• Aussie shares down on weaker commodities
  • Iron ore and energy stocks slip, while goldies gain
  • Intel CEO Pat Gelsingers takes swipe at Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang

 

Aussie shares dropped slightly on Tuesday, closing -0.2% lower as the impact of weaker commodity prices overnight weighed on mining and energy stocks.

Iron ore stocks BHP (ASX:BHP) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) slipped around -1% on the back of a 4% plunge in iron ore futures prices. This came as measures aimed at supporting the property market in China failed to inspire confidence in a rebound.

Energy related stocks were also under pressure today after crude prices slumped by over -4% last night.  Prices tumbled after OPEC+ surprised the market by announcing a plan to increase production this year. 

Here’s what the the 11 ASX sectors looked like at around 3.30pm AEST.

Chart via Marketindex.com.au

 

Gold mining stocks saw gains as the price of gold climbed, driven by optimism that weak manufacturing data released in the US could prompt the US Fed Reserve to reduce interest rates later this year. 

Gold prices were trading at US$2,348 per ounce at the time of writing, having risen by +1% overnight. 

In the fat end of town, fashion jewellery retailer Lovisa (ASX:LOV) was amongst the worst performing stocks.

Lovisa fell another -3% after taking a -10% dive yesterday, following the announcement that John Cheston, currently managing director of Smiggle, will take over as Lovisa’s CEO, replacing Victor Herrero, who will leave the company in a year. 

Family-tracking app Life360 (ASX:360) rose +2% after announcing its intention to list on the Nasdaq. 

The $3bn+ market capped company that created a popular family-tracking app plans to sell 5,750,000 shares of its common stock. The company intends to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “LIF.” 

Still in the large caps space,  grains handler GrainCorp (ASX:GNC) rose +3% after the government released crop forecasts for the East Coast that exceeded expectations.

 

Intel takes swipe at Nvidia

Across the region, Asian markets struggled for direction today as  traders weigh concerns about the US economy against hopes for potential rates easing from the Fed Reserve.

Stocks in Japan, South Korea dipped slightly, while those in Hong Kong and mainland China showed some gains. US equity futures remained pretty much unchanged this afternoon.

Honda and Toyota stocks took a hit, dropping around -1% in Tokyo today after reports that both companies had misrepresented safety certification tests. 

To India, and early vote counts this afternoon showed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance surging to a strong majority in the 543-member lower house of parliament. The counting is likely to continue for several more hours. 

Meanwhile, Intel CEO Pat Gelsingers showcased Intel’s new Xeon 6 data centre processors at the Computex show in Taiwan this afternoon.

Gelsinger took a swipe at Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang’s assertion that traditional processors like Intel’s are becoming obsolete in the era of artificial intelligence.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

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Little known med-tech player Opticomm (ASX:OPC) surged after announcing the launch of a “ground-breaking new microscopic medical imaging device” called InVue, which the company says has been designed “to enable precision surgery by putting real-time digital pathology access directly into the hands of surgeons”.

Condor Energy (ASX:CND) was moving well after providing an update on exploration progress at its Technical Evaluation Agreement (TEA) off the coast of Peru.

Condor is reporting that there is evidence of multiple petroleum systems at two large oil prospects (Raya and Bonito) and regional mapping shows that the primary source rock interval, the Oligocene/Miocene aged Heath Formation, is mature for oil generation over much of the TEA area.

Perpetual Resources (ASX:PEC) is flexing hard again today. The reason? It’s rare earths this time. The company has announced the commencement of its exploration program at the Raptor REE project, which is situated in the prolific Caldeira REE complex in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Specifically, this very initial stage of the operation represents the due diligence exploration phase. Raptor covers a strategic area of 380 hectares, and has some nearology chops as reason for the company to be excited. It’s located close to Meteoric Resources’ (ASX:MEI) Tier 1 Caldeira ionic clay REE project, which boasts a JORC Mineral Resource Estimate of 545 million tonnes at 2,561ppm TREO comprising 24.1% MREO.

G11 Resources (ASX:G11) surged after announcing strong new assay and down hole geophysics results from a recent reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at Wilandra Central. That’s a key target area within the 30km-long Wilandra Copper Corridor of the company’s wholly owned Koonenberry project.

Some of the strongest results included:

  • 9m at 2.68% copper from 310m, including 6m at 3.46% copper from 311m;
  • 6m at 1.06% copper from 361m, including 3m at 1.83% copper from 363m

Astron Resources (ASX:ATR) and a US-based critical minerals company – Energy Fuels – have executed a binding farm in/JV agreement for the development of the Donald rare earths and mineral sands project in Victoria.

For a 49% stake, Energy Fuels will contribute $183m to development and issue ATR with US$17.5m in shares.

ATR says the new JV highlights the development of the Donald project as a major new long-life, source of critical minerals, “establishing a Western rare earth value chain that is aligned with the Australian Government’s critical minerals strategy”.

The JV also includes an offtake agreement with Energy Fuels for 100% of rare earths production from Phases 1 & 2 of the project (indicatively 58 years).

Northern Minerals (ASX:NTU) rose after the news hit yesterday that Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has urged five Chinese shareholders to divest a total of 10.4% in rare earths stock Northern Minerals. Reuben covered this yesterday afternoon/evening in Monsters of Rock, but to paraphrase/steal/recap… Chalmers has essentially told five Chinese shareholders to divest a total of 613,573,632 shares in NTU.

