• The S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.5% and S&P XEC rose 1.14% on last trading day of the week
  • Northern Star backed PolarX responds to price query after rising 70% in month
  • Shareholders in beleaguered 3D Metalforge receive notice of AGM from administrators

 

Today the S&P ASX 200 closed up 0.5% while the the S&P ASX Emerging Companies index (XEC) – a benchmark for Australia’s micro-cap companies – rose 1.14%. It was a strong recovery for the market with the S&P ASX 200 dipping 0.1% at the open to recover and be up 0.2% by lunch.

Materials led the gainers up 0.84%, followed by financials and communication services, up 0.83% and 0.65% respectively. Healthcare and real estate were the only sectors in the red, dipping 0.31% and 0.21% respectively.

Overnight on Wall Street, all three major indices climbed – the S&P 500 index was up by 1.3%, the Dow Jones by 1.14% and tech heavy Nasdaq by 2%.  US stocks lifted after a report showing that US producer prices fell in March by the most since the start of the pandemic, signalling an easing in inflation.

The producer index or PPI rose by just 2.7% from a year ago, the smallest gain in more than two years.

Meanwhile, gold players on the ASX have been the big winners after the precious metal inched closer to its previous record price of ~US $2,075.47/oz set in August 2020.  The price of gold has been rising steadily following a weakening US economy with pundits predicting it will reach an all-time high.

WORTH A READ: Ground Breakers: Gold and silver continue upward climb

 

FROM THE HEADLINES

Elon Musk must be hoping to lift the price of Tesla shares with Twitter teaming up with social trading platform eToro to access stocks, cryptocurrencies and other financial assets.

 

It’s already possible using Twitter’s cashtags feature to search for a ticker symbol and insert dollar sign in front of it, after which the app will show you price information from TradingView using an application programming interface.

But a new feature will be rolled out on the Twitter app enabling users to view market charts on an expanded range of financial instruments and buy and sell stocks and other assets from eToro.

Users will also be able to click a “view on eToro,” button which takes you through to eToro’s site, and then buy and sell assets on its platform.

“As we’ve grown over the past three years immensely, we’ve seen more and more of our users interact on Twitter  (and) educate themselves about the markets,” eToro CEO Yoni Assia told CNBC.

“There is very high quality content, real-time content on financial analysis of companies and what’s happening around the world. We believe this partnership will enable us to reach those new audiences [and] connect better the brands of Twitter and eToro.”

Controversial entrepreneur Musk took the reins as CEO of Twitter after buying the platform for $44 billion in 2022.

Founded in Israel in 2007,  eToro lets users buy and sell stocks, cryptocurrencies and index funds with one of its most popular functions enabling investors to mimic the trading strategies of other users.

The trading platform has more than 32 million registered users across Europe, Asia and the US.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:
Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Wordpress Table Plugin

Among the winners today junior miner PolarX (ASX:PXX), which surged more than 30%. The company has responded to a please explain speeding ticket from the ASX with its share price surging more than 70% in the past month.

As Stockhead’s Reuben Adams reported PXX grew in popularity among investors in December and January after major miner Northern Star (ASX:NST) snapped up a 10% stake.

PXX has two flagship assets including the Humboldt Range gold-silver project in Nevada, and the Alaska Range copper-gold project in south-central Alaska.

In an announcement PXX said it is not aware of any information that has not been announced to the market which, if known, could explain the recent trading in the securities of the company other than the upcoming induced polarisation survey to be undertaken across the Humboldt Range Project in Nevada USA announced previously. The survey is expected to start in late April 2023.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:
Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Wordpress Table Plugin

 

LAST ORDERS

It seems as though beleaguered 3D Metalforge (ASX:3MF) may be about to pull a bit of a Lazarus, with shareholders receiving notice of an AGM from administrators today.

3MF was sin-binned in September 2022 for not handing in its homework – namely, Very Important periodic reports that the ASX demands in order for companies to stay on the bourse.

About four months later, McGrath Nicol sent Robert Kirman and Robert Brauer over to step in as voluntary administrators to try to make sense of what was happening at the company, and they – with some help from Alt Finance – came up with a restructure and recapitalisation plan.

The proposal requiring shareholder approval includes all current shares in the company being consolidated at a 1:20 ratio, roughly 188 million new shares being issued to raise about $112,000 and a new set of directors being installed.

So, with that on the table, shareholders will have their chance to vote on whether it gets approved, and – all things being equal – if the shareholders are on board, the company will be well on track to being re-listed. Watch this space.

Meanwhile, Ionic Rare Earths (ASX:IXR) has hit a milestone, with 60% of the Makuutu rare earths project now under IonicRE’s control.

It’s big news for the company, and arrives after a lot of work at the project to deliver a positive Makuutu Stage 1 Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), which shows that Makuutu would have an initial 35 year mine life with EBITDA of A$2.29 billion and an IRR of 32.7%.

IonicRE has also subsequently been informed that approval from the Ugandan Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to progress the construction of a technical facility and Demonstration Plant at the Makuutu Mine Site has been received.

There are still a few paperwork hurdles to clear, but IonicRE is confident that things with the Ugandan Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development are moving forward in relation to upgrading its mineral licensing system to align it with the provisions of the Mining and Mineral Act 2022.

Lastly, Wingara AG (ASX:WNR) has completed the sale of the Raywood Hay Processing Facility, licences & business operations, resulting in a cheeky little bonus for shareholders.

Wingara CEO, Marcello Diamante, is reportedly “pleased” at the completion of the sale, which he believes has assured  the future of the Raywood facility, under the stewardship of the new owners.

With the sale complete, WNR is issuing a special dividend of $0.006 per share fully franked to holders of fully paid ordinary shares, with the company announcing that the final day to trade WNR pre-divvie will be on 19 April, 2023, and that payment to shareholders will take place on 05 May.

 

TRADING HALTS

Lion One Metals (ASX:LLO) – Pending sourcing of info for a response to the ASX in relation to an “Aware Query” it received on April 11, 2023.

Mantle Minerals (ASX:MTL) – Pending announcement of a capital raise.

Read MoreGoldRare Earths

Featured Companies

You might be interested in