• The ASX 200 is flat as, the XEC small caps index is down 0.7% 
  • It’s RBA day, no real surprises
  • US Futures are lower, Chinese markets sink

 

Local markets are giving back what little they got from morning trade following the reserve bank of Australia’s latest tinkering with interest rates.

At its meeting today, the RBA decided to increase the cash rate target by 50 basis points to 1.85%

In a post-meet release, the Board said it places a “high priority on the return of inflation to the 2–3 per cent range over time, while keeping the economy on an even keel.”

Then, perhaps because of the bank’s looming inquiry into it’s performance or perhaps because of front page’s like this one…

Via News Corp

 

…the note then took a very fascinating Yoda-like, ass-covering confessional tone, (which an in-house inquiry can provoke):

The path to achieve this balance is a narrow one and clouded in uncertainty…

 

Not least, the bank says, because of global developments:

The outlook for global economic growth has been downgraded due to pressures on real incomes from higher inflation, the tightening of monetary policy in most countries, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the COVID containment measures in China.

 

As a long-time RBA watcher and tea-leaf reader meself, t’is great to see the Board take a moment to distance itself from the personal responsibility that comes with watching too many Spiderman films.

Sure with great power comes a certain amount of responsibility, but the path is narrow and clouded with uncertainty and actually in the end it’s ultimately out of our hands anyway.

At 6.1 per cent over the year to June 30, inflation in Australia is now at its highest mark since the early 90s

Dr Lowe says global factors upon which we cannot impress influence ate largely behind the increase, although Acts of God:

The floods this year are also affecting some prices.

 

And a few domestic factors are also doing their bit – strong demand, tight jobs markets and supply and capacity constraints in some sectors of the economy.

Vanguard’s senior economist, Alexis Gray warned, the slowing growth momentum and rising rates will continue to serve as a headwind for investors.

“Although we certainly hope the worst is behind us,” he added.

“There is a silver lining to the recent decline in markets. Because of lower current equity market valuations and higher interest rates, our analysis is now projecting slightly higher long-term returns in comparison to previous modelling.”

The benchmark walked back earlier gains following the largely baked in 50bps cash rate lift.

Gains for consumer staples like the major supermarkets and a late run on the banks, offset retracement  in the materials and energy sectors .

A2 Milk was up almost 7% when it slid into a trading halt with markets starting to suspect the milk powder big stick will be waved on in to lucrative US markets.

And finally, Chinese markets appeared to be weighed down by the troubling idea of US House of Reps Speaker Nancy Pelosi arriving in Taiwan at any moment and making Chinese President Xi Jinping do something callous, violent, petulant – or all three.

The Shanghai Composite, the Shenzhen Component and the Hang Seng index all fell be well over 2%.

US Futures were lower at 4pm in Sydney.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

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

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I can’t explain why, but Mayfield Group Holdings (ASX:MYG) are killing Tuesday slowly, but utterly.

The group of businesses seems to work across electrical and telecommunications infrastructure, ‘providing products and services for every stage of the lifecycle.’

“Headquartered in Adelaide and with facilities in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth we provide infrastructure solutions in every corner of Australia.”

And they provided some bullet points which I appreciate.

Because (their words) we are a company that is:

  • Solutions driven
  • Focused on electrical infrastructure and telecommunications
  • Inspired by a renewables future
  • Manufacturing in Australia
  • Striving to lead with care and good governance
  • Targeting growth; organically and through acquisition
  • Our shares are up about 45% on Tuesday, for no clear reason the author can ID

The $31m market cap digger, Indiana Resources (ASX:IDA) confirming high-grade ionic rare earths TREO up to 15,486 ppm (1.55%) at its Central Gawler Project today.

Reuben says, what makes these results so promising is the frequency with which rare earths accumulations were ID’d.

“The zone of TREO enrichment on Section 11900mE, for instance, is sub-horizontal, roughly 20m below surface and ranges on average from 15 to 25m in thickness,” Reubs says.

IDA now plans to collect additional data to define the distribution of the different rare earths in the weathering profile and identify any underlying potential bedrock lithological or structural controls on the distribution of the mineralisation.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are the least performing ASX small cap stocks for today [intraday]:

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WHAT YOU MAY’VE MISSED

Good news from Cauldron Energy (ASX:CXU), about some high grade intercepts at its Blackwood Gold Project, including 0.60m @ 20.1g/t Au from 20.80m and 0.35m @ 1.06g/t Au from 19.50m.

It’s a good result for Cauldron, and the company is looking to expand on the drilling, targeting the Annie Laurie reef in the Eastern Reefs system, with the potentially larger Western Reefs system still to be explored.

Equally promising is news that Amplia Therapeutics (ASX:ATX) has dosed the first patient in the Company’s Phase 1b/2a ACCENT clinical trial of focal adhesion kinase inhibitor AMP945.

Amplia is looking to see if the treatment could enhance the effectiveness of gemcitabine / nab-paclitaxel chemotherapy for people with advanced pancreatic cancer who are undergoing first-line treatment. We’re sure we’re not alone in wishing the trial goes well. 

And a super-quick portion here, which is just a heads-up that RPM Automotive Group (ASX:RPM) has had to issue a correction to its published quarterly report, after a tpyo crept into the text and mis-quoted the Q4 FY21 EBITDA as $2.2m, instead of the correct figure of $1.8m.

RPM also wanted to clarify thing around the one-off expenses associated with flood-related clean-up and investment in growth. In Q4, the one-off costs associated with flood-related clean-up were $300K and the investment in growth through the opening of two new retail outlets was $150K.

Podium Minerals (ASX:POD)says it’s claimed an Australian first adding both rhodium and iridium to its Parks Reef resource in WA – substantially increases its value. The digger is trading about 4% higher in late arvo business.

The addition of the two valuable metals increases the resource by 5% 52.5Mt at 1.64 grams per tonne (g/t) 5E platinum group metals – containing 0.81g/t platinum, 0.66g/t palladium, 0.08g/t gold, 0.06g/t rhodium and 0.03g/t iridium, or 3Moz 5E PGM.

Importantly for POD this has increased the average weighted price per ounce of Parks Reef PGM by 44% to $2,827 while the inclusion of the base metals resource of 0.07% copper and 0.09% nickel as well as cobalt grading 0.018% could add another 35%, or up to $3,804/oz.

Any potential early mining works will also be facilitated by the upper PGM horizon hosting higher grade zones totalling 12.3Mt at 2.05g/t 5E PGM (1.08g/t platinum, 0.70g/t palladium, 0.21g/t gold, 0.03g/t rhodium and 0.02g/t iridium). Lotsa numbers there, but diggers dig ’em.

Ask Stockhead’s Joshua Dig-me-a-Rainbow Chiat.

Here’s out there dealing with ’em all now.

 

TRADING HALTS

 

Tempest Minerals (ASX:TEM) – Tempest has a new mineral project acquisition in the works!

 

Stockhead Words & Art Factory (ASX:FUTAB) – Gregor’s going fishin.’ Have a lovely night and we’ll see you all tomorrow. 

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