That’s 10.4% of the entire issued stock to be sold within 60 days, according to the Treasurer’s notice, which, as Reuben points out, indicates a desire to keep local critical minerals out of China’s grasp. China dominates the rare earths space, controlling 65% of the world’s mining, 85% of the processing, and 92% of rare earth magnet production.

Genetic Signatures (ASX: GSS), a company known for its molecular diagnostic solutions for infectious diseases, has just received clearance from the US FDA for its EasyScreen Gastrointestinal Parasite Detection Kit and GS1 automated workflow.This is a significant announcement in the world of clinical diagnostics, especially for expanded testing for gastrointestinal (GI) parasites.

The approval means that healthcare professionals now have a powerful new tool to accurately and quickly diagnose these kinds of infections.

On the back of this announcement, GSS has also appointed a new permanent CEO, Allison Rossiter, and announced an approximately $30 million cap raise.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Blue Star Helium (ASX:BNL) is progressing development of its Galactica project in Las Animas County, Colorado, after confirming that up to 1.9% helium is present within the State 16 SWSE 3054 well.

BPM Minerals (ASX:BPM) is preparing to carry out Phase 2 drilling at its Claw project, which sits next to Capricorn Metals’ (ASX:CMM) 3.24Moz Mount Gibson gold project in WA. This will focus on the newly discovered gold in regolith anomaly at the Louie prospect.

Cosmo Metals (ASX:CMO) has acquired three new tenements to the northwest of the Don Alvo prospect, extending its Kanowna gold project landholding to +26km2. The project is next to Northern Star’s (ASX:NST) Kanowna Belle mine and has seen very limited historical drilling.

Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1) continues to progress its next stage of project development as it starts the search for a new chief executive officer to hold the reins.

New Age Exploration’s (ASX:NAE) recently completed ground gravity geophysical survey has identified two high-priority Hemi-style intrusive gold targets at its Wagyu project in Central Pilbara, WA.

Terra Metals (ASX:TM1) has completed a 60-hole drill program at its Dante copper-gold-nickel-PGE project in WA’s West Musgrave region that has extended the mineralised strike length out to 42km.

Optiscan (ASX:OIL) has unveiled its ground-breaking new microscopic medical imaging device InVue, which is designed to enable precision surgery by putting real-time digital pathology access directly into the hands of surgeons

Peregrine Gold (ASX:PGD) has completed a 31 hole reverse circulation drill program at its Tin Can prospect but its keeping the momentum going with regional exploration continuing across the broader Newman gold project.

Spartan Resources’ (ASX:SPR) drilling at the Dalgaranga gold project in WA’s Murchison region has struck the deepest intersection of 25.24m at 16.66g/t gold that significantly expands known extents of the high-grade Pepper discovery.

Drilling at Sunshine Metals’ (ASX:SHN) Liontown project in Queensland has returned high-grade gold and copper intersections including 6.2m at 9g/t gold and 2.52% copper in the under drilled Liontown Gap Zone.

Viridis Mining & Minerals (ASX:VMM) has defined a maiden resource of 201Mt grading 2590ppm TREO at its Colossus project in Brazil. About 26% of the resource consists of high-value magnet rare earths.

Aura Energy (ASX:AEE) has kicked off the strategic dual funding workstreams aimed at securing the funds required to develop its flagship Tiris uranium project in Mauritania.

Greenvale Energy (ASX:GRV) has completed the sale of its 20% interest in the Georgina Basin project to Astute Metals (ASX:ASE) for an upfront payment of 5 million ASE shares.

It will receive a further 5 million ASE shares if a drill hole at the project returns the equivalent of either 100m at 1% copper or 1.3g/t gold, the project is sold to a third party, or a resource is estimated on any of the tenements that form the project within a four year period.

GRV now has a 12.27% stake in ASE and retains a 2% net smelter royalty in the Georgina Basin project, which is prospective for iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) mineralisation.

Vertex Minerals (ASX:VTX) has renewed the six mining leases that cover its Reward gold mine and the broader Hill End gold project in New South Wales for the maximum renewal terms.

The company is positioned for a simple start-up of Reward with the recently purchase Gekko gravity processing plant already located adjacent to the high-grade mine’s portal.

VTX notes that the existing mine development extends into the resource, meaning that only stripping and refurbishment of the access is required.

A second means of egress is already established and some of the underground fleet and utility services are already in place.

Work is also well advanced on the Hill End plant component of the refurbishment with the Morningstar plant to be removed in the coming weeks

 

TRADING HALTS

Stealth Global (ASX:SGI) – pending an announcement regarding a proposed acquisition.

Firetail Resources (ASX:FTL) – pending an announcement regarding a proposed acquisition and capital raising.

Equinox Resources (ASX:EQN) – pending an announcement regarding material exploration results.

Star Minerals (ASX:SMS) – pending an announcement regarding a capital raising.

LTR Pharma (ASX:LTP) – pending an analysis of data and an announcement in relation to the initial clinical trial results of its pivotal study of Spontan Nasal Spray treatment of Erectile Dysfunction.

Many Peaks Minerals (ASX:MPK) –  pending an announcement in relation to a proposed capital raising.

 

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Blue Star Helium, BPM Minerals, Cosmo Metals, Green Technology Metals, New Age Exploration, Optiscan, Peregrine Gold, Spartan Resources, Sunshine Metals, Terra Metals, Viridis Mining & MineralsAura Energy, Greenvale Energy and Vertex Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

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