• The ASX inched higher on Tuesday ahead of the Fed’s rates call
  • Lithium stocks flashed green today
  • Amazon, CocaCola, Eli Lilly to report earnings later tonight

 

The ASX200 edged cautiously higher by +0.35% on Tuesday on the back of a Wall Street pickup overnight. For the month of April, the index was down around -3%.

Mining and Real Estate were the two best performers today, while Industrials and Utilities were laggards.

 

Source: MarketIndex

 

The miners were led by lithium heavyweights IGO (ASX:IGO) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS), which rose by 4% and 2% respectively. Many of the smaller lithium explorers also flashed green today.

 

 

Engineering company Worley (ASX:WOR) meanwhile was the worst of the large caps, down -8% after its major shareholder, Sidara, sold down its stake in WOR by as much as 19% and taking its ownership down to just over 4%.

On the economics front, retail sales in Australia slid unexpectedly by 0.4% in March as consumers pulled back on discretionary spending. The ABS said this was the weakest result on record outside of the pandemic period.

Bond yields and the Aussie dollar immediately fell after the data was released, as bets of RBA increasing its rates were slashed.

 

Elsewhere..

Asian shares mainly advanced on Tuesday, led by a 1.3% rise in the Nikkei.

The Yen is trading at 156.75 per USD, down from its 34-year low of 160 yesterday. The Bank of Japan reportedly intervened to shore up the currency.

Tonight in the US, the US Fed Reserve commences a two-day monetary policy meeting, from which outcomes will be known early Thursday (AEST).

“Powell should indicate the next move is still likely to be a rate cut, but the Fed will be in wait-and-see mode until it achieves confidence it desires on inflation,” said Bank of America’s U.S. economist, Michael Gapen.

And according to a note from State One Stockbroking, companies listed to report earnings later today or tonight include:

3M, Adidas, Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Archer-Daniels-Midland, Banco Santander, Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, Eli Lilly, HSBC, Hyundai Steel, Kongsberg, Marathon Petroleum, McDonalds’, Mercedes Benz, Mondelez International, PayPal, SAIC Motor, Samsung Electronics, Starbucks, Sysco Corp, Tata Steel and Volkswagen.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

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Sihayo Gold (ASX:SIH) rose after announcing an off-market takeover offer from a cashed-up group called Provident Aurum, owned by Indonesian firm Provident Minerals, which happens to be Sihayo’s largest shareholder since 2013. Provident provided a recent unsecured working capital loan of US$3.9 million to Sihayo, and assistance in connection with Indonesian regulatory approvals. The proposed offer is at a price of 0.225 cents cash per Sihayo share, and is subject to a number of conditions, naturally.

A successful relaunch for Ovanti (ASX:OVT) which recommenced trading today and saw its price triple from its recent 1 cent raise to as much as 3.1 cents to settle at 2.8 cents. Ovanti wants to capitalise on resurgent interest in the BNPL space and grow its offering aggressively throughout the lucrative markets of South-East Asia

PVW Resources (ASX:PVW), which has dropped mostly unastonishing quarterly numbers after putting so much of its gold and REE life on hold thanks to the particularly wet wet season in the Northern Territory, also rose strongly. 

Oceana Lithium (ASX:OCN) announced a defined a large uranium anomaly, +4.5km long and 700m wide, and the Napperby project in the Northern Territory. That’s a project situated within the Arunta Province, which is known for its highly prospective lithium rocks, Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and uranium mineralisation. The Paleoproterozoic Wangala and Ennugan mountains in the region are renowned as “hot granites”, notes the company, hosting uranium and REEs in particular.

Also rising sharply was the software stock Knosys (ASX:KNO) which hauled in some $507K in Q3 profit, reportedly leaving KNO on track to deliver “a strong maiden annual positive EBITDA and positive cashflow in FY24.”

Marmota (ASX:MEU)  announced that, as part of its Project X regional reconnaissance program, drilling at Target 5, ‘Goolagong’, on EL 5818 (100% owned) has yielded a potential new gold discovery. The last 2 metres drilled in Hole 23MR184 returned significant gold, with the grades notably increasing to the end of hole at 38m: 2m @ 0.64g/t gold From 36m downhole to end of hole, and from 36m to 37m: 0.53g/t gold.

