• The ASX will rise on Friday after a rally in US tech stocks overnight
  • Gamestop plunged after CEO exit
  • Big BTC whale cashed in on US$38m windfall

 

Aussie shares are set to rise on Friday as US tech stocks continued their rally. At 8am AEST, the ASX 200 index futures was pointing up by +0.4%.

Overnight, the S&P 500 entered a new bull market as the index gained 0.62%. The index is also up 20% from its lows in October 2022, which is a marker of a bull market.

Nasdaq was up +1.02%, driven by a rally in tech stocks.

Mega tech stocks like Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft all rose after a big jump in US weekly jobless claims signalled a cooling jobs market.

Another big mover was meme stock GameStop, which plunged -18% after the surprise exit of its fifth CEO in five years.

Meanwhile, investors are now focused on the Fed’s meeting on June 13-14.

Analysts are pretty much unanimous that the Fed will pause in June and leave the door open for a hike in July. The bond market is pricing in a 68% chance of a pause in June.

 

In other markets …

Crude oil prices tumbled -2% overnight after a leaked report revealed that the US-Iran talks on a temporary nuclear deal would allow the Islamic Republic to export more crude.

The report said the talks are nearing an agreement in which Tehran would curb uranium enrichment in exchange for Washington easing some sanctions.

Gold climbed +1.4% to US$1,965 an ounce on the weak US jobs report.

“If we get further softness in inflation, if the Fed holds and they really don’t signal a strong likelihood of a hike for the next meeting, then there is a good case for gold to edge higher,” said Oanda analyst, Edward Moya.

Bitcoin also lifted +1.2% in the last 24 hours to US$26,602.

A Bitcoin whale who has been dormant for more than 10 years woke up and reportedly transferred their entire stash of the crypto-asset worth US$37.8m overnight.

According to data from Lookonchain, the whale ‘hodled’ 1,432.92 BTC since April 9, 2013, when the price of Bitcoin was at US$195.40.

 

5 ASX small caps to watch today

Nyrada (ASX:NYR)
Nyrada says its new brain injury drug candidate NYR-BI03 will be advanced instead of NYR-BI02, due to demonstrated superior potency and safety profile, overcoming limitations identified with NYR-BI02 during preclinical studies. Funding is in place to pursue preclinical development of NYR-BI03 in preparation for a Phase I first-in-human study.

VRX Silica (ASX:VRX)
VRX announced that its Environmental Review Document for the Arrowsmith North Project has been accepted by DWER (Department of Water and Environmental Regulation) for publication and public review. The company says this marks a significant milestone in Arrowsmith North’s environmental approvals process.

Codrus Minerals (ASX:CDR)
Assays from a maiden drill program have confirmed significant high-grade clay-hosted rare earth discovery at Karloning, with grades up to 6,883ppm TREO and the REE clay zone remaining open in multiple directions. Results include: 24m grading 1,503ppm TREYO from 8m, including 12m grading 2,081ppm TREYO from 8m.

Limeade (ASX:LME)
WebMD Health Services, part of WebMD Health Corp, will acquire 100% of the shares/CDIs in Limeade for cash of $0.425 per share/CDI. The offer price represents a 325% premium to the last traded price of Limeade.

Battery Minerals (ASX:BAT)
Maiden diamond drilling has identified visible gold associated with Intrusion-Related Gold System in the White Rabbit District. Aircore drilling results are due in mid-June, and diamond drilling results in late-June with ongoing IP geophysical results due throughout June-early July.

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