Market Highlights: US microchip stocks jump; RBA's rate decision and 5 small caps to watch today

ASX to open higher, tracking Wall Street’s momentum
S&P 500 hit its 30th record high of 2024, as microchip stocks led
Boeing’s CEO faces Senate testimony on recent safety issues

The ASX 200 is poised to track Wall Street higher when the market opens on Tuesday. At 8am AEST, the ASX200 futures contract was pointing up by +0.4%.

Overnight, the S&P 500 rose by +0.77% to its 30th record high in 2024, the blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.49%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lifted by +0.95%.

“We believe the S&P 500 can reach 6,000 (now at 5,473) by year-end as the combination of better earnings and one or two rate cuts is like a turbo booster for stock prices,” said James Demmert at Main Street Research.

The NYSE FANG+ Index, which tracks large-cap tech stocks, ended the day with a 2% increase.

Tesla led and jumped by +5%, while Apple and Microsoft also climbed +2% as Wall Street’s optimism about big tech’s AI initiatives continued.

AI related chipmakers also had a field day.

Micron Technology lifted by +4.5% and reached a record high as several analysts increased their target price on the stock; while another chipmaker Broadcom Inc rose by +5.5%.

GameStop tumbled by -12% after CEO Ryan Cohen informed investors that the video game retailer plans to downsize its network of stores. However, he did not share details about the company’s plans for its cash reserves.

Over the Atlantic, French stocks bounced back following last week’s decline. However, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index remained relatively flat after Citigroup downgraded the region’s equities, citing “heightened political risks” and other factors.

And back home, investors will be focused on the RBA interest rate decision at 2:30pm AEST and the subsequent press conference at 3:30pm. It is broadly anticipated that the central bank will maintain the current rates.

Boeing CEO to face the music

Boeing’s outgoing CEO, Dave Calhoun, has some explaining to do and will be testifying before a US Senate panel later tonight about the company’s recent safety issues.

These include a door panel blowing off a Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines in January.

But two previously unreported Southwest Airlines incidents have now come to light.

Recently disclosed news reveals that two Southwest flights involving Boeing 737 Max 8s encountered issues in Hawaii but landed safely without injuries to passengers or crew.

A month later, a flight from Phoenix to Oakland experienced damage from a “Dutch roll,” a situation where the aircraft’s tail slides side to side, causing the wings to rock up and down. Southwest did not report this incident until two weeks later.

Senator Richard Blumenthal has criticised Boeing, saying the company promised to improve safety practices after deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people, but those promises were not kept.

Calhoun is set to leave the company by the end of the year.

In other markets …

Gold price dropped by -0.5% to US$2,320.40 an ounce.

Oil prices were down -2%, with Brent crude now trading at US$84.37 a barrel.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield rose by 4 basis points (bond prices lower) to 4.29%.

The Aussie dollar was trading flat at 66.17 cents.

The iron ore price tumbled by -2% to US$105.20 a tonne.

Bitcoin meanwhile was flat in the last 24 hours to US$66,508 while Ethereum was down -3% to US$3,520.

5 ASX small caps to watch today

Sun Silver (ASX:SS1)
A high-grade target zone with exceptional silver intercepts has been identified on the northwest boundary of the Maverick Springs resource. Historical drilling data highlights impressive results, including an intercept of 6,216g/t silver over 1.5m within a broader 54.86m interval at 303.08g/t silver, and another intercept of 5,340g/t silver over 1.5m within a 54.86m interval at 278.41g/t silver.

Dreadnought Resources (ASX:DRE)
Recent mapping and sampling at Tiger in Mangaroon has confirmed the presence of high-grade copper (Cu), gold (Au), zinc (Zn), and silver (Ag) in multiple layers of exposed gossan spanning approximately 500m. This includes some of the highest grades recorded so far, such as TIG026 with 8.7% Cu, 9.0% Zn, 40.7g/t Ag, and 1.0g/t Au, and TIG027 with 10.5% Cu, 4.6% Zn, 16.3g/t Ag, and 1.0g/t Au. These findings highlight significant mineralization potential in the area.

White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN)
WCN reported positive drilling results from the Reedy South Gold Project in Western Australia. The project is strategically located within trucking distance of several operational gold plants in a well-established Goldfield. Drilling highlights include 7m @ 1.12 g/t Au from 92m along strike, and 79m @ 1g/t Au from 10m from drill hole RSKC006.

Patagonia Lithium (ASX:PL3)
PL3 says exceptional results were obtained from Well Two at the Formentera Lithium Project in Northern Argentina. A packer sample from the aquifer zone showed a high lithium assay of 582ppm. Porosity tests conducted on Well One revealed extremely high total porosity ranging from 27% to 47%. Further tests indicated the aquifer extends more than 200m in depth. Although the End of Hole (EOH) for the second well was at 347m, it remained open at depth.

Australian Dairy Nutritionals (ASX:AHF)
AHF announced that Mahinthan Sundaranathan has been appointed as its CEO. Sundaranathan has over 20 years’ experience in the dairy industry across the Australian, Chinese and other Asian markets. He held senior roles at the Danone MG, Fonterra Brands, and a2 Milk Company, and was instrumental in building the success of the a2 Milk Company in the Daigou channel into China.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Sun Silver and White Cliff Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.