• Stocks slid another 1.5pc on Friday, -2pc for the week
  • Energy stocks tumbled as crude prices dropped overnight
  • Analyst predicts gold price could move toward US$3,000 in H2

 

Local shares tumbled by over 1.5% on Friday. For the week, the ASX 200 index was down 2%.

Overnight, tech stocks on Wall Street rebounded after less-hawkish-than-expected testimony from Powell.

The Nasdaq jumped by 1%, with big tech from Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft, all gaining. That takes the Nasdaq’s performance to 31% this year.

“We’re likely due a slowdown in the pace of the tech rally this year, but it doesn’t mean that rally is over,” said Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro.

“Tech is generally seen as resilient, with high-profit margins and fortress balance sheets making it defensive to economic risks.”

Energy was the worst-performing sector today as crude prices dropped 4% overnight.

Analysts say the slump in Chinese economy could cause problems for the oil market in the short term.

“It has become clear that China’s vaunted economic recovery is not materialising. As a result, oil prices are sitting in the mid to low US$70s instead of pushing triple digits,” said oil analyst, Ellen R. Wald.

Meanwhile, gold stocks mainly fell as the bullion price dropped to a 3-month low of US$1,914.80 following Powell’s testimony.

A report by Bloomberg predicts that the fear of missing out (FOMO) could dominate the gold market if an economic slowdown in H2 triggers a selloff in stocks.

“Central-bank accumulation and the potential for a global economic slowdown, on the back of the most aggressive rate-hike period ever, may set the stage for gold to move toward US$3,000 an ounce,” said Bloomberg senior macro strategist, Mike McGlone in a report.

 

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Tamboran Resources (ASX:TBN) has selected APA Group (ASX:APA) as the preferred transmission pipeline partner for Tamboran’s Beetaloo Basin development following a six-month competitive process.

APA and Tamboran have signed a term sheet, which is planned to be converted into a longer form agreement in the coming months, to jointly develop gas transmission pipelines to connect Tamboran’s Beetaloo Basin assets to Australia’s domestic East Coast gas market and Tamboran’s proposed Northern Territory LNG development at Middle Arm.

 

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Nickel Industries (ASX:NIC) says the company’s 70%-owned Oracle Nickel Project has commenced commissioning of its 380MW power plant in Indonesia.

While the Project’s 4 RKEF lines have been progressively commissioned over the last several months, limited power availability within the IMIP electricity grid has restricted production levels to approximately 80% of nameplate capacity.

With the power plant now commissioned, production levels at the Project are expected to steadily increase to approximately 130% of nameplate capacity, in line with the historical outperformance above nameplate capacity of the company’s established RKEF operations.

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