched the capital raise to acquire three local names after Fairfax reported that Ord Minnett was building support to recapitalise the business.<\/p>\n AUCloud has secured deals to acquire PCG Cyber, Venn IT and Arado, the latter provides cloud and managed services in Queensland.<\/p>\n But still leading out the Wednesday small cap gladiators is lithium hopeful Lord Resources (ASX:LRD)<\/strong><\/a>, which now has a strategic partnership with high-flying Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN)<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0after securing a farm-in agreement out at the Horse Rocks Lithium Project.<\/p>\n MD Barnaby Egerton-Warburton is stoked.<\/p>\n \u201cThe agreement validates the strong work Lord has already completed at the Horse Rocks Lithium Project and provides the opportunity to collaborate with a world-class exploration team drawing on their knowledge and expertise of this highly prospective lithium region,\u201d Egerton-Warburton says.<\/p>\n Subject to the satisfaction of conditions \u2013 including MinRes completing satisfactory due diligence on the tenement \u2013 MinRes will spend $1mn in exploration, to earn 40% of the Project.<\/p>\n Lord says the Farm-in Agreement will let it maintain exposure to a high-value project while also going in hard on the exploration at its Jingjing Lithium Project.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a lithium pincer movement.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0Lion Energy (ASX:LIO)<\/a>\u00a0has development approval for its hydrogen generation and refuelling hub project at the Port of Brisbane, with construction to kick off Q2 this year.<\/p>\n As you can see from this excellent visual, it\u2019s close to 70+ bus depots\u2026 wait for it\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026 which is handy because LIO says the strategic location will allow the hub to initially focus on supplying hydrogen to domestic public bus fleets, truck fleets, and fuel cell gensets and other customers across the construction and mining industry.<\/p>\n And\u00a0Sierra Rutile (ASX:SRX)<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has had a busy morning, although in the rutile game an unsolicited takeover offer is always a welcome hassle.<\/p>\n A quick refresher \u2013 Sierra runs multi-deposit mineral sands mining in Sierra Leone a gig which has made it \u201cthe largest producer of natural rutile in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n And rutile?<\/p>\n Well. Rutile is the highest-grade naturally occurring TiO2 feedstock used to make pigments, laminates, plastic stuff and packaging, inks, clothing, sunscreen, toothpaste\u2026 it\u2019s all over the cosmetic industry.<\/p>\n It\u2019s handy for a welding electrode as well as being used to make titanium.<\/p>\n PRM Services made the bid and this is what the SRX Board suggests should be done with it\u2026<\/p>\n Via ASX<\/em><\/p>\n Today\u2019s worst performing small cap stocks:<\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/p>\n Code Company Price % Volume Market Cap CLZDC Classic Minerals 0.014 -72% 14,665,728 $12,890,085 AXP AXP Energy Ltd 0.001 -50% 662,170 $11,649,361 AYM Australia United Min 0.002 -33% 300,000 $5,527,732 JPR Jupiter Energy 0.016 -27% 203,462 $28,020,348 GMN Gold Mountain Ltd 0.003 -25% 10,596,184 $9,111,514 LNU Linius Tech Limited 0.0015 -25% 35,000 $10,393,481 CLV Clover Corporation 0.62 -23% 738,958 $134,434,470 PLC Premier1 Lithium Ltd 0.028 -22% 320,000 $6,284,667 S66 Star Combo 0.12 -20% 4,467 $20,262,447 ATH Alterity Therap Ltd 0.004 -20% 5,464,074 $26,190,089 ALA Arovella Therapeutic 0.125 -19% 8,034,951 $143,399,217 HPC The Hydration Company 0.013 -19% 180,000 $4,242,269 CG1 Carbonxt Group 0.072 -18% 325,633 $28,593,105 EQN Equinox Resources 0.175 -17% 728,368 $21,246,751 GSM Golden State Mining 0.01 -17% 210,029 $3,352,448 IVX Invion Ltd 0.005 -17% 21,043 $38,547,193 NGS NGS Ltd 0.01 -17% 561,591 $3,014,729 TIG Tigers Realm Coal 0.005 -17% 84,169 $78,400,214 BM8 Battery Age Minerals 0.105 -16% 1,293,028 $11,470,040 AMM Armada Metals 0.016 -16% 10,000 $3,952,000 ABX ABX Group Limited 0.056 -15% 427,575 $16,502,661 OMX Orange Minerals 0.023 -15% 100,000 $2,315,255 HHR Hartshead Resources 0.006 -14% 3,887,947 $19,660,775 MOZ Mosaic Brands Ltd 0.12 -14% 255,297 $24,990,902 <\/p>\n WordPress Table Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Altech Batteries (ASX:ATC)<\/a><\/span> is proceeding with the funding phase for its proposed CERENERGY\u00a0solid state sodium chloride battery factory in Saxony, Germany, after the DFS outlined robust economics<\/span><\/a>, including annual revenue of \u20ac106 million and EBITDA of \u20ac51 million.