- ASX and US futures dip in afternoon session
- Crown gets gaming license for Sydney
- US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is due to testify at the Capitol tonight
After rallying by as much as 0.50% in the morning, the ASX lost momentum and finished the day 0.32% lower as US stock futures began to dip in the afternoon.
The market rally overnight now looks to be short-lived, as asset prices fell across the board in Asian trading.
Bitcoin has inched back down towards the closely watched level of US$20k to US$20,350, while Brent crude has shaved 3% off its price in the last couple of hours, trading now at US$111 a barrel.
“It seems that markets just can’t shake off fears of intensive central bank tightening and recession nerves,” said OANDA’s legendary analyst, Jeffrey Halley.
The VIX index, sometimes called the ‘fear index’, ended last week at a historically high level of 31, as sentiment turned towards a possible recession. A growing number of investment banks has also tipped a US recession in 2023.
With that in mind, all eyes will be on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell tonight, who will be giving his bi-annual testimony on Capitol Hill.
“Markets will be standing by to dissect every word the poor man utters for clues on the direction of monetary policy,” said Halley.
“The FOMO gnomes of Wall Street will be desperately looking for signs he is blinking on tightening so that they can rush back into their buy-the-dip happy place.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Bloomberg last night, Tesla troublemaker Elon Musk said the US recession was ‘inevitable’ and would probably come soon.
“A recession is inevitable at some point. As to whether there is a recession in the near term, that is more likely than not,” Musk told Bloomberg at a Qatar Economic Forum in Doha.
On the ASX, Energy and Utilities carried the flag today, while most other sectors dipped, with Tech falling by more than 1.5%.
BIG CAP WINNERS
Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.
| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMR | Stanmore Resources | 1.995 | 12% | 4,997,025 | $1,608,966,331 |
| CRN | Coronado Global Res | 1.665 | 9% | 13,210,308 | $2,564,974,207 |
| NHC | New Hope Corporation | 3.43 | 5% | 6,038,705 | $2,730,131,229 |
| APA | APA Group | 11.17 | 4% | 1,533,185 | $12,636,663,112 |
| REA | REA Group | 103.53 | 4% | 181,940 | $13,124,524,337 |
| ALD | Ampol Limited | 34.47 | 4% | 1,102,150 | $7,883,033,435 |
| LFG | Liberty Fin Group | 4.23 | 4% | 123,099 | $1,232,616,000 |
| WAF | West African Res Ltd | 1.2675 | 4% | 2,523,155 | $1,245,656,286 |
| IRE | IRESS Limited | 10.81 | 4% | 643,989 | $1,956,713,479 |
| ORI | Orica Limited | 15.6 | 4% | 1,420,759 | $6,156,995,673 |
| IPL | Incitec Pivot | 3.44 | 3% | 5,902,282 | $6,467,609,347 |
| DRR | Deterra | 4.26 | 3% | 1,183,164 | $2,182,811,158 |
| BPT | Beach Energy Limited | 1.6675 | 3% | 7,834,493 | $3,695,760,523 |
| CIA | Champion Iron Ltd | 5.475 | 3% | 2,477,959 | $2,749,971,180 |
| MXT | Metrics Master | 1.92 | 3% | 1,702,328 | $1,644,368,596 |
| DOW | Downer EDI Limited | 5.1 | 3% | 2,086,834 | $3,356,865,346 |
Crown Resorts (ASX:CWN) was flat despite being given an approval for Crown Sydney to commence gaming operations. The approval will enable Crown to open its members only gaming facilities located at Crown Sydney, with an initial conditional gaming period scheduled to expire on 31 December 2023. Separately, Crown will also be removed from the S&P/ASX 200 at the next rebalance.
Stanmore Resources (ASX:SMR) rose 11% despite the Queensland Government announcing changes to the coal royalty regime as part of its 2022- 23 budget. The new scheme will make the royalties paid by coal producers in Queensland the highest in the world.
BIG CAP LOSERS
Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.
| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CXO | Core Lithium | 0.8675 | -14% | 44,153,339 | $1,741,014,890 |
| LKE | Lake Resources | 0.8425 | -13% | 101,267,990 | $1,306,071,009 |
| BKL | Blackmores Limited | 65.25 | -9% | 115,458 | $1,392,968,387 |
| SYA | Sayona Mining Ltd | 0.1275 | -9% | 49,374,285 | $1,153,947,222 |
| MGH | Maas Group Holdings | 3.53 | -7% | 212,218 | $1,118,813,011 |
| CEN | Contact Energy Ltd | 6.41 | -6% | 7,627 | $1,696,758,590 |
| NVX | Novonix Limited | 2.29 | -6% | 2,721,289 | $1,185,721,340 |
| PNI | Pinnacle Investment | 6.68 | -6% | 525,702 | $1,416,878,109 |
| SDR | Siteminder | 3.91 | -6% | 250,350 | $1,125,225,947 |
| RRL | Regis Resources | 1.6675 | -5% | 5,468,249 | $1,324,632,403 |
| HMC | Homeco Limited | 4.28 | -5% | 179,468 | $1,348,280,127 |
Lithium producers like Lake Resources (ASX:LKE) and Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) were some of the worst performing large caps on the bourse today, falling by 12% each.