Closing Bell: Local market thrills on Dovish RBA lunch; and two terrific non-takeovers at Tyro and AQC

• ASX 200 jumps 1.8% 
• Small Caps index adds 0.8%
• TYR and AQC lead small cap wins

The ASX Emerging Companies index (XEC) has risen 0.7% on Thursday.

The benchmark 200 index climbed 1.8% on heavy late trade following quasi-dovish language from the boss of the Reserve Bank, governor Philip Lowe who told the annual Anika Foundation lunch he was “conscious of the lags in monetary policy.”

“We recognise that all else equal, the case for a slower pace of increase in interest rates becomes stronger as the level of the cash rate rises,” Dr Lowe says.

Local markets responded positively, the benchmark ripe for one of the best sessions of the year so far. Materials and Mining both up well over 2%, among the winners.

The Tech Sector is up 2.9%, tracking closely some of the strong gains made overnight on Wall Street and for the tech-heavy Nasdaq index in particular.

Tony Sycamore at City Index told Stockhead the IT sector outperformed itself.

“The IT Sector powered higher on the back of a 29% rise in Tyro Payments to $1.25 after it received an unsolicited bid from a consortium of investors led by Potentia Capital Management,” he says.

It was a tech feast:

• Life360 added 13.9% to $5.57
• Novonix added 10.2% to $2.27
• Megaport added 8.65% to $8.04 and;
• EML Payments added 7% to $0.95c.

At home, almost all sectors lifted except energy, which as it’s wont of late has done the opposite and crashed, shedding by as much as 4% in morning trade after Brent and US crude oil prices slumped to a seven-month low overnight with the Brent price well over 5% weaker at $US88 per barrel and the US Nymex crude lost as much as 6%.

In the states, US Stock Futures were largely flat, as investors await a good clear eye-full of the US central banks’ Beige Book – The Fed’s latest read on the state of the US economy as well as key jobless claims data. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect 235,000 initial unemployment claims, up slightly from 232,000 in the previous week.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

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West Cobar Metals (ASX:WC1)  looks set to acquire Salazar rare earth elements (REE) clay project in WA.

The plan is conditional – the shareholders will need to sit down and make sure everyone’s cool with it – but on the surface the move makes a whole lot of sense, given Salazar’s Newmont deposit has an Inferred Mineral Resource reported according to JORC (2012) of 43.5Mt of 1192ppm TREO (total rare earth oxide) and features low levels of uranium and thorium.

The project is well advanced with over eight years of testwork and studies completed with well-known research and technical institutions.

Those shares in payments firm Tyro (ASX:TYR) certainly went on a bit of a crazy-burn this morning, adding well over 25% before lunch, following the rejected and wholly unsolicited takeover bid. The unwelcome, indicative and non-binding proposal came out of a consortium of private equity investors led by Potentia Capital Management and included HarbourVest, MLC Investments and The Construction and Building Unions Superannuation Fund.

The offer values Tyro at $1.27 a share, with shareholders proposed to have the option to receive their consideration in the form of 100% cash; 50% cash and 50% scrip; or 100% scrip in a privatised Tyro, subject to scale-back.

In short, Tyro said we’re worth a lot more.

Tyro’s board, led by ex Telstra boss David Thodey, were pretty frank, saying the offer “materially below Tyro’s fundamental value and highly opportunistic” saying the fintech was taking share from the banks in payments and business banking, and it had strong growth prospects.

Australian Pacific Coal (ASX:AQC) gained over 100% by lunchtime. Reuben calling it “another huge rerate for the once maligned tiddler.”

Tiddler no more as AQC shares have gained as much as 600% over the past month.

Former coal baron Nathan Tinkler – via his company PPC – has now upped his bid for control of AQC and its mothballed Dartbrook operation to $1 per share.

That dwarfs the 36c per share offered by M Resources — – largest shareholder in Bowen Coal (ASX:BCB) and significant shareholder in Stanmore Resources (ASX:SMR) – which also wants to acquire the formerly producing operation.

Anson Resources (ASX:ASN) has released its Paradox project definitive feasibility study (DFS), which “confirms outstanding economics and ESG credentials for Phase 1 development”.

The headline numbers for Phase 1 are as follows:

• Capital expenditure of US$495 million
• Production of up to 13,074 tonnes per annum
• Revenues of US$5,080m over 23 years of operations
• Pre-tax NPV7 of US$1,306 million, pre-tax IRR of 47%
• Post commissioning payback period of two years
• First production in 2025

The stock price has killed it.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

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No small caps were killed today.

WHAT YOU MISSED IN ALL TODAY’S EXCITEMENT

Good golly, what a day it’s been for the Small Caps. We haven’t seen growth like this since Pinnochio launched his political career. But let’s get into a few hot shorties because it’s busy busy busy.

Oklo Resources (ASX:OKU) says the paperwork is in and the scheme of arrangement is a done deal, making the May ‘22 takeover by Canada’s B2Gold legally binding.

Oklo Shares will be suspended from trading on ASX at close of trading today, Thursday, 8 September 2022.

Oklo’s board has unanimously backed the Canadian digger’s takeover play in May, valuing OklO at $90m, or 17.25c per share.

The board says shareholders will receive liquidity while retaining exposure to any future upside in the high-grade Dandoko project in Mali through the shares in B2Gold.

And GBM Resources Limited (ASX:GBZ) has dropped a mid-expo update from its 50% owned Malmsbury Gold Project, which includes some happy happy, joy joy numbers that should have investors smiling.

Three of the standout drillholes have returned:

• 7.75 m at 2.8g/t gold from 87 m in MD15
• 9 m at 1.1g/t gold from 257 m in MD19
• 0.95 m @ 10.01g/t gold from 102.65 m in MD17

They’re quite satisfying finds, from a results table that also features >12g/t numbers as well. A good result for GBM, and there’s still more to come.

TRADING HALTS

Healthia (ASX:HLA) – There’s an accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer of fully paid ordinary shares. Not a slow one. An accelerated one. Zoom zoom.

Lithium Power International (ASX:LPI) – Capital Raise, coz they want to buy a new MC Hammer and MC Drill.

Heavy Minerals (ASX:HVY) – Please stand by for the impending release of Heavy Minerals’ latest album, “Port Gregory Scoping Study (PGSS) and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA)”. It’s got Absolute Banger written all over it.

RareX (ASX:REE) – Getting in on the Scoping Study action is RareX, with the must-read hit for Springtime, “Cummins Range Rare Earths Project: A Scoping Study by R.E.E. Rarex”

Antipa Minerals (ASX:AZY) – It’s a capital raise announcement, and you weirdos can put your tiki torches away… it says Antipa. With a P. 

MC Mining (ASX:MCM) – MC Mining is launching a capital raise, by selling off MC Hammer’s entire stash of parachute pants.