<\/p>\n Pure Hydrogen (ASX:PH2)<\/a><\/span> could soon be supplying hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to the state government of Piau\u00ed in Brazil after signing a MoU to foster development of its green hydrogen economy.<\/p>\n Rio Tinto-backed Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVL)<\/span><\/a> <\/span>has delivered 30t of bulk ore samples<\/span><\/a> from its Kasiya project in Malawi \u2013 the world\u2019s largest natural rutile deposit and second-biggest flake graphite deposit \u2013 to engineering consultants Paterson & Cooke for pivotal pre-production test work.<\/span><\/p>\n Vertex Minerals (ASX:VTX)<\/a><\/span> is raising $3.28 million for the refurbishment of its recently purchased Gekko plant, which will soon process material from the 225,000oz Reward gold mine in NSW.<\/p>\n Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR)<\/a><\/span> has reported yet another batch of high-grade intersections both inside and outside its growing Never Never deposit, which has once again highlighted the expanding underground potential of its Dalgaranga project.<\/p>\n Viridis Mining & Minerals (ASX:VMM)<\/a><\/span> officially has an <\/span>ionic adsorption clay-hosted REE deposits in its possession at the Colossus project in Brazil following confirmatory test work by rare earths metallurgical specialists ANSTO<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n Strategic Energy Resources (ASX:SER)<\/a><\/span> has been granted a new exploration licence, which appears to be a western extension to the Koonenberry copper-nickel belt<\/span><\/a> in NSW and has been interpreted as analogous to the Tier-1 Pechenga copper-nickel camp in Russia.<\/p>\n As the days count down towards completion of its joint takeover by SQM and Hancock Prospecting, Azure Minerals (ASX:AZS)<\/span><\/a> has delivered more significant mineralised intersections grading up to 1.55% Li2O<\/span><\/a>, providing further confirmation the Target Area 3 at its Andover discovery in the Pilbara hosts a substantial lithium deposit.<\/p>\n TG Metals (ASX:TG6)<\/a><\/span> has now defined four drill targets at the Lake Johnston project in WA, with some larger and of higher-grade<\/span><\/a> than the soil anomaly which defines its breakthrough Burmeister lithium discovery.<\/p>\n Pantera Minerals (ASX:PFE)<\/a><\/span> has announced a leadership restructure \u2013 including the appointment of Barnaby Edgerton-Warburton as executive chairman and CEO and strategic advisor Tim Goldsmith joining the board as a non-executive director \u2013 ahead of the US-focused lithium company\u2019s maiden well re-entry at the Superbird project in Arkansas during the second half of the year.<\/p>\n And Belararox (ASX:BRX)<\/span><\/a> can now proceed with advanced exploration activities at the Lola target, within its Toro-Malambo-Tambo (TMT) project in Argentina, after the environmental impact assessment was approved.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Altech Batteries, Azure Minerals, Belararox, Lord Resources, Pantera Minerals, Pure Hydrogen, Sovereign Metals, Spartan Resources, Strategic Energy Resources, TG Metals, Vertex Minerals and Viridis Mining & Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\nASX Sectors at 4pm on Wednesday\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n
In the States\u2026<\/h2>\n
US stock futures are slightly lower on Wednesday in Sydney:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS<\/h2>\n
<\/h2>\n
ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS<\/h2>\n
ICYMI \u2013 PM Edition<\/h2>\n
Trading Halts<\/h2>\n