Mining services company, Dynamic Group (ASX:DDB),  says new contracts were awarded with a total approximate value of $11.1m to $12.9m. This takes its contract awards to $87.4m to $97.1m since the start of Q3 FY24, which sets a solid foundation for Q4 FY24 and into FY25.

Vanadium Resources (ASX:VR8) has signed a non-binding MOU for the offtake of V2O5 production from its Project with Enerflow Technology, a subsidiary of Tian’en Energy. The MOU provides for the supply of 4ktpa of V2O5 flake over a period of five years with an option for Enerflow to extend a further five years. VR8 also emains in discussions for further offtake MOUs and agreements with a variety of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and European end-users and traders for the balance of its planned production.

And Clarity Pharma (ASX:CU6) has jumped almost 10% after revealing that the first patient to be dosed with two cycles of 67Cu-SAR-bisPSMA at 8GBq achieved a complete response to treatment based on RECIST criteria. The patient received the first cycle of 67Cu-SAR-bisPSMA as part of Cohort 2 of Clarity’s theranostic SECuRE trial, which is evaluating the drug in patients with mCRPC (metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer).

 

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Anson Resources (ASX:ASN) has successfully flowed supersaturated brine from the target Mississippian Units its Green River project after the Bosydaba #1 well was drilled to a depth of 3416.81m. This confirms that Green River will be its second lithium project in Utah.

All 12 holes drilled at Argent Minerals’ (ASX:ARD) Kempfield project in New South Wales have intersected high-grade silver and base metals outside the existing resource. The program hit shallow, broad zones of up to 88m thick and grading 25.23g/t silver, 0.1% lead and 0.08% zinc from surface.

Aroa Biosurgery (ASX:ARX) Biosurgery has reported strong cash receipts from customers of NZ$18m with positive net cash inflows from operations of NZ$300,000, exceeding its Q4 breakeven expectations.

Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) has boosted the size of its flagship 798Mt Costa Fuego copper-gold project in Chile by 25% through the acquisition of the ‘Domeyko cluster’ tenements for $4m.

Mamba Exploration (ASX:M24) will drill up to 1500m at its Canary project in Canada’s prolific Athabasca Basin to test for shallow unconformity-related uranium mineralisation. One hole will focus on the highest priority target area along the northern electromagnetic corridor

Marmota’s (ASX:MEU) Project X regional reconnaissance program has made a new potential gold discovery at the previously undrilled Goolagong target within its Gawler Craton project in South Australia.

Oceana Lithium’s (ASX:OCN) soil geochemistry infill sampling program has delineated a large 4.5km long by up to 700m wide uranium anomaly at its Napperby project in the Northern Territory.

Western Yilgarn (ASX:WYX) is awaiting interim assays from the Phase 4 drill campaign that is currently ongoing at its Ida Holmes Junction project in Western Australia that is highly prospective for copper, nickel and PGEs. Drilling will also test lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatites.

First Lithium (ASX:FL1) is looking to raise up to $3.2m through a non-renounceable rights issue of shares priced at 22.5c each to all shareholders. Existing major shareholders – including the largest holder Intermin Mines Corporation – have already pre-committed to taking up $1.75m worth of shares. Proceeds from the rights issue will be used to deliver the maiden resource estimate for the Blakala lithium deposit within its Gouana permit in Mali.

Greenvale Energy (ASX:GRV) has completed the acquisition of a 75% interest in EP145 in the Amadeus Basin in central Australia from Mosman Oil and Gas. EP145 sits within recognised play fairways for helium and hydrogen and contains proven hydrocarbon discoveries. It has an existing best estimate prospective resource of 440 billion cubic feet of natural gas, 26.4Bcf of helium and 26.4Bcf of hydrogen and is on trend with the producing Mereenie oil and gas field.

 

TRADING HALTS

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At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While  First Lithium,  Greenvale Energy, Anson Resources, Argent Minerals, Aroa Biosurgery, Hot Chili, Mamba Exploration, Marmota, Oceana Lithium and Western Yilgarn are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

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