• The ASX 200 is up 0.6%, the XEC small caps index is down 0.8% 
  • Tomorrow is RBA day, Wednesday is OPEC+ arvo
  • We all should’ve bought into CBE last week, dammit 

 

The local sharemarket is creeping quietly higher on Wednesday, with the resources, healthcare and tech sectors enjoying some of the gains after Wall Street closed out its bestest month since way, way back in November 2020.

Play of the day – as doubts encircle the looming schemes and doubtful targets of the OPEC+ meeting later this week – belongs to the energy sector, the market placing a few well-measured bets on an unhappy outcome.

With a little over 10 minutes until the close, a 0.8% rise in the benchmark ASX 200 had been offset by the ASX Emerging Companies (XEC) index shedding 0.8%.

The iron ore miners were helped as prices jumped by well over 7% this weekend to an encouraging $US115.50 or so, a tonne.

Trade is a little muted as positions are established ahead of an expected Reserve Banks of Australia rate hike, dropping on investors and home-owners alike at 2.30pm Sydney time on Tuesday, an expected bump to the official cash rate (OCR) for a third straight 50 basis point hit, from 1.35% to 1.85%.

The RBA board will be digesting today’s Melbourne Institute inflation gauge, up 1% last month, after the Bureau of Stats shared the 1.8% lift for the June quarter.

China’s factory activity dipped unexpectedly in July according to the National Bureau of Statistics’ annoyingly Sunday night release of the official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI).

The run of China’s COVID-spotfires and its various threats against the holiday schedule of US Democratic Party Speaker Nancy Pelosi – as well as the same slowing global demand that helped unwrap the full China package, has all three major US equity futures down between o.4% and 0.5%.

 

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for July 29 [intraday]:

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

Code Company Price % Volume
CBE Cobre 0.215 150% 43243418
PX1 Plexure Group 0.31 82% 239249
ALT Analytica Limited 0.0015 50% 538747
ANL Amani Gold Ltd 0.0015 0% 3084872
WBE Whitebark Energy 0.003 50% 499999
FXG Felix Gold Limited 0.145 45% 598979
1ST 1St Group Ltd 0.01 43% 197939
SIT Site Group Int Ltd 0.004 33% 1523737
LIN Lindian Resources 0.18 33% 10199246
BDG Black Dragon Gold 0.06 30% 244160
WWG Wisewaygroupltd 0.125 29% 40858
CDD Cardno Limited 0.4 25% 189241
LNY Laneway Res Ltd 0.005 11% 867975
MRD Mount Ridley Mines 0.005 25% 4374348
SBR Sabre Resources 0.005 25% 1350077
QAL Qualitaslimited 2.07 24% 273993
AUR Auris Minerals Ltd 0.022 22% 23701
RXH Rewardle Holding Ltd 0.011 22% 236113
FGL Frugl Group Limited 0.018 20% 337554
AEV Avenira Limited 0.012 20% 539114
JTL Jayex Technology Ltd 0.006 20% 1120000
OAR OAR Resources Ltd 0.006 20% 19008656
TYX Tyranna Res Ltd 0.031 19% 31559098
HMG Hamelingoldlimited 0.1425 19% 3252
STN Saturn Metals 0.345 17% 387882
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Plexure Group (ASX:PX1) and the makers of some quite wonderful products, McDonald’s Corporation, will be continuing their bro-ham approach to digital customer engagement. Plexure provides the platform and the unique data-driven capabilities while Macca’s has the 147 million customer daily interactions.

Plexure Group CEO Dan Houden was sounding keen too.

“(PX1) looks forward to working collaboratively toward our mutual goal of delivering excellent experiences for McDonald’s customers through our world-leading customer engagement platform.”

Shares popped nicely this morning, up above 80%.

This morning Cobre (ASX:CBE) delivered another new copper intersection with ‘abundant chalcocite mineralisation’. Chalcocite is an important copper ore mineral.

CBE made headlines last week with another discovery at the Ngami Project within the Kalahari Copper Belt of Botswana, resulting in a 100% share price rise in morning trade.

This hole – NCP08 – was drilled 1km southwest of last week’s hole, NCP07, where copper mineralisation is occurring over a 25m interval downhole with a significant increase in chalcocite mineralisation over a 12m interval.

CBE executive chairman and managing director Martin Holland says the project is demonstrating “exceptional promise”.

“This has been a phenomenal start to our drilling program, which includes a total of 57 high-priority targets, and is only just the beginning,” he says.

The explorer has found 115% over the past month.

 

Lindian Resources (ASX:LIN) shares are up some 35%  after announcing its 100% acquisition of Malawi-based Rift Valley Resource Developments – the owner of the Kangankunde Rare Earths Project — for a US$30 million.

Kangankunde is a carbonatite-hosted system and a ‘globally significant deposit’ with major potential in size and grade.

