Closing Bell: Origin, Cochlear dive on earnings; RBA rate cut looks less likely after jobs report

ASX up as earnings season rolls on; Origin down 10pc, Telstra up 3pc
Australia’s unemployment rate edged up to 4.2pc from 4.1pc
Iron ore futures dropped below US$94 per ton

The ASX edged slightly higher by 0.1% on Thursday, boosted by a wave of corporate profit reports from major listed companies.

Traders also parsed through data from the ABS, which showed Australia’s unemployment rate increased by 0.1% to 4.2% in July, even as the economy gained 58,200 jobs due to immigration.

Economists had anticipated that the rate would stay unchanged at 4.1%.

However, the increase in the number of unemployed people by 24,000 has pushed the participation rate to a record high of 67.1%, which is positive news. “This suggests the labour market remains quite tight,” said Kate Lamb at ABS.

Telco and Bank stocks led today, while Utilities sector was dragged down by a 10% drop in Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) – see more below.

Meanwhile, iron ore related stocks led the rout in Mining, as the prices of iron ore futures have fallen for the sixth straight week.

Futures dropped again in Singapore today, falling below US$94 per ton at the time of writing. This is their lowest point in over a year, as data from China further weakened market sentiment.

Today’s earnings season highlights

Origin Energy (ASX:ORG)’s stock price took a 10% dive despite full year profits surging 30% to $1.4 billion. The company’s underlying profit also jumped nearly 60% to $1.2 billion, falling just short of forecasts.

ORG’s stocks are sold off probably because investors doubt these earnings will continue in 2025 due to new power bill caps, and the end of the coal price cap.

Also losing heavy ground today was health megastock Cochlear (ASX:COH), which dropped 8% after its announced statutory net profit of $357 million was deemed “not good enough” by investors” as it was below the expected $392 million.

Telstra (ASX:TLS) was up nearly 3% after its annual net profit fell 13% to $1.79 billion, as rising operating costs outweighed a slight increase in revenue. The company will pay a final dividend of 9¢ per share, totalilng 18¢ for the year.

Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE) slid 1% as net profit fell 61% to $98.9 million for the full year.

This decline followed $318 million in impairments related to the upcoming sale of its lower-end wine brands like Wolf Blass and Lindeman’s. Despite the drop in profit, TWE’s final dividend rose to 19¢ per share, up from 17¢ last year.

What else happened today?

In Asia, equities in Japan and China rose following some positive economic data.

Reports released today showed Japan’s economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter.

In China, there are signs of stabilisation, including slower declines in home prices, and stronger-than-expected retail sales.

The upbeat economic reports followed last night’s US CPI data, showing the slowest annual increase in core consumer prices since 2021, raising expectations for Fed rate cuts next month.

Looking ahead to tonight’s Wall Street session, all eyes will be on the US retail sales data, which will provide insight into the health of American consumer spending.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

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Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
VRC	Volt Resources Ltd	0.005	67%	4,064,449	$12,476,034
MOV	Move Logistics Group	0.325	63%	22,267	$25,522,804
KPO	Kalina Power Limited	0.006	50%	9,528,893	$9,945,576
RIL	Redivium Limited	0.003	50%	7,944,762	$5,461,710
LRS	Latin Resources Ltd	0.178	48%	84,165,876	$335,930,336
ODY	Odyssey Gold Ltd	0.019	36%	5,014,575	$12,584,196
NME	Nex Metals Explorat	0.035	35%	869,052	$7,079,227
L1M	Lightning Minerals	0.070	32%	881,017	$4,859,535
LSA	Lachlan Star Ltd	0.090	29%	2,223,289	$14,530,124
A8G	Australasian Metals	0.110	26%	23,110	$4,534,483
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.005	25%	1,000,000	$5,585,086
ODE	Odessa Minerals Ltd	0.003	25%	508,255	$2,086,565
TTI	Traffic Technologies	0.005	25%	2,684,469	$3,891,541
NVO	Novo Resources Corp	0.115	21%	135,643	$8,498,530
AOA	Ausmon Resorces	0.003	20%	224,998	$2,647,498
ARV	Artemis Resources	0.012	20%	27,820,365	$19,168,824
BP8	Bph Global Ltd	0.003	20%	525,000	$991,604
ESR	Estrella Res Ltd	0.006	20%	4,684,798	$8,796,859
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.006	20%	4,010,728	$10,476,235
LLI	Loyal Lithium Ltd	0.110	17%	598,129	$8,716,908
MRQ	Mrg Metals Limited	0.004	17%	1,438,905	$8,134,556
FRE	Firebrickpharma	0.064	16%	59,166	$10,741,870
TG6	TG Metals	0.145	16%	126,010	$8,888,443

Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) was up today on news that high grade gold has been reported in veins at Titan prospect with abundant visible gold at surface, with the prospect tracked over 700m and remaining open. Early rock chip assays have come in strong, with three samples providing results that exceeded the testing equipment’s 10,000g/t upper limit. The company says that gold that it has already picked up at the site has been smelted into a 10.4oz bar, and that the site is just 2km from its existing Carlow project which boasts an MRE of 374,000oz Au.

