Another day, another winning session for large cap commodity stocks as the Russia-Ukraine conflict sends commodity prices into overdrive.
The ASX 200 posted a steady gain of around 0.6% on Thursday, with two clear standout sectors; energy and resources.
Both indexes posted gains well north of 2%, as investors chase what’s shaping up as a broader dislocation in commodity markets stemming from the battle.
The iron ore majors all ripped higher for the second straight day, with similar gains for the oil & gas sector.
They were outperformed by large cap coal companies, as Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) and Yancoal (ASX:YAL) both soared higher following a historic move in coal prices overnight.
Similarly to yesterday, there was little momentum outside of the commodities space.
The big banks traded flat while the ASX 200 Information Technology index edged lower.
Still, local large cap tech stocks have risen by more than 10% in recent weeks following a rout to start the year.
As markets react to military developments in Ukraine and Russia sanctions, US stock futures are giving little direction as to tonight’s direction on Wall Street, a short time ago trading flat.
BIG CAP WINNERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5EA | 5Eadvanced | 3.1 | 14.0% | 587,871 | $1,136,125,232 |
| YAL | Yancoal Aust Ltd | 4.75 | 11.0% | 1,734,152 | $5,651,480,790 |
| WHC | Whitehaven Coal | 3.97 | 10.9% | 35,451,813 | $3,696,866,351 |
| BFL | Bsp Financial Group | 5.99 | 9.3% | 3,550 | $2,560,384,358 |
| AVZ | AVZ Minerals Ltd | 0.95 | 8.6% | 47,600,852 | $3,020,555,195 |
| LKE | Lake Resources | 1.05 | 7.7% | 22,903,129 | $1,191,938,960 |
| LTR | Liontown Resources | 1.625 | 7.6% | 12,669,202 | $3,310,260,049 |
| ASM | Ausstratmaterials | 8.95 | 7.3% | 517,924 | $1,163,480,090 |
| NIC | Nickel Mines Limited | 1.635 | 5.5% | 13,709,825 | $4,065,884,475 |
| PLS | Pilbara Min Ltd | 2.96 | 5.3% | 22,135,820 | $8,364,798,213 |
| OZL | OZ Minerals | 27.09 | 5.0% | 2,079,855 | $8,624,318,103 |
| NHC | New Hope Corporation | 2.95 | 5.0% | 12,427,128 | $2,338,923,400 |
| LFG | Liberty Fin Group | 5.45 | 4.8% | 61,667 | $1,578,720,000 |
| GRR | Grange Resources. | 1.12 | 4.7% | 6,389,422 | $1,238,352,407 |
| IGO | IGO Limited | 12.32 | 4.5% | 2,708,983 | $8,928,187,515 |
| BPT | Beach Energy Limited | 1.675 | 4.4% | 18,911,801 | $3,661,540,518 |
Behind the coal leaders was +$1bn clean lithium player Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE), which confirmed that its demonstration plant has been dispatched from California USA to the Kachi Project in Argentina.
“The modular design allows for a “plug and play” approach, once brine feed, power and reagents are connected,” LKE said.
“The demonstration plant will operate for around 3 to 4 months to produce lithium chloride (eluate) representing 2.5 tonnes of lithium carbonate. This will be converted into high purity battery quality lithium carbonate for potential offtakers and battery qualification later in the year.”
Also on the commodity-heavy winners list was 5E Advanced Materials (ASX:5EA), the new name and parent company of borate company American Pacific Borates Limited (ASX:ABR), which jumped more than 13% on no news.
BIG CAP LOSERS
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| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERA | Energy Resources | 0.35 | -7.9% | 223,665 | $1,402,725,615 |
| CEN | Contact Energy Ltd | 7.2 | -7.8% | 1,370 | $1,922,725,835 |
| MND | Monadelphous Group | 11.11 | -6.7% | 499,436 | $1,132,901,841 |
| PTM | Platinum Asset | 2.21 | -4.7% | 4,943,517 | $1,361,095,048 |
| IVC | InvoCare Limited | 11.98 | -4.5% | 517,090 | $1,807,962,199 |
| DEG | De Grey Mining | 1.17 | -4.5% | 5,613,319 | $1,723,805,943 |
| SNZ | Summerset Grp Hldgs | 11.25 | -4.2% | 1,453 | $2,702,728,397 |
| Z1P | Zip Co Ltd. | 1.88 | -3.6% | 14,501,933 | $1,148,228,024 |
| MAQ | Macquarie Telecom Gp | 63.74 | -3.4% | 1,806 | $1,418,820,282 |
| COL | Coles Group | 17 | -3.4% | 2,400,473 | $23,500,719,158 |
| MFG | Magellan Fin Grp Ltd | 16.05 | -3.3% | 2,119,579 | $3,082,835,866 |
| TLX | Telix Pharmaceutical | 5 | -3.1% | 1,614,536 | $1,596,881,005 |
| WOW | Woolworths Group Ltd | 34.19 | -3.0% | 2,543,265 | $42,710,023,069 |
| ASX | ASX Limited | 80.26 | -2.9% | 354,090 | $16,000,640,139 |
| RMS | Ramelius Resources | 1.47 | -2.6% | 3,625,418 | $1,309,751,515 |
Among the laggards today was BNPL player Zip Co (ASX:Z1P), which at $1.88 closed below the $1.90 price at which it confirmed a fully underwritten $150m placement to acquire fellow BNPL player Sezzle (ASX:SZL).