\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n ASX to open higher as US earnings results continue to impress<\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n Aussie shares are poised for a higher open on Friday as corporate earnings on Wall Street continue to impress. At 8am AEST, the ASX200 futures contract was pointing up by +0.5%.<\/p>\n Overnight, Wall Street rallied across the board. The S&P 500 rose by +0.91%, the blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.85%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged ahead by +1.51%.<\/p>\n Stocks are recovering from Wednesday\u2019s volatile session dominated by Jerome Powell\u2019s message that had left more questions than answers on the Fed\u2019s likely rate path.<\/p>\n Earnings season continues, as Apple<\/strong> topped Wall Street\u2019s Q2 expectations. The company reported an an all-time high on services revenue, but the iPhone, iPad, and wearables missed expectations.<\/p>\n Of note was Apple\u2019s additional program to buy back US$110 billion of its stock. Apple\u2019s stock price rallied by +6% in post-market trading.<\/p>\n Chip stock Qualcomm<\/strong>\u00a0rose roughly 10% after the company beat quarterly expectations and guided the market to an upbeat sales outlook.<\/p>\n Shares of Paramount Global<\/strong> jumped +13% after a potential bid from Sony Pictures Entertainment and private equity firm Apollo Global Management was reported.<\/p>\n Block Inc<\/strong>\u00a0lifted +7% post-market after disclosing its intentions to reinvest a portion of its Bitcoin-derived profits back into the cryptocurrency, showcasing Jack Dorsey\u2019s firm views on the prospects of BTC.<\/p>\n The biggest mover last night however was Carvana<\/strong>, an online used car retailer based in Arizona, which rose over +30% after posting record quarterly results.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The price of Bitcoin<\/strong> has dropped to its lowest level since February 27 yesterday, starting Thursday\u2019s trading at US$57,405. It\u2019s now trading at US$59,180.<\/p>\n The decline comes on the back of fading expectations of future Fed Reserve interest rate cuts.\u00a0Outflows from Bitcoin exchange-traded investment funds have continued for five consecutive days.<\/p>\n But there are tailwinds ahead, according to Rania\u00a0Gule, a\u00a0market\u00a0analyst at XS.com<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI believe the enactment of the cryptocurrency payment law in the United States will allow banks like JPMorgan to enter the crypto market.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s worth noting that one of the main reasons for Bitcoin\u2019s decline is the former CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, being sentenced to four months in prison after the US Department of Justice demanded a three-year prison sentence,\u201d Gule said.<\/p>\n Gule also believes that the expectation of future interest rate cuts could significantly support Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets.<\/p>\n \u201cI also expect to see stability for a month or two in Bitcoin prices, trading in a volatility range of US$10,000 on both sides.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd perhaps the positive impact of the halving, which led to a decrease in Bitcoin supply, will show in the latter months of this year or even early next year,\u201d Gule added.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Gold price<\/strong> fell by -0.8% to US$2,304.39 an ounce.<\/p>\n Oil prices <\/strong> also rose around half a percent, with Brent crude now trading at US$83.83 a barrel.<\/p>\n The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield<\/strong> was down 6 basis points (bond prices higher) to 4.58%.<\/p>\n The Aussie dollar<\/strong> surged further by +0.65% to US65.69 cents.<\/p>\n Bitcoin<\/strong> meanwhile was up +2% in the last 24 hours to US$59,180.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Cash Converters (ASX:CCV)<\/a><\/strong> Infini Resources (ASX:I88)<\/a><\/strong> Patagonia Lithium (ASX:PL3)<\/a><\/strong> Haranga Resources (ASX:HAR)<\/a><\/strong> Count (ASX:CUP)<\/a><\/strong> \u00a0<\/p>\n At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Haranga Resources is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Market Highlights: ASX to rise as Apple, Qualcomm rally; Jack Dorsey to buy more Bitcoins<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nApple rose 6pc after topping analysts\u2019 expectations<\/strong>
\nTailwinds for Bitcoin and cryptos ahead<\/strong><\/p>\nTailwinds ahead for Bitcoin<\/h2>\n
In other markets \u2026<\/h2>\n
5 ASX small caps to watch today<\/h2>\n
\nQuarterly revenue was up 19% pcp to $93.0m, driven by Australian store network momentum and contribution of strong trading results from the UK franchise network acquisition (Capital Cash) completed in July 2023. Gross loan book was up 9% pcp to $291.7m, on the back off strong customer demand for credit.<\/p>\n
\nGeophysical surveys including high resolution UAV drone magnetics have been approved at Portland Creek Uranium Project by the Newfoundland Government in Canada. Initial reconnaissance field work was successfully completed despite adverse weather, with field crews to recommence activities including soil sampling and geological mapping\/sampling within a week.<\/p>\n
\nPatagonia announced the receipt of outstanding assays from the first drill well at the Formentera Lithium Project in northern Argentina. The company reported 591ppm lithium assay in 21m aquifer zone.\u00a0It also reported an interval of 200m with lithium values over 235ppm, calling it \u201ctruly an indication of a world class project\u201d.<\/p>\n
\nInfill termite mound sampling (TMS) at Diobi East has returned encouraging uranium concentrations (52 ppm eU3O8 pXRF) of up to 20 times above background, with auger drilling to follow in the near-term at the Saraya Project in Senegal. To date, 8 regional uranium (pXRF) anomalies have been delineated at the project.<\/p>\n
\nThe accounting company has today updated the market on the cost synergy benefits expected to be achieved following the integration of Diverger Limited.\u00a0Annualised expected cost savings have been upgraded to approximately $4m, to be achieved in FY25. This represents a considerable increase from the initial $3m expectation announced at the time of the transaction.<\/p>\n