Closing Bell: ASX slips as banks bleed on February rates cut speculation

ASX drops as banks take a hit
Star Entertainment tanks, future in doubt
US jobs data set to move the Fed

The ASX fell for the second day in a row as the S&P/ASX 200 tumbled by 0.42%. For the week, though, the index was up by about 0.5%.

Banks bore the brunt of the losses this afternoon as experts brought forward the RBA rate cut forecast to February, citing weaker-than-expected retail sales data.

As we know, banks’ stock prices tend to fall when rates are cut because lower rates reduce the profit margin they make on loans.

Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) dropped 1.5%, and Westpac (ASX:WBC) tanked 2% after a downgrade from Morgan Stanley.

Mining stocks, meanwhile, held things together, rising on the back of a jump in iron ore prices.

Goldies also gained traction, with stocks like Emerald Resources (ASX:EMR) seeing decent gains of 1%.

This is how things stood at 15:45 AEDT:

The biggest large caps mover today was Star Entertainment Group (ASX:SGR), which has lost 40% in two sessions as concerns over its future grow.

Lenders are warning that the embattled casino group could be heading for voluntary administration unless a lifeline deal is secured soon.

Novonix (ASX:NVX) inked a deal with Harper International for exclusive rights to tech that’ll ramp up synthetic graphite for batteries – but its shares slipped 2%.

Add biotech giant CSL (ASX:CSL), which also fell 0.75%, and it’s clear the local market is struggling to find its footing.

Across the region, Asian markets slid, too, as investors played it cautious ahead of tonight’s US jobs report.

All eyes are on the US non-farm payroll data, expected to reveal a slowdown in hiring – setting the stage for the next move from the Fed Reserve.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
NRZ	Neurizer Ltd	0.002	100%	5,457,542	$2,964,861
RAD	Radiopharm	0.036	50%	76,536,326	$52,815,523
TM1	Terra Metals Limited	0.032	39%	1,097,273	$9,136,081
RAN	Range International	0.004	33%	1,260,688	$2,817,871
ADD	Adavale Resource Ltd	0.003	25%	299,974	$3,081,664
VEN	Vintage Energy	0.005	25%	204,614	$6,678,125
NTD	Ntaw Holdings Ltd	0.210	24%	1,002,286	$28,510,294
MRZ	Mont Royal Resources	0.037	23%	27,054	$2,550,894
REZ	Resourc & En Grp Ltd	0.028	22%	1,245,620	$15,447,700
PTR	Petratherm Ltd	0.380	21%	1,626,506	$97,396,926
FGR	First Graphene Ltd	0.042	20%	378,896	$23,449,633
1TT	Thrive Tribe Tech	0.003	20%	170,000	$5,079,308
ASO	Aston Minerals Ltd	0.012	20%	342,035	$12,950,643
MTB	Mount Burgess Mining	0.006	20%	348,334	$1,697,687
STM	Sunstone Metals Ltd	0.006	20%	5,277,575	$25,749,518
TAS	Tasman Resources Ltd	0.006	20%	21,400	$4,026,248
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.155	19%	47,341	$8,824,195
ZMM	Zimi Ltd	0.013	18%	34,314	$4,256,385
PGM	Platina Resources	0.021	17%	1,586,361	$11,217,246
THB	Thunderbird Resource	0.021	17%	1,344,437	$6,555,625

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Radiopharm Theranostics (ASX:RAD) surged after securing a US$5 million private placement with Lantheus, a leader in the radiopharmaceutical industry. Lantheus is now the largest shareholder, holding 12.16% of the company after buying 133 million shares at $0.060 each – a 150% premium on the last closing price. The funds will support Radiopharm’s clinical pipeline.

Western Gold Resources (ASX:WGR) has completed an above-market placement, raising $720,000 before costs to advance its Gold Duke project in Western Australia. The placement was priced at 4 cents per share, a 28% premium to the 30-day VWAP of 3.12 cents. The funds will be used for general working capital and to support Gold Duke toward production, including metallurgical work, grade control and infill planning, securing approvals, and covering corporate costs.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Today’s worst performing small cap stocks:

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
ESK	Etherstack PLC	0.225	-25%	89,297	$39,560,665
AYT	Austin Metals Ltd	0.004	-20%	100,000	$6,620,957
CDT	Castle Minerals	0.002	-20%	250,000	$4,742,035
DMG	Dragon Mountain Gold	0.004	-20%	80,720	$1,973,358
GES	Genesis Resources	0.004	-20%	100,000	$3,914,206
RLT	Renergen Limited	0.420	-18%	108,450	$15,466,248
FTZ	Fertoz Ltd	0.025	-17%	282,484	$8,893,816
ABE	Ausbondexchange	0.020	-17%	43,192	$2,704,035
ENV	Enova Mining Limited	0.005	-17%	100,000	$5,909,576
ERA	Energy Resources	0.003	-17%	5,410,200	$1,216,188,722
HHR	Hartshead Resources	0.005	-17%	249,523	$16,852,093
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.003	-17%	584,647	$7,330,908
NES	Nelson Resources.	0.003	-17%	9,783,076	$6,515,783
SIS	Simble Solutions	0.005	-17%	250,000	$5,017,982
BSN	Basinenergylimited	0.016	-16%	125,303	$1,982,643
MGU	Magnum Mining & Exp	0.011	-15%	200,724	$10,521,698
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.006	-14%	91,070	$8,246,534
DM1	Desert Metals	0.024	-14%	66,573	$7,487,919
PLC	Premier1 Lithium Ltd	0.006	-14%	250,000	$2,576,424
SRN	Surefire Rescs NL	0.003	-14%	18,500	$8,457,077
HLX	Helix Resources	0.004	-13%	1,590,000	$13,456,775
ID8	Identitii Limited	0.014	-13%	858,564	$12,387,417

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Belararox (ASX:BRX) is about to kick off drilling at the high-priority Malambo and Tambo South targets within its TMT project in San Juan, Argentina. Despite minor setbacks causing delays, drilling is planned to begin in the second half of January, with completion by April.

Mithril Resources (ASX:MTH) has called on the expertise of highly experienced technical consultants Daniel Kunz and Associates to aid in the advancement of its Copalquin property in Mexico. Drilling is already underway, with a target of 35,000 metres by year’s end. Kunz is the former CEO of Ivanhoe Mines and founding CEO of TSX-listed Prime Mining Corp, which operates a property in the same geologic region as Copalquin.

In Argentina, Challenger Gold (ASX:CEL) has finalised a $6.6 million strategic placement with Eduardo Elsztain, making him the company’s largest shareholder with a 12.7% stake. The company aims for Elsztain to step into the role of non-executive chair, with Saul Zang joining as a non-executive director. Challenger also confirmed it has received the US$2 million upfront payment as part of its recently announced toll processing agreement with Casposo Argentina Mining.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Belararox, Mithril Silver and Gold, Western Gold Resources and Challenger Gold are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.