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<\/a><\/p>\n ASX to lift on the back of Nasdaq rally<\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n Aussie shares are poised to open higher on Monday on the back of a Nasdaq rally. At 8am AEST, the ASX200 futures contract was pointing up by +0.3%.<\/p>\n On Friday, the S&P 500 rose by +1.02%, the blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged by 2.03%.<\/p>\n US tech stocks rallied as strong earnings from Microsoft<\/strong> and Alphabet<\/strong> showed that the new era of AI is still in full swing.<\/p>\n Microsoft for instance said that 7% of its 31% growth in its Azure unit was from AI. Google on the other hand reported cloud revenue of US$9.6 billion, and declared the \u201cGemini era\u201d (its AI model) was well underway.<\/p>\n Snapchat rocketed +27% after reporting a \u201cmassive\u201d Q1 earnings that easily topped expectations.<\/p>\n Tesla was down -1% as CEO Elon Musk made an unannounced visit to China, meeting with Chinese premier Li Qiang. Reports said that Musk is looking to seek approval in China for Tesla\u2019s driver-assistance software, the Full Self-Driving (FSD).<\/p>\n Meanwhile, there was another hot reading on US core personal consumption expenditures (PCE),<\/strong> the Fed\u2019s preferred measure of inflation, reinforcing the idea that any near-term Fed rate cuts are less likely. The PCE increased by 0.3% in March from February.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026As it stands, there\u2019s a considerable risk that the Fed will not feel comfortable about cutting rates before 2025,\u201d said Nigel Green of deVere Group.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWith there being a real possibility of no rate cuts this year, investors might need to adjust their portfolios to adapt to the higher-for-longer environment to mitigate risk and to seize the opportunities,\u201d Green added.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s well understood that the Fed Reserve favours the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index<\/strong> over the better-known consumer price index (CPI)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n This is because the PCE index tries to account for changes in how people shop when inflation jumps.<\/p>\n For example, if beef prices rise significantly, families may instead buy chicken and the PCE index captures that.<\/p>\n This means that as people\u2019s spending habits change, the weights assigned to different goods and services are updated, reflecting current consumption patterns more accurately.<\/p>\n The CPI, on the other hand, uses a fixed basket of goods and services with fixed weights, which may not reflect changes in consumer behaviour as effectively.<\/p>\n \u201cThat fixed basket doesn\u2019t allow consumers to substitute away from goods and services whose prices are rising,\u201d said Julie Smith, an economics professor at Lafayette College. \u00a0<\/p>\n Gold price<\/strong> fell by -0.1% to US$2,335.11 an ounce.<\/p>\n Oil prices <\/strong> also fell around -0.3%, with Brent crude now trading at US$89.07 a barrel.<\/p>\n The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield<\/strong> was down 4 basis points (bond prices higher) at 4.67%.<\/p>\n The Aussie dollar<\/strong> climbed further by +0.25% to US65.40 cents.<\/p>\n Bitcoin<\/strong> meanwhile was flat in the last 24 hours at US$63,199.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Buxton Resources (ASX:BUX)<\/a><\/strong> NGX (ASX:NGX)<\/a><\/strong> Evolution Energy Minerals (ASX:EV1)<\/a><\/strong> Respiri (ASX:RSH)<\/a><\/strong> Boom Logistics (ASX: BOL)<\/a><\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n The post Market Highlights: ASX to lift on the back of Nasdaq rally; and 5 small caps to watch today<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nUS stocks rose on Friday as big techs reported solid results<\/strong>
\nThe US PCE Index however came in stronger than expected<\/strong><\/p>\nWhy the Fed Reserve prefers PCE over CPI<\/h2>\n
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\n\u201cSo it can overstate the actual rate of inflation in the economy.\u201d<\/p>\nIn other markets \u2026<\/h2>\n
5 ASX small caps to watch today<\/h2>\n
\nBuxton announced that clearances have been received from recent Aboriginal Heritage surveying at Buxton\u2019s 100% owned Graphite Bull Project, allowing for recommencement of drilling in Q2 CY24. The new clearances allow, amongst others, infill drilling along 2.1km of prospective strike where scout drilling has confirmed the presence of high-grade graphite mineralisation.<\/p>\n
\nNGX has successfully produced Spheronised Purified Graphite (SPG) for Active Anode Material (AAM) samples for use in lithium-ion batteries. The commercial-scale shaping testwork has achieved these solid preliminary results: Sizing (D50) of 16.7\u03bcm, Tap Density of 0.985, and a BET specific surface area of 7.3m2\/g at a yield of 43%. Purification performed in a large-scale pilot plant achieved 99.98% TGC (Titration Gas Chromatography), significantly above the industry minimum of 99.95%.<\/p>\n
\nEV1 announced that its technology partner and strategic shareholder BTR New Material (BTR) has received positive performance results from battery anode and lithium-ion battery testwork conducted on bulk Chilalo samples. The testwork is further progress beyond the due diligence conducted by BTR prior to its commitment to the binding offtake agreement and investment in Evolution, where it produced a high quality spheronised graphite precursor product with competitive yields.<\/p>\n
\nThe eHealth SaaS company announced that it has entered into a three-year contract with Hawaii Independent Physician Association (HIPA), Hawaii\u2019s largest association of independent physicians, to deliver remote patient monitoring (RPM) services to high-risk patients across all chronic conditions managed by HIPA. The initial phase of the contract will see 200+ patients commenced on the program, which will generate approximately US$310,000 in annualised reimbursement revenues.<\/p>\n
\nThe total lifting solutions company reported quarterly revenue of $60.2 million, and YTD revenue of $189.8 million, up 28% on same period last year. Boom has reiterated guidance for FY24 revenue of c.$240 million and over $6 million in Operating NPAT.<\/p>\n