Overseas Markets Highlights

US equities markets dropped overnight, with tech stocks leading the losses.

  • Dow Jones up 0.46%, S&P500 down 0.81%, and NASDAQ down 1.69%
  • Apple Inc lost 2.09%, Amazon down 1.64%, and Tesla dropped by 4.45%
  • Commodities were generally higher with gold and iron ore both rising by around 0.6%

The market is anticipating the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which the US Senate will begin to debate soon.

Bond yields eased and the benchmark US 10-year yield is now at 1.41% compared with Australia’s 1.70%. This yield differential continues to push the Aussie dollar to trade at high levels. The Aussie is trading at US$78.38 at 8am AEDT.
 

Bitcoin dips below $US48,000

Bitcoin has dipped below the $US48,000 level, and is trading at $US47,790 at 8am AEDT.

Tesla boss Elon Musk got on Twitter and criticised the crypto coin for its association with crime.

“Scammers & crypto should get a room,” he tweeted.
 

Closer to home

The ASX closed 0.40% on Tuesday, after the market processed the RBA announcement late in the day. The RBA has decided to maintain its QE targets, and may add a further $100 billion in its bond buyback program.

The ASX is set to fall this morning following falls in the US overnight.
 

5 ASX small caps to watch today

Battery Minerals (ASX:BAT)
The company advised that its inaugural drilling programme at the Stavely-Stawell gold-copper project in Victoria is scheduled to start in April 2021. It said that it has established three priority targets which will be tested as part of the 5,000 metre aircore program, and has already identified at least another four for further assessment.

Metals Australia (ASX:MLS)
Metals Australia announced that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of the Nepean South Nickel Project located near Coolgardie in Western Australia – a Kambalda style nickel sulphide project. According to the company, Nepean South Nickel Project is considered both highly prospective and underexplored for both gold and nickel, with historic RAB drilling completed to very shallow depths on average only 42m from surface, with many holes drilled at even shallower depths.

Torrens Mining (ASX:TRN)
Torrens announced that it has commenced non-invasive, passive seismic survey at its Mt Piper Gold Project in Central Victoria. The passive seismic program will help Torrens define basement structures such as faults and shears, which may focus gold mineralisation. Results are expected by early April 2021.

PolarX (ASX:PXX)
The gold miner said that it has secured a large increase in landholding at Humboldt Range gold-silver project in Nevada. It has staked 96 new federal lode mining claims in the Fourth of July area within the Humboldt Range Project, more than tripling the size of the land under tenure at Fourth of July. The field work for the Humboldt project is due to commence in April.

Strandline Resources (ASX:STA)
Strandline announced that it has signed the final binding offtake agreement for its Coburn project in WA. The agreement is with a leading global company, Venator Materials, and covers 100% of the rutile to be produced at Coburn and is expected to generate approximately 17-20 per cent of Coburn’s forecast revenue over five years.