• The ASX is set for a positive session
  • Wall Street stocks surged again overnight
  • Asian markets to close for Mid-Autumn Festival

Another bouyant day of trade on Wall Street has led the local futures market higher, with the ASX 200 September futures contract ahead by 0.6% at 9am AEST.

The S&P 500 index ended up 1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 0.7% and the Nasdaq index lifted 1.2%

US long and short bond yields also spiked overnight 3.35% for the 10-year, and 3.55% for the 2-year.

Oil prices are about 1% higher, Goldman Sachs says EU gas storage is at 96% which is good news and after a big day out for the Aussie iron ore majors on Monday, the price of iron ore has fallen on the London Metals Exchange, down about 0.5% but still above one hundred US smackers (US$101 p/t.)

Global markets are all hot and bothered ahead of the latest read on US inflation, with the August data set to be released tonight, our time.

The US Federal Reserve will use this one for a decision at its September meet  where it will decide on a possible third consecutive 0.75 basis point rate hike vs. high inflation.

The Fed boss J Powell and Co. are hitting the hustings, reaffirming they’re “strongly committed” to waging inflation war till the war is won.

Meanwhile. It’s the mid-autumn festival across Asia.

Mainland China, Hong Kong and South Korea markets are closed for a holiday featuring mooncake. Shares in the Asia-Pacific region all rose Monday, on much better risk sentiment.

Overnight Reuters is reporting that most of Twitter’s shareholders have voted in favour of the $US44 billion sale to Elon Musk, with enough investors already showing their hand “for the outcome to be certain,” according to unidentified sources.

And the software giant, Oracle has came up short on quarterly profit, but its revenue met expectations, after securing its US$30 billion acquisition of health-software player Cerner during a busy quarter which saw revenue of US$11.45 billion exactly meet analyst forecasts.

Local traders will be on the watch for inflationary signals out of the Westpac and NAB consumer and business confidence surveys and the attention then turns tonight to US CPI data due ahead of another FOMC meeting on 21st September.

At home today, the med-tech Imugene is going in for a $80 million institutional placement at 20 cents, a discount of 11.1% to its last close on 9 September of 22.5 cents. The money will be used to fund a “deep pipeline of clinical programmes.”

And finally to cryptos, where Bitcoin is holding firm above the $US22k mark amid choppy business, but the king of the currency is almost 3% the better at around $US22,280.

5 ASX small caps to watch today

92 Energy (ASX:92E)
92 Energy has acquired 100% of the highly prospective Wares Uranium Property, located in the northern region of the Athabasca Basin, within 60km of the kick-ass named Uranium City. The company says historical drill results immediately adjacent to the Wares Uranium Property returned 0.1m of 0.18% U3O8 at the unconformity, 160 vertical metres from surface, known as the Wares Uranium Occurrence.

North Stawell Minerals (ASX:NSM)
NSM says RC drilling has identified high-grade gold mineralisation 500m north of the historic Bonnie Dundee Mine, of up to 12.5g/t Au hit in shallow 12m gold zone at Caledonia. NSM says this demonstrates the prospectivity in the Germania-Darlington trend.

Global Lithium Resources (ASX:GL1)
The West Aussie lithium play says the first diamond core drilling (DD) program at its Manna Lithium Project has returned the highest ever grade of a lithium bearing pegmatite in the project’s history. (Not surprising since it’s the first DD…) anyway ongoing exploration mapping has identified a new southwestern pegmatite target area at Manna up to 1.2km directly along strike from the main deposit. An updated Manna Mineral Resource Estimate is on target for Q4 2022.

Namoi Cotton (ASX:NAM)
So, Namoi Cotton says it’s entered into agreements with the Kimberley Cotton Company to build and run their new cotton gin at Kununurra, in WA. Industry-owned KCC is a majority local grower and will service the expansion of cotton production in the Ord River Irrigation Area. The cotton gin is expected to be operational in 2025, where volume will be underpinned by cotton supply agreements between KCC and local growers.

Namoi Cotton will invest $2.8 million in KCC, representing approximately 20% interest with board representation. KCC will enter into an agreement for $34 million in non-recourse debt, providing it access to a total of $48 million to fund the construction.

AGL (ASX:AGL)
Former biggie, AGL is extending the shutdown of a unit at its controversial Loy Yang coal power station. In a note to the exchange, the sometimes tragic ex-electricity giant says profit guidance shouldn’t be “materially reduced” thanks to a strong performance elsewhere, and stayed rather silent on high prices.

 

 

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