ASX Large Caps: Investors come back for more as shares extend gains; the all-crucial US inflation data looms

Local shares gained more ground on Wednesday
Energy and mining stocks climbed
Looking ahead, the pivotal US inflation report will be released tonight

After a 1% gain yesterday, the ASX 200 lifted another 0.45% on Wednesday as mining and energy stocks rose.

Energy companies rose following gains in US energy stocks overnight where crude prices had jumped by over 2%.

Crude is getting a boost as expectations grow for the oil market to remain tight despite all lingering growth concerns.

“The IEA expects strong demand from China and developing nations,” said Oanda analyst, Edward Moya.

“The short-term crude demand outlook shouldn’t be that bad as everyone is taking a vacation that requires some travel this summer.”

Meanwhile, iron ore futures in Singapore traded higher by over 1% today, pushing major iron ore stocks like BHP (ASX:BHP) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) higher.

Elsewhere, RBA governor Philip Lowe has announced big changes to the RBA board in response to the recent review of the central bank.

The biggest change will be that from 2024 onwards, the RBA board will only meet 8 times a year, rather than 11 times currently, but each meeting will go for longer.

Over the pond, NZ’s central bank RBNZ did what economists had expected – leaving rates on hold for a second month at 5.5%.

However the RBNZ says that rates won’t be coming down anytime soon, and will remain restrictive for some time.

Looking ahead, the pivotal US inflation report will be released later today (US time).

Investors had earlier digested comments from several Fed officials who all agreed that the Fed would need to hike rates more this year to tame inflation.

BIG CAP WINNERS

Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
BGL	Bellevue Gold Ltd	1.54	-7.36	4,763,479	$1,881,748,916
EMR	Emerald Res NL	2.26	-3.63	1,249,790	$1,393,381,005
MEZ	Meridian Energy	5.09	-2.30	33,820	$6,588,016,178
NIC	Nickel Industries	0.87	-2.26	1,750,145	$2,676,467,687
CHN	Chalice Mining Ltd	5.90	-2.24	500,512	$2,333,210,760
GOR	Gold Road Res Ltd	1.56	-2.20	1,435,942	$1,714,690,012
IFT	Infratil Limited	9.12	-2.04	43,476	$7,744,895,779
NST	Northern Star	12.57	-2.03	1,175,244	$14,757,125,839

Incitec Pivot (ASX:IPL) rose following an an update on the proposed separation of Incitec Pivot Fertilisers and Dyno Nobel with the intention to create two industry leading businesses.

IPL notes there has been speculation that it may be considering a potential sale of its fertilisers business. IPL confirms that it has received a number of approaches for the potential acquisition of its fertilisers business. IPL says its Board will continually assess all options to ensure shareholder value is maximised.

Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) after its parent shares in New York rose 3% on no news.

BIG CAP LOSERS

Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
CTT	Cettire	3.31	-6.50	1,288,899	$1,349,583,299
PNI	Pinnacle Investment	9.21	-5.54	252,499	$1,961,388,887
SQ2	Block	96.32	-5.48	110,678	$3,124,431,102
INA	Ingenia Group	3.65	-5.19	337,440	$1,569,195,566
BOE	Boss Energy Ltd	2.92	-5.19	1,399,971	$1,085,942,895
CMM	Capricorn Metals	4.05	-4.60	724,018	$1,594,062,662
MAD	Mader Group Limited	5.45	-4.22	41,946	$1,138,000,000
MFG	Magellan Fin Grp Ltd	8.55	-4.15	1,042,354	$1,618,372,539
PRU	Perseus Mining Ltd	1.63	-4.12	1,922,722	$2,325,577,645
GMG	Goodman Group	19.58	-4.02	1,435,700	$38,429,925,613
RMS	Ramelius Resources	1.23	-3.91	1,920,765	$1,268,861,668
NST	Northern Star	12.22	-3.86	1,986,813	$14,619,101,279
JHX	James Hardie Indust	38.57	-3.59	776,251	$17,604,889,960
EMR	Emerald Res NL	2.15	-3.59	350,301	$1,327,880,189
MIN	Mineral Resources.	67.58	-3.46	775,823	$13,613,645,080
CNI	Centuria Capital	1.59	-3.34	464,391	$1,315,665,726
HUB	HUB24 Ltd	23.95	-3.29	105,667	$2,017,997,889

Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) dropped on no specific news, but the company has today awarded MLG Oz Limited (ASX:MLG) a haulage services contract . The work will under the agreement will be haulage of open pit material from Bellevue Golds mine to the Gwalia processing facility. The initial works are expected to commence this month and run for approximately three months and contribute circa $4.0m in revenue.