- ASX to open higher, tracking Wall Street’s moves overnight
- US SEC to inspect Boeing’s investor releases to see if there was deception
- And… a nice surprise for FTX customers
Aussie shares are poised to open higher on Friday, in line with Wall Street’s moves. At 8am AEST, the ASX200 futures contract was pointing up by +0.3%.
Overnight, the S&P 500 rose by +0.51%, its highest level since early April. The blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.85%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lifted by +0.27%.
US stocks were mostly up on higher-than-estimated jobless claims, which totalled 231,000 for the week, up by 22,000 from the week before.
The Fed Reserve is keeping a close eye on this particular set of data as it tries to get inflation back up to 2%.
“Investors may have adjusted to the idea of the Fed waiting until September to cut interest rates, but that doesn’t mean they’re comfortable waiting indefinitely,” Chris Larkin at E*Trade told Bloomberg.
Boeing was up +0.5% despite the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) saying it will look into statements made by the aeroplane maker regarding its safety procedures after a scary incident on one of its 737 Max 9 planes in January. The SEC is focused on whether Boeing said things that might have misled investors.
Arm Holdings dropped -2% after its full year revenue forecast missed expectations. Although Arm’s sales beat expectations in the March quarter, its the full year guidance shows that there’s some uncertainty about how quickly AI computing will expand.
Warner Bros. Discovery jumped +3% after its CEO told his top team to look for more ways to save money so it can meet its financial goals for the next few years.
Across the Atlantic, the Bank of England (BoE) has unsurprisingly kept its rate unchanged at 5.25%, in line with consensus.
The UK’s FTSE 100 index, meanwhile, printed a new intraday record high last night as the love for UK equities continues.
Latest on FTX
Meanwhile, the customers of FTX, the busted crypto platform of jailed founder Sam Bankman-Fried, are in for a surprise.
News is that they’re going to get their money back, and then some. This wasn’t a scenario many would have imagined when the crypto exchange fell apart in 2022.
Lawyers handling the bankruptcy proceedings have announced that there’s enough cash to reimburse customers with interest.
With the rebound of the crypto market and the sale of FTX’s assets like its shares in the AI company Anthropic, FTX will have up to US$16.3 billion to distribute, according to the attorneys.
While the plan still needs a judge’s approval, current CEO John Ray, who took the reins after the collapse, remarked, “In any bankruptcy, this is just an unbelievable result.”
Bad news is, there won’t be money left for the investors that backed FTX.
In other markets …
Gold price rose by +1.6% to US$2,345.90 an ounce.
Oil prices rose around +0.85%, with Brent crude now trading at US$84.21 a barrel.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield was down 3 basis points (bond prices higher) to 4.46%.
The Aussie dollar rose by +0.62% to US66.23 cents.
Bitcoin meanwhile was up by +2.5% in the last 24 hours to US$62,730.
5 ASX small caps to watch today
Diatreme Resources (ASX:DRX)
Diatreme has signed a negotiation protocol with Walmbaar Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, representing the Dingaal Clan based in Far North Qld. The negotiation protocol aims to ensure future agreements reached between the parties to maximise benefits and opportunities for the Dingaal Clan, while ensuring mutually beneficial development outcomes which will enable Diatreme to develop the project.
Everest Metals (ASX:EMC)
Phase 1 resource drilling at the Mt Edon Critical Mineral Project has commenced with a ~1,400m RC program. Drilling to follow up pegmatite formation with previous results delivering 80m of Rubidium at 0.32%, from surface. The drilling will result in the conversion of the current Exploration Target to a Mineral Resource Estimate in 2024.
Reward Minerals (ASX:RWD)
RWD announced that it has been granted exploration license application E09/2763 on May 6. This license covers a vast area of over 200 square kilometers, which constitutes the Carnarvon Potash Project (CPP). The CPP is wholly owned by Holocene, a subsidiary of Reward Minerals, and it’s strategically located approximately 30 kilometers north of Carnarvon, a coastal town in Western Australia.
Mineral Commodities (ASX:MRC)
MRC has made the decision to divest its interest in Tormin to allow the company to focus its efforts on its high-quality graphite assets and downstream active anode material projects. MRC said it has entered into a Process Deed with GMA Group that provides for negotiation of a potential sale and purchase agreement, that if successful, would result in GMA taking ownership of MRC’s interest in the Tormin Mineral Sands Operation.
Civmec (ASX:CVL)
The engineering company said in Q3 FY24, revenue came in at $258.3 million, a 37.6% compared to the pcp. NPAT reached $17.1 million, showing a solid increase of 16.9% on pcp. Furthermore, earnings per share (EPS) rose to 3.4 cents, up from 2.9 cents in the pcp. Finally, the company’s net cash balance saw a significant increase of a$52.6 million from the pcp, reaching a total of $35.9 million.
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Everest Metals is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.