Lindian chairman Asimwe Kabunga says this is without a doubt an “outstanding development” for the company and delivers a huge value opportunity for shareholders.

“The potential of the Kangankunde Rare Earths Project is indeed significant, and it has been highly sought after by many parties over several decades.

“As this is already a granted mining concession, the scope of works can be much broader and the development timeline shorter,” he says.

“This binding transaction gives Lindian control of one of the world’s premier undeveloped rare earths deposits, at a time when global demand is universally forecast to accelerate materially in the years ahead.”

 

 

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for July 29 [intraday]:

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

Code Company Price % Market Cap
KZA Kazia Therapeutics 0.24 -53% 2,609,438
PEB Pacific Edge 0.44 -33% 81,565
IVO Invigor Group Ltd 0.013 -24% 655,987
SPX Spenda Limited 0.013 -24% 27,569,824
LBY Laybuy Group Holding 0.09 -22% 8,991,458
AHN Athena Resources 0.011 -21% 15,582,749
DW8 DW8 Limited 0.015 -21% 13,640,761
AYT Austin Metals Ltd 0.008 -20% 4,294,075
CFO Cfoam Limited 0.004 -20% 1,100,000
MBK Metal Bank Ltd 0.004 -20% 6,826,093
IKW Ikwezi Mining Ltd 1.28 -17% 18,207
IOU Ioupay Limited 0.091 -17% 13,270,375
UMG United Malt Group 3.04 -17% 4,460,493
JAY Jayride Group 0.17 -17% 120,151
AFW Applyflow Limited 0.0025 -17% 2,356,542
AOA Ausmon Resorces 0.005 -17% 376,838
GMN Gold Mountain Ltd 0.005 -17% 123,288
MGG Mogul Games Grp Ltd 0.0025 -17% 920,285
PRM Prominence Energy 0.0025 -17% 8,676,211
SIH Sihayo Gold Limited 0.0025 -17% 2,863,999
XST Xstate Resources 0.0025 -17% 200,000
PFT Pure Foods Tas Ltd 0.185 -16% 327,952
ABB Aussie Broadband 3.05 -16% 8,473,682
SKS SKS Tech Group Ltd 0.16 -16% 62,900
AUA Audeara 0.11 -15% 23,000
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After climbing as high as 15% on Friday, Pure Foods Tasmania (ASX:PFT), the purveyors of fine Tassie-crafted food and drinks are undertaking a one-for-three entitlement offer to raise circa $3.4m.

Down about 20% on Monday, the fall comes after PFT completed its placement last week and raised $2.55m via the issue of some 15.45 million shares to institutional and sophisticated investors at a price of 16.5 cents.

Now it’s a food and drink race to accelerate growth by “investing in working capital, new products and marketing, drive production efficiencies and invest in product expansion.”

 

Some announcements which may’ve gone under the radar

The ASX Announcements list is still a frenzy of quarterlies, but in among it all is news that Fleetwood (ASX:FWD) CEO Bruce Nicholson has been appointed MD, effective today.

Fleetwood’s Chair, John Klepec, says the board is “delighted to appoint Bruce as Fleetwood’s Managing Director”, but the rest of the band was unavailable for comment, due to touring commitments.

And 29Metals (ASX:29M) has revealed some solid copper finds across its Capricorn Copper, Golden Grove and Redhill projects. 

At Capricorn, the results look like this: 

  • 72.9m @ 2.9% Cu, 37g/t Ag, 672ppm Co, from 793m
  • 29m @ 2.0% Cu, 18g/t Ag, 441ppm Co, from 690m
  • 86m @ 2.8% Cu, 32g/t Ag, 822ppm Co, from 727m
  • 104m @ 2.0% Cu, 22g/t Ag, 714ppm Co, from 746m
  • 50.7m @ 2.1% Cu, 15g/t Ag, 896ppm Co, from 894.3m
  • 23m @ 4.3% Cu, 19g/t Ag, 395ppm Co, from 696m

 

Trading Halts

Indiana Resources (ASX:IDA) – Rare Earth Element assay results from the Company’s Central Gawler Project are on the way

Critical Resources (ASX:CRR) – Announcement regarding results from its Mavis Lake drilling program is pending

Total Brain (ASX:TTB) – There’s an announcement in relation to a significant transaction on the way

MetalsTech (ASX:MTC) – Results from the scoping study at its Sturec gold mine are nearly ready to share

Mighty Kingdom (ASX:MKL) – Capital raise

IMEXHS (ASX:IME) – Capital raise

ADX Energy (ASX:ADX) – Capital raise

Kula Gold (ASX:KGD) – Capital raise 

Change Financial (ASX:CCA) – Capital raise

Lanthanein Resources (ASX:LNR) – Capital raise