Local markets have opened lower this morning, after Wall Street’s loss-snapping rally on Monday was itself snapped by a beating that was as lengthy as it was profound.

However, the plucky new “you can’t tell us what to do” attitude the ASX seems to be showing at present has helped the ASX200 to fall far more modestly than it normally would under the circumstances.

Where the NYSE has landed splayed, legs akimbo and fine silk undies on full display, the ASX has merely fainted briefly, in a gentile, ‘ABC period drama’ kind of way to be down 0.4% at lunchtime.

But before I get into what’s happening to the market (and, speaking of undies on display), it’s time for the latest round of Public Art Insanity, this time featuring the good people of Palm Springs, Florida, because that’s where all the top-shelf crazies go to retire.

The city of Palm Springs is justifiably famous for many things. It’s been the favoured haunt of Hollywood stars since the 1930s, and generations of young people with loose morals and even looser undergarments have descended on the town for Spring Break – the bacchanalian celebration of American College Life that is basically Schoolies Week on the Gold Coast on steroids.

It’s also a highly mixed city in terms of its political views, and the more progressive side of the community will frequently find itself at loggerheads with an army of dithering conservative retiree types, whose only hobby is being upset by absolutely everything they see.

For instance, public art is actually a major cause of public panic for Palm Springs, often times for good reason because, as everyone knows, public art is 99% terrible.

So it’s no surprise, then, that the recent proposal for a large piece of public sculpture that’s been proposed to serve as an AIDS memorial has local busybodies up in arms.

The sculptor, Palm Springs’ very own Phillip K. Smith III, is known for his “light-based work that draws upon ideas of space, form, color, light + shadow, environment, and change”.

He submitted plans for a 9-foot circular limestone structure, featuring an opening at the center at eye level that “allows a view through, offering a connection, a sense of hope, a view beyond what is directly in front of you.”

The artist has also described it as “a timeless, enduring landmark hovering above the ground. Heavy, but light. Lifting Hope. Lifting Struggle. Lifting up what is important.”

Critics have described it as “definitely an anus”.

 

 

They’re not wrong – it most definitely resembles a harsh lesson in anatomy, but only from the back.

So many critics have described it as a butthole, that Phillip K. Smith III has been forced to abandon the original plans for the sculpture – a small win for the sector of the community that immediately thinks “anus” whenever they see anything vaguely donut-shaped.

It’s not the first time the site has come under scrutiny for its public art projects – the AIDS memorial was set to be erected not far from a 26-foot-tall Marilyn Monroe statue, featuring the actress in her iconic pose from the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch.

That sculpture had some locals completely up in arms because, if you stood behind the statue, you could see her knickers.

No word yet on precisely how Phillip K. Smith III is going to de-anus-ify his memorial, but I’m quietly hoping that he ends up building a smaller version of the original design and glues it on the backside of the giant Marilyn Monroe… just to give the rest of the a-holes in Palm Springs something to sob about.

 

TO MARKETS

Local markets have slipped 0.4% this morning, in the wake of an awful showing on Wall Street overnight, but managing to pare losses to some degree.

The main culprit today was yesterday’s leading light – the Heath Care sector is down 1.21% this morning, giving up yesterday’s gains (and then some), attributable to a sizeable degree to a 2.2% slump for market giant CSL (ASX:CSL).

The $120 billion market capper dropped pretty sharply this morning despite news that the company has signed a deal with the UK government for 100 million flu shots.

It remains unclear whether investors were hoping for a larger number of flu shots, or if it’s a far more insidiously racist stab at British people in general, but either way it’s had a pretty solid effect on the market’s mood this morning.

 

Materials is stubbornly doing its best to stay positive today, helped in no small measure by the Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) behemoth adding a handy 1.8% this morning, while the morning’s top performer Haranga Resources (ASX:HAR) went from half-nelson to Full Nelson, Har-Har-ing its way to a 60% gain.

 

NOT THE ASX

Oh, America… what happened to you?

Overnight In New York, the S&P 500 fell by -1.47%, the blue chips Dow Jones index was down by -1.14%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled by -1.57%.

Earlybird Eddy Sunarto reports that sentiment was crushed after US consumer confidence fell heavily to 103 in September from 108.7 in August, as Americans become more anxious about the future.

“The market is in the hands of the bears right now,” said chief global strategist of LPL Financial, Quincy Krosby.

Tech giants Apple and Microsoft fell by more than 2% each, while Amazon slipped 4% after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued the company for antitrust violations.

Retail company Target was down -2.5% after announcing that it will close nine stores around the US as it grapples with a retail theft problem.

EV maker Rivian popped 5% after Baird analyst Ben Kallo sees upside in the stock to US$30 (currently at US$22.26).

In Japan, the Nikkei has fallen 0.45% this morning in the wake of an arrest on the remote Yaeyama Islands, after a naked man walked into a convenience store, purchased a pair of undies, popped them on and then stole an electric scooter (and a helmet… because ‘safety first’) and took off.

Police were able to nab the nudist when he came back to the same shop about 30 minutes later, still on the stolen scooter. The unnamed fella was arrested for public nudity, before further investigation by police discovered he was four times the legal limit to be riding around in his jocks on a scooter.

In China, Shanghai markets are up 0.25% as the nation prepares for a lengthy break for the Autumn Moon Festival that kicks off on Friday (I think… I should probably check that), while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng is up 0.71% because it just is.

 

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for 27 September [intraday]:

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

Wordpress Table Plugin

 

Way out in front this morning is Haranga Resources (ASX:HAR), which has been pushing ahead in an erratic manner this morning, currently up 50% after hitting $0.26 a pop in the opening minutes, retreating to $0.19 and climbing back to $0.235.

That’s all happening because the company’s received firm commitments from sophisticated, professional and institutional investors to raise $2.86m through a placement of 26m shares at 11c per share.

Haranga says the money will “primarily be used for drilling at Haranga’s Saraya uranium project in Senegal as the Company moves towards extending on its maiden JORC mineral resource (Inferred 12.5Mt @ 587ppm eU3O8 for 16.1 Mlbs1) at the Saraya project”.

Uranium. So hot right now.

Caprice Resources (ASX:CRS) has popped more than 21% this morning on no news to slot into second place on the winner’s list.

In third, Flynn Gold (ASX:FG1) is up 15.4% on news that the company has commenced drilling at Tasmania’s Warrentinna Project testing a high grade, near-surface gold target zone identified by historical drill results that include a thumping 5.0m @ 28.93g/t Au from 36.0m, including 1.0m @ 103.25g/t Au from 37.0m.

And also worth a mention is recent market leader OzAurum (ASX:OZM), up more than 11% this morning on an amended announcement that the company has completed its due diligence on the Linopolis Jaime hard rock lithium project acquisition in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The buy is a go, which means managing director/CEO Andrew Pumphrey will be travelling to Brazil mid-October to commence fieldwork, progress the purchase of OZM diamond drilling rig and “pursue any other potential lithium opportunities should they arise”.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the most-worst performing ASX small cap stocks for 27 September [intraday]:

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

Wordpress Table Plugin

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