ASX Small Cap Lunch Wrap: Local markets regain ground in green and gold Africa edition

Aussie markets have regained some of their losses from Monday, where the S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 1.8% to 7704.2 points by the closing bell in its worst day in a year.

At 12.10pm (AEDT) on Tuesday, March 12, the S&P/ASX 200 had risen 0.23% to 7,722. Here’s the screenshot Stockhead’s Christian Edwards sent to help me out.

Source: Market Index and Stockhead’s Christian Edwards

But first….

Fancy a glass of good wine but worried about the cost? Maybe grab a bottle of Taylors Wines’ $26 Jaraman Sauvignon Blanc.

The wine has claimed the ‘Best of Show Australian White’ trophy and earned a gold medal at the 2024 Mundus Vini Grand International Wine Awards.

This prestigious competition, Europe’s largest in the realm of wines, is adjudicated by a panel of 250 expert judges hailing from various corners of the globe.

Taylors Wines describes the good value Sauvignon Blanc as “elegantly structured with seductive passionfruit and green apple flavours, fresh herbaceous notes and a subtle touch of minerality”.

Third-generation winemaker and MD at Taylors Wines Mitchell Taylor says the international recognition comes at a crucial time for the Australian wine industry, anxiously awaiting the re-opening of the Chinese market in the midst of a challenging economic climate.

“It’s an interesting time for the Australian wine industry. On one end, our winemakers continue to be celebrated for their skill and outstanding wines, which is something to celebrate. On the other, we continue to feel the pressures of ongoing trade tariffs in China on top of some of the most challenging international market conditions in over a decade,” Taylor says in a blog post.

The ASX…

Six of the 11 sectors are higher at lunchtime with financials leading the gainers up 0.62% followed by tech gaining 0.54% and materials rising 0.25%.

Energy led the losses down 0.67%, despite higher oil prices. Industrials lost 0.50%, while consumer staples were also down 0.34%.

Goldies continue to climb with Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) leading the ASX large caps at lunchtime, up 9.62% and Newmont Corporation (ASX:NEM) rising 4.05%.

The ACCC has kicked off its informal investigation of the proposed $3bn Chemist Warehouse backdoor listing via a takeover of Sigma Healthcare (ASX:SIG).

Under the deal, Chemist Warehouse will own 85.7 per cent of SIG with its owners collecting $700m in cash.

The NAB Business Confidence report dropped this morning showing a rebound in Australian business conditions but still-elevated cost pressures, signifying a need for a cautious approach in cutting rates by the RBA. Australia’s NAB Business Confidence Index decreased to 0 in February, from 1 in January.

In February, business conditions increased by 3 points to reach 10 index points, slightly surpassing the long-run average. Within NAB’s monthly business survey, trading and profitability both experienced a 4-point uptick, while the employment index remained unchanged.

Stocks going Ex-dividends

BlackWall (ASX:BWF) is paying 2.5 cents fully franked
Grange Resources (ASX:GRR) is paying 2 cents fully franked
IGO (ASX:IGO) ) is paying 11 cents fully franked
Lifestyle Communities (ASX:LIC) ) is paying 5.5 cents fully franked
Motorcycle Holdings (ASX:MTO) is paying 3 cents fully franked
News Corp (ASX:NWS) is paying 10.7214 cents unfranked
PS&C (ASX:PSZ) is paying 5.7 60 per cent franked
Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) is paying 32.5 cents fully franked (edited)

Not the ASX…

Overnight on Wall Street, the three major indices ended mix ahead of crucial inflation data to be released on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.12%, while the S&P 500 finished down 0.1% in Monday’s session. The tech-focused NASDAQ Composite took the brunt of selling, falling 0.4% overnight.

The US 10-year bond yield is up 1.5 basis points to 4.10% ahead of the US February CPI data which is due out at 11.30pm (AEDT) Australian time.

Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate CPI will rise 0.4% between January and February and 3.1% on an annualised basis.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the so-called core basket is expect to rise 0.3% on the month and 3.7% on the year.

CPI comes ahead of the producer-focused index expected later in the week. The two major economic reports are the last two expected before the US Federal Reserve leaders convene for their March policy meeting.

Tech stock Super Micro Computer dropped more than 5%, while chipmaker Nvidia fell 2% as investors start to wonder if the artificial intelligence frenzy leading to big rallies in associated stocks can continue.

Meta also struggled, with the Facebook parent falling 4.4%.

US futures are looking brighter at lunch in Sydney:

Bitcoin continues rally as commodity prices mixed

Bitcoin continues to surge reaching a new record high of US$72,000 with the world’s most popular cryptocurrency gaining additional backing due to increased trading accessibility.

The digital currency reached its high as traders anticipate an upcoming industry event known for restricting supply, traditionally resulting in a boost to its price.

This surge continued the record-breaking trend from the previous week when the cryptocurrency surpassed the previous high of US$68,991 set in November 2021.

The Aussie dollar is firmer against the Greenback trading up 0.07% to US66.17 cents.

Oil prices are mixed ahead of key US CPI data and reports on the global crude outlook from OPEC and the International Energy Agency.

WTI is up 0.13% to US$77.93 a barrel and Brent has also risen to 0.14% to US$82.21 after falling last week on to subdued China demand and comments from the IEA about sufficient market supply this year.

In other commodities, iron ore fell to $US110.50/tonne as demand for the steel making ingredients fall in China. Gold was down 0.08% to US$2180.78/ounce, while copper was up to 0.05% to US$3.92/ounce.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for March 12 [intraday]:

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

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume	Market Cap
RMI	Resource Mining Corp	0.037	131%	4,167,300	$9,477,565
NYM	Narryer Metals	0.06	114%	122,796	$1,343,820
JAV	Javelin Minerals Ltd	0.002	100%	250,000	$2,176,231
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.004	33%	378,328	$5,743,220
HLX	Helix Resources	0.004	33%	6,303,355	$6,969,438
MTL	Mantle Minerals Ltd	0.002	33%	3,629,736	$9,296,169
TKL	Traka Resources	0.002	33%	3,304,907	$2,625,988
APX	Appen Limited	1.08	30%	17,856,416	$181,970,752
NYR	Nyrada Inc.	0.13	30%	7,643,921	$15,600,870
AMM	Armada Metals	0.019	27%	22,200	$3,120,000
SCL	Schrole Group Ltd	0.2	25%	169,882	$5,752,808
CCO	The Calmer Co Int	0.005	25%	10,383	$4,730,787
GMN	Gold Mountain Ltd	0.005	25%	900	$9,111,514
H2G	Greenhy2 Limited	0.01	25%	100,000	$3,350,047
RMX	Red Mount Min Ltd	0.0025	25%	31,832	$5,347,152
RFA	Rare Foods Australia	0.036	24%	150,153	$5,943,530
CDT	Castle Minerals	0.008	23%	14,841,817	$7,959,204
RIM	Rimfire Pacific	0.04	21%	8,284,047	$73,268,076
NSB	Neuroscientific	0.052	21%	472,169	$6,218,009
TSI	Top Shelf	0.21	20%	42,461	$36,387,026
AYT	Austin Metals Ltd	0.006	20%	16,678	$6,425,957
MHC	Manhattan Corp Ltd	0.003	20%	100,000	$7,342,449
AQC	Auspac Coal Ltd	0.066	20%	1,913,965	$28,213,218
KED	Keypath Education	0.68	19%	38,562	$122,375,971
IRD	Iron Road Ltd	0.07	19%	100,000	$48,522,968

In the green and gold Africa edition there been success for ASX gold plays in the world’s second largest continent.

Resource Mining Corporation (ASX:RMI) rose in morning trade before entering a trading halt after announcing it had hit significant copper-gold anomalies out at its Mpanda Copper Gold project, in Tanzania. RMI says soil sampling has delineated nine distinct copper-in-soil anomalies, all of which have a reported strike length of over 2km.

