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Market Highlights and 5 ASX Small Caps to watch on Tuesday
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- ASX futures edge higher for post-Easter trade
- Multiple drilling results among junior miners
- Copper explorer Tempest Minerals flags $8.4m capital raise
Easing back into it
There’s no strong direction for local stocks ahead of the Tuesday open, following the four-day Easter break.
ASX futures are indicating that markets will edge higher, with the price on the most-commonly traded June futures contract closing 0.13% higher at the end of last week.
It follows a flat session for US stocks, which recommenced trade on Monday. The S&P500 ended up 0.11% lower while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell by 0.14%, both on low volumes.
US earnings season will again be in focus this week, with a number of large banks set to report along with tech names such as Tesla and Netflix.
So far, US companies have outperformed in Q1 with aggregate earnings coming in above market estimates.
In other markets, gold almost touched the US$2,000/oz mark (US$1,998/oz) before easing back in overnight trade to just shy of US$1,980/oz.
Oil prices steadied, following a sharp run-up which saw prices jump from US$94.29 a barrel on April 11 to US$107.43/b on April 17.
The fluctuations in overnight trade took place amid a backdrop of lingering uncertainty about how higher inflation and rate rises will impact broader post-COVID economic growth.
Bitcoin posted solid gains overnight and a short time ago was trading back above the US$40,000 mark.
5 ASX small caps to watch today
AML released assay results from the second of eight diamond drill holes to be drilled at its 4.1Moz Kebigada deposit. The drill hole intersected 201m @ 0.97g/t from surface, including a higher grade intersection of 20.85m @ 2.05g/t, Amani said. The results show the drilling campaign “continues to confirm broad gold mineralisation zones”, the company said.
TEM, which surged by almost 300% on March 28 following a big copper hit in WA, announced “strong support” for an $8.44m placement today priced at 8.5c per share. The issue price marks a discount to TEM’s last close of 10c, and the funds will be used “to progress the company’s extensive exploration portfolio (including drilling, geophysics and further analyses) and working capital”, TEM said.
The company announced that its US subsidiary had finalised a non-binding term sheet and been offered a Conditional Commitment for a US$107 million loan from the US Department of Energy. The loan will fund the initial expansion of Syrah’s Vidalia active anode material facility in Louisiana, USA “to 11.25ktpa AAM production capacity”, the company said.
The gold and base metals explorer said follow-up RC drilling has added to the strike length of previously identified mineralisation at its Big Freeze and Beanie gold prospects. “We will plan additional drilling to follow-up this trend, which remains open, and has the potential to deliver another high grade gold deposit to our Tropicana North Gold Project”, MD David Boyd said.
The smart technology company said it’s received a $560,000 purchase order “from a leading US commercial drone manufacturer for its SkyHopper ProV, following a design win completion and customer trials last year”. The order will be delivered through 2022 and provides “a high likelihood of repeat orders”, the company said.