Nex Metals Exploration (ASX:NME) was continuing on from its decent day yesterday, when it announced that drilling has re-commenced at its highly prospective Yundamindra Gold Project. Nex followed that up with news today that a new chief executive has been appointed, with Maki Petkovski taking the helm as of 15 August, 2024.

Latin Resources (ASX:LRS) was soaring Thursday on news that the company and its giant Salinas lithium project in Brazil is set to be acquired by mining giant Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) , in a deal worth around $580 million. Pilbara is offering the equivalent of ~$0.20 a share, to be delivered as 0.07 PLS shares, a premium of 57% on the LRS 10-day VWAP.

Lightning Minerals (ASX:L1M) was up on Latin Resources’ news.L1M has expanded its lithium tenure in Brazil by snapping up the Esperança project which is just 5km away from its recently acquired Caraíbas and Sidrônio lithium projects in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The company’s stock rise today may have something to do with Pilbara Minerals’ buyout of LRS, since L1M’s tenements are along trend from its lithium deposits, including the more than 70Mt Colina.

The option agreement to purchase allows for identification of drill targets prior to the potential full acquisition. Current exploration work will carry over to the new Esperança project, which includes ground recon, rock chip and soil sampling.

Emerging lithium-ion battery recycler Redivium (ASX:RIL) has been boosted by news that the company has started trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange, with the dual-listing undertaken to support the company’s strategy to broaden its investor base outside Australia.

Volt Resources (ASX:VRC) was up on news that it’s planning a $500,000 capital raise via Convertible Note to professional and sophisticated investors, after the company’s successful push to reduce cash burn from $9,528,000 during FY23 to $4,610,000 in FY24.

Lachlan Star (ASX:LSA) made gains on news of a wide disseminated copper sulphide system discovery at the Basin Creek Prospect, part of the Junee project in NSW, following comprehensive relogging of half-a-century-old diamond drill core. The company says it has uncovered historical high-grade intercepts including 21.3m @ 4.51% copper from 41.1m, and 3.1m @ 5.50% copper from 59.4m.

Kalina Power (ASX:KPO) was up on news of the execution of important tolling MOUs with natural gas producers for its project development portfolio of Alberta based power plants incorporating CO2 capture and sequestration. The volumes set out under the MOUs represents 40,000 GJ per day and is sufficient to supply the requirements of KDP’s first ~170 MW project of ~ 36,300 GJs per day.

Litchfield Minerals (ASX:LMS) gained on on news that drilling at the Silver King project area in West Arunta has intersected massive base metal sulphides, with intercepts of 17m @ 2.47% Pb, 1.06% Zn, 15.7 g/t Ag from 49m, including 3m @ 11.84% Pb, 5.62% Zn, 0.1% Cu, 57.1 g/t Ag from 51m among the highlights.

Perpetual Resources (ASX:PEC) was on the winner’s list on news that initial drill results from its Raptor project confirm that exceptionally high TREO grades persist at depth, with “a significant weighting towards the higher-value Neodymium-Praseodymium (Nd+Pr) rare earth oxides”. Standout intercepts include 12m @ 4,601ppm TREO (23% Nd+Pr), and 7m @ 4,240ppm TREO (23% Nd+Pr) – both from surface.

And, OncoSil Medical’s (ASX:OSL) surged 20% as its device has been successfully used to treat its first commercial patient at Memorial Hospital in Istanbul, where the patient’s pancreatic tumour was successfully removed. The patient, initially diagnosed with locally advanced pancreatic cancer that was deemed inoperable, received OncoSil treatment alongside chemotherapy. The OncoSil treatment uses a specialised device to deliver targeted radiation directly to pancreatic tumours, helping to shrink them and improve their operability.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Today’s worst performing small cap stocks:

