The ASX is heading for a bit of a glitch this morning as far as 2023 goes, with SPI Futures pointing to a -0.13% drop after a mixed session on US markets overnight.

S&P500 earnings grind on, with 65% of the 72 companies reporting so far beating consensus. So, broadly positive. Except for Google and Amazon, which dropped 2.09% and 1.23%.

Not so reliable was the NYSE itself, which broke for a while. Technical stuff, but enough for the SEC to investigate.

Worst of the losers was the NASDAQ, down 0.27%, followed by the S&P 500, down 0.07%. The Dow chalked up a 104-point win.

US 10-Year yields also fell 6.5bps; the 2-years -2.86bps, ahead of the first FOMC meeting next week where another 25 basis-point rate increase is expected. Blame that on those pesky positive data, which refuse to contract meaningfully.

Gold closed in on a nine-month high, up 0.31% and hitting US$1937.26, but copper dipped slightly. Nickel was the big commodities winner, up 2.52% on news major Russian producer Norilsk Nickel was expecting production to fall through to the EOFY. WTI Futures dropped to US$79.86 a barrel.

Bitcoin is holding steady at US$22,879, although none of the top 10 coins made any gains over the past 24 hours.

Today in Australia, we find out what inflation’s up to. And there are some big commodities earnings out, with Fortescue, Newcrest and South32 ready to report.

Market Highlights

Red Dirt Metals (ASX:RDT)
The explorer has hit its best intercept at the Mt Ida lithium project of 49.5m at 1.45% Li2O from 387.5m including 12.2m at 1.95% Li2O from 389.1m, 5.5m at 2.00% Li2O from 405.6m, and 5.7m at 1.90% Li2O from 418.3m.

The company is planning a 60,000 metre drill program planned for 2023 to test four priority AC anomalies and growth potential.

Askari (ASX:AS2)
Rock sampling at the Barrow Creek lithium project in the NT has revealed Rare Earth Element (REE) potential, including Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) results of up to 4553 ppm.

“One regularly reads about results in the one to two thousand ppm TREO range, but to have one result at 4553ppm TREO and another at 2143ppm TREO is extraordinary, especially considering rare earth elements were not the target of work being conducted,” VP exploration and geology Johan Lambrechts said.

“The Barrow Creek Project still has a lithium focus, but we will now widen our radar to include rare earth elements here as well.”

WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC)
Logistics software company WiseTech Global has picked up logistics platform Envase for US$230 million.

Headquartered in the US, Envase’s solutions for carriers automate and provide visibility for the movement of containers across all aspects of import and export haulage operations from port and rail terminals to destination.

Envase is expected to generate approximately US$35 million of revenue for the calendar year 2023 with an EBITDA margin in the low to mid 20% range.

Nova Eye Medical (ASX:EYE)
Investigator-initiated studies have commenced to address the safety and effectiveness of the company’s world-first 2RT subthreshold nano pulse laser for central serous retinopathy (CSR) – a condition when fluid builds up under the retina, resulting in sudden central vision loss or distortion.

If successful, these studies would underpin a new market opportunity for 2RT in the treatment of CSR, valued at US$60 million per year.

This would be in addition to the previously stated market opportunity for 2RT in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is valued at US$600 million per year.

Kinatico (ASX:KYP)
The regtech company has seen a 59% bump in revenue from Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) in Q2 to $1 million (31% higher than the previous quarter) and total Q2 revenue was $6.7 million, up 3% on the previous-corresponding-period and 6% on H1FY22.

The company also hit its 10th consecutive quarter of positive cashflow from operations at $0.7m in Q2.

CEO Michael Ivanchenko says in the face of an increasingly complex “compliance maelstrom”, Kinatico’s tech solves the problem of real time compliance monitoring and management, without creating operational overheads.

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