Traders dumped local stocks following Iran’s drone strikes on Israel on Saturday night, a move that has heightened concerns about the potential impact of a broader conflict in the Middle East.

At the close of day, the benchmark ASX200 index was down -0.5%, weighed down mostly by Tech and Discretionary stocks. The ASX’s losses today extended the 1.6% drop last week.

 

Source: MarketIndex

A looming geopolitical tension is on the horizon after Iran launched over 300 drones and missiles on Israel, marking the first time Iran had launched a direct attack on Israel from Iranian territory.

“If Iran enters the war in Gaza, it will significantly disrupt the oil supply chain,” Rania Gule at XS.com. “As the third-largest oil producer in OPEC, its direct involvement in the war will lead to significant movements in the oil market and have a positive impact on oil prices.”

In a broader context, however, the Middle East tensions are not the only factor affecting the global economy. Fitch’s downgrade of China’s credit rating outlook adds another concern for global markets.

“The combination of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and concerns about China’s economic health underscores the inherent fragility of the current economic environment,” said Ernesto Di Giacomo, also at XS.com.

The Aussie dollar was trading much lower at US64.85c today, down from the high US65c handle last week.

To stocks, losses in the tech sector today include big names like Xero (ASX:XRO), which was down -1.45% and NextDC (ASX:NXT), which tumbled -5% after coming out of a trading halt and announcing a huge $1 billion cap raise. 

Oil stocks meanwhile edged higher as war tensions pushed up crude prices.

 

Russian aluminium, copper and nickel banned

Shares in Asia slipped to a six-week low as traders hold their breath on what could happen next in the Middle East.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange has now become the only major bourse to accept Russian metal after the US and UK slapped sanctions on those metals over the weekend. 

The London Metal Exchange has banned newly produced Russian aluminium, copper and nickel – which is expected to increase China’s imports from Russia.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin rallied after sinking almost 9% in the wake of the Iranian attacks. At the time of writing, BTC is trading at US$64,930. 

 

ASX LARGE CAP WINNERS TODAY:

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ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

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US lithium stock Piedmont (ASX:PLL) received an all-important mining approval for the Carolina Lithium project in North Carolina.

“We plan to develop Carolina Lithium as one of the lowest cost, most sustainable lithium hydroxide operations in the world, and as a critical part of the American electric vehicle supply chain,” PLL boss Keith Phillips says. “The project is expected to contribute billions of dollars of economic output and several hundred jobs to Gaston County and North Carolina’s growing electrification economy.”

Adherium’s (ASX:ADR) Hailie ‘smart inhaler’ has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use with AstraZeneca’s Airsupra and Breztri inhalation devices.

Explorer NewPeak (ASX:NPM) will buy an early stage Canadian uranium, rare earths and scandium project for $500,000 in shares.

 OzAurum Resources (ASX:OZM) says drilling has started the Boca Rica lithium project in Brazil.

Neurizer (ASX:NRZ)’s shares are back on quotation today after they were suspended by the ASX on 18 March. NeuRizer had been requested by the ASX to clarify a statement from their Half Year Report regarding ongoing discussions on two strategic transactions expected to generate revenue and positive cash flows.The company has now responded, saying that while discussions with Meijin Energy Investments (MEI)  and Samsung C&T Corporation have progressed, there is no certainty regarding the outcome of these negotiations. With MEI, NRZ has been working on joint ventures and licensing agreements for hydrogen production. Discussions with Samsung meanwhile focus on a sales and marketing agreement for urea in Australia.

Lithium Universe (ASX:LU7) said that the Share Purchase Plan (SPP) announced on 13 March has been closed on 10 April 2024. Applications for 23,175,000 fully paid shares to raise a total of $463,500 (before costs) were received and processed.

Talga Group (ASX:TLG)  announced the completion of the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for its integrated Vittangi Anode Project located in northern Sweden. The anode production process has been configured and qualified to customer requirements, facilitating battery maker and automotive OEM offtake negotiations. Strategic agreements with project partners ABB and Rejlers are in place, and preparation for engineering and PCM tenders, along with procurement, is well advanced.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Anson Resources (ASX:ASN) has hit a major new milestone after its Green River sample demonstration plant (SDP) in Utah started producing lithium carbonate using brine sourced from its Paradox lithium project.

Environmental Clean Technologies (ASX:ECT) has received a patent grant in India for its HydroMOR process, which uses lignite mixed with lower grade and waste iron sources to produce steel with ~30% lower emissions compared to traditional blast furnaces.

Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) is expanding its horizons beyond traditional mining ventures by leveraging its licences to provide desalinated water to the Huasco Valley to address  water scarcity in the region for new mining projects.

Tesoro Gold (ASX:TSO) has defined the compelling La Brea gold target after surface sampling at its El Zorro gold project in Chile has returned further high-grade gold of up to 22.7g/t.

 

TRADING HALTS

TinyBeans (ASX:TNY) – Outcome of the institutional component of its accelerated entitlement offer.

Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN) – Pending announcement release

Resource Mining Corporation (ASX:RMI) – Cap raise

Australian Strategic Materials (ASX:ASM) – Cap raise

Neurotech (ASX:NTI)– Results of the company’s Phase II/III clinical trial in paediatric patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Empire Energy (ASX:EEG) – Cap raise

Westar Resources (ASX:WSR) – Material cap raise

Norfolk Metals (ASX:NFL)– Execution of an exclusivity deed for an acquisition opportunity, as well as a cap raise

Burley Minerals (ASX:BUR) – Cap raise

AKORA Resources (ASX:AKO) – Cap raise

 

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While are Anson Resources, Environmental Clean Technologies, Hot Chili and Tesoro Gold are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

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