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
RGT	Argent Biopharma Ltd	0.165	-42%	318,862	$13,795,597
AMD	Arrow Minerals	0.002	-33%	3,494,623	$31,618,095
8VI	8Vi Holdings Limited	0.091	-30%	34,244	$5,448,485
FGH	Foresta Group	0.006	-25%	14,881,974	$18,843,032
IVX	Invion Ltd	0.003	-25%	4,154,078	$26,551,462
CR9	Corellares	0.005	-23%	4,967,906	$3,023,101
NVQ	Noviqtech Limited	0.022	-21%	400,400	$4,236,637
ION	Iondrive Limited	0.008	-20%	212,089	$7,085,075
EMN	Euromanganese	0.036	-18%	1,298,432	$9,590,875
AD1	AD1 Holdings Limited	0.005	-17%	2,166,600	$6,584,090
ROG	Red Sky Energy.	0.005	-17%	2,165,000	$32,533,363
WEL	Winchester Energy	0.003	-17%	108,695	$4,089,057
MI6	Minerals260Limited	0.110	-15%	175,011	$30,420,000
GRL	Godolphin Resources	0.011	-15%	278,272	$2,780,586
AQC	Auspaccoal Ltd	0.133	-15%	2,435,008	$82,739,143
CRR	Critical Resources	0.006	-14%	846,101	$12,462,452
IS3	I Synergy Group Ltd	0.006	-14%	200,000	$2,493,524
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.003	-14%	19,539,708	$8,552,726
PAB	Patrys Limited	0.006	-14%	475,000	$14,402,131
WOA	Wide Open Agricultur	0.012	-14%	719,837	$7,471,613
BCB	Bowen Coal Limited	0.016	-14%	16,776,254	$51,285,224
AAU	Antilles Gold Ltd	0.004	-13%	111,215	$5,845,711
ATH	Alterity Therap Ltd	0.004	-13%	2,037,395	$21,281,344
HOR	Horseshoe Metals Ltd	0.007	-13%	606,578	$5,306,254

Argent BioPharma (ASX:RGT) has received ASX approval to delist, with shares needing to be sold before the official removal date or converted to depositary interests on the London Stock Exchange. This decision was made mainly due to low trading liquidity on the ASX.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Anax Metals’ (ASX:ANX) diamond drilling at its Evelyn deposit has continued to intersect disseminated, stringer and massive sulphide mineralisation. Continuous XRF scanning of core will begin shortly, followed by lab assays.

Aura Energy (ASX:AEE) has signed off on a restructured offtake agreement that increases future contract prices for uranium from its Tiris project by 70% to US$74.75/lb. This also increases estimated NPV and IRR by US$22m and 2% respectively.

Earths Energy (ASX:EE1) has released an initial market assessment that confirms that the South Australian energy market provides excellent commercial conditions for its planned geothermal projects in the state. This is thanks to geothermal’s ability to provide reliable baseload power.

Far East Gold (ASX:FEG) has engaged SMG Consulting to prepare a JORC 2012 resource for its Idenburg gold concession in Papua, Indonesia. Work including a site visit and an audit of drilling cores and assays have kicked off this week.

Future Battery Minerals’ (ASX:FBM) review and reinterpretation of geophysical data at its Miriam lithium project in WA has identified 13 new pegmatite targets across the 6km strike just 2km from the Big Red discovery at its Kangaroo Hills project.

Koba Resources (ASX:KOB) has launched a maiden drilling program at its Yarramba uranium project with the hope of growing the 4.6Mlb Oban deposit by targeting high-grade extensions to the existing resource.

Perpetual Resources (ASX:PEC) has made a high-grade rare earths discovery from maiden drilling at its Raptor project in Brazil. Grades intersected by the program, which included a top hit of 12m grading 4601ppm TREO, are comparable to those seen at Meteoric Resources’ and Viridis Mining and Minerals’ ionic clay REE projects.

SECOS Group (ASX:SES) has filed its formal opposition to the draft Victorian Household Waste and Recycling Service Standard 2024, which excludes certified compostable caddy bin liners that it says are superior to using paper alternatives.

D3 Energy (ASX:D3E) has started production testing at its RBD10 well in South Africa’s Free State using its fit for purpose and accurate metering equipment that was used successful at the RBD03 hole. RBD03 testing had achieved average gas flow rates of 147,000 standard cubic feet per day (Mscf/d), almost double the previously recorded flow rates, while confirming world-class helium composition of 5.1%. The company is hopeful that the new metering equipment will deliver a corresponding increase in gas flow rates at RBD10, which had flowed at an initial rate of 126Mscf/d over 36 hours in May.

TRADING HALTS

Elixir Energy (ASX:EXR) – ending an announcement by the Company with respect to a development at Daydream-2.

WRKR (ASX:WRK) – pending an announcement by WRKR in relation to a capital raising.

Killi Resources (ASX:KLI) – pending an announcement in relation to a potential capital raising.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While D3 Energy, Anax Metals, Aura Energy, Earths Energy, Far East Gold, Future Battery Metals, Koba Resources, Latin Resources and Perpetual Resources are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.