Aurum Resources (ASX:AUE) has reported more shallow, wide, high-grade gold intercepts from its ongoing diamond drilling program at the BD tenement at its Boundiali Gold Project in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa.

Assays from four diamond holes over 275m strike returned73m at 2.15g/t gold from 172m including 1m at a bonanza 72.11g/t from 188m, 4m at 18.63g/t from 185m, 5m at 7.15g/t from 221m and 5m at 3.23g/t from 240m.

AUE says scout diamond drilling at the BD tenement is ongoing with more assay results expected in coming weeks.

Tests have confirmed that graphite from Castle Minerals’ (ASX:CDT) Kambale project in Ghana is “very attractive” for the manufacture of lithium-ion electric vehicle battery anodes “and a range of other high-value primary and secondary applications”.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the most-worst performing ASX small cap stocks for March 12 [intraday]:

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

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume	Market Cap
AXP	AXP Energy Ltd	0.001	-50%	101,123	$11,649,361
MRQ	MRG Metals Limited	0.001	-50%	25,000	$4,942,682
IS3	I Synergy Group Ltd	0.009	-36%	261,074	$4,257,125
1AG	Alterra Limited	0.003	-25%	150,000	$3,482,763
1MC	Morella Corporation	0.003	-25%	1,218,848	$24,715,198
AVE	Avecho Biotech Ltd	0.003	-25%	649,534	$12,677,188
NES	Nelson Resources	0.003	-25%	1,300,000	$2,454,377
NRZ	Neurizer Ltd	0.003	-25%	15,036,702	$6,005,643
RLG	Roolife Group Ltd	0.007	-22%	221,778	$6,503,023
SLZ	Sultan Resources Ltd	0.021	-22%	2,744,686	$4,001,131
AN1	Anagenics Limited	0.012	-20%	35,000	$6,286,993
1CG	One Click Group Ltd	0.008	-20%	321,411	$6,881,788
BNL	Blue Star Helium Ltd	0.008	-20%	14,068,652	$19,422,653
DOU	Douugh Limited	0.004	-20%	115,950	$5,410,345
ESR	Estrella Res Ltd	0.004	-20%	125,000	$8,796,859
GCM	Green Critical Min	0.004	-20%	7,275	$5,682,925
MCT	Metalicity Limited	0.002	-20%	155,000	$11,212,634
NAE	New Age Exploration	0.004	-20%	76,560	$8,969,495
TMR	Tempus Resources Ltd	0.004	-20%	155,799	$3,654,994
TMX	Terrain Minerals	0.004	-20%	6,129,098	$7,158,353
VML	Vital Metals Limited	0.004	-20%	610,567	$29,475,335
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.01	-17%	4,111,886	$15,855,258
MSI	Multistack International	0.005	-17%	294,505	$817,824
OSX	Osteopore Limited	0.52	-15%	2,967	$6,300,500
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.006	-14%	58,140	$14,525,380

ICYMI at midday

Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) reports the second gold pour from its Selkirk mining joint venture has been completed at the nearby Gwalia processing plant operated by Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD).

More than 150kg of gold dorè has been produced to date, including 119kg in the second pour.Processing of the remaining ore is set to conclude in the coming week, after which the net project income will be reconciled and split 50/50 between BTR and its JV partner BML Ventures.

White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) has pocketed $4.33 million of additional funding for multiple work programs across its portfolio of projects in Nunavut, Canada, following the successful conversion of 288.5 million options.

The company now has $6.3 million to deploy on upcoming exploration campaigns, starting with an airborne survey over the Coppermine copper-gold-silver project to be completed by Expert Geophysics.

WCN’s focus is then expected to turn to sourcing contractor and services providers for the complementary campaigns at the Radium Point uranium-silver-IOCG project.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Brightstar Resources and White Cliff Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.