Opthea leads 5 ASX small caps today. Picture Getty Image
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All three US stock benchmark indexes rose again overnight, as the Dow and the S&P500 reached new all-time highs in intraday trade.
The Dow closed 0.04% higher, while the S&P 500 was up by 0.18%, and the tech heavy Nasdaq rose by 0.06%.
Good corporate earnings helped to alleviate some of the concerns surrounding inflation and higher rates.
United Parcel and General Electric both gained on the back of their strong quarterly results.
In the latest economics data release, US new home sales, housing price index, and consumer confidence all rose supporting the rebound and inflation story.
In other markets, global oil prices keep on rising and are now at 7-year highs. The benchmark Brent crude price is up 41c to US$86.40/barrel, and testing 2014 highs of US$90/barrel.
Spot iron ore price is up 2.5% to US$122.75/t, but some analysts are predicting a dire outlook for the ferrous metal.
Bank of America says that it could go to as low as US$70/t, while Morgan Stanley predicts a price of US$85/t sometime this quarter.
To cryptos, where Bitcoin is dipping slightly to US$61,900 at 8am AEDT, from the US62,800 level yesterday.
A top US banking regulator today said that officials in the country are seeking to find a clear roadmap for banks to engage with crypto assets.
“When large US banks are able to hold bitcoin on their balance sheets, everyone will want to buy it,” tweeted entrepreneur Michael Saylor.
Read all about it here on Stockhead.
The ASX 200 looks set to open slightly higher this morning, with futures markets (December contracts) pointing up by 0.05% at 8:30am AEDT.
Yesterday, the Aussie index finished in the green by just 0.03%, buoyed by a rally in Crown Resort shares.
Despite the Victorian State Commission report finding the casino was not worthy to hold a license, it will be given 2 years to clean up its act under government supervision.
All eyes will be on the Australian CPI data for the quarter later today. The last quarter reading was 0.8%, and the market is expecting that to fall to 0.7% in the September quarter.
On the IPO front, scheduled to list today is Star Minerals (ASX:SMS), a mineral explorer that has raised $4m at 20c.
Star Minerals already has an inferred resource of 600,000t grading 2.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 42,500oz of contained gold at Tumblegum South.
The eye disease specialist has been granted a Chinese patent for OPT-302, its soluble VEGFR-3 “trap” molecule currently being investigated in two global Phase 3 clinical trials. Other patents covering OPT-302 have already been granted in countries including the US, Europe, Japan, and Australia to name a few.
The company has signed a landmark long-term exclusive licence agreement for Toys“R”Us ANZ to run digital and physical retail commerce for Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us in the United Kingdom. The UK is ranked third worldwide by the number of online shoppers per capita, representing around 80% of the UK population. The TOY shares are currently still on a trading halt until Thursday.
The cannabis company has delivered a strong quarterly revenue of $3.18 million, with the month of September producing $1.39 million, its highest monthly revenue ever. Highlights for the quarter include obtaining a Schedule 9 licence from the Western Australia Department of Health to supply psilocybin in WA.
Investigator Resources (ASX:IVR)
Regional drill program has returned encouraging silver and gold intersections at Ares, Paris East and Helen East targets. Results include 2m @ 243g/t silver at Ares, and 1m @ 1.72g/t gold from 96m at Paris North.
Hyperion has increased its land position in west Tennessee by 4,794 acres to 10,905 acres, a 78% increase in landholding in this new critical mineral province. The new landholdings include mineral rights, which has now established its Titan project as the largest titanium, zircon and rare earth minerals project in the US.
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Star Minerals is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
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