Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens
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News
Good morning everyone, and welcome to 7 February, 2024 – a shocking day in history, as it was on this day in 1569 that King Phillip II surprised everybody by launching the Spanish Inquisition in South America, a move that nobody, quite famously, was expecting.
All jokes aside, though, this was a terrible period in history, as Philip II brought more than a hundred years’ worth of Inquisitorial experience from Europe to the new world, with predictably brutal and violent results – the church inquisitors had honed their skills in ruthlessly murdering anyone who wasn’t Catholic since the late 1300s, in a bid to “wipe out heresy”.
No one is quite sure precisely how many people died at the hands of the Inquisitors, but it is believed that under the auspices of the first-ever Grand Inquistor Tomás de Torquemada (aka Tommy the Ball Twister to his mates) at least 2,000 were burnt at the stake – which was just one of Torquemada’s favoured methods of doing business.
Things have calmed down a bit in Spain since then – but there is a developing story from that part of the world that we’ll be touching on in Lunch Wrap later on today, as French and Spanish farmers are shaping up for Europe’s inaugural Tomato War.
That’s not a joke, by the way – things are about to kick off along the border, after some particularly nasty insults about the quality of each nation’s tomatoes were traded on social media.
For now, though, sit back and enjoy all the words and numbers below, which provide a quick wrap of how the past 24 hours or so panned out, just in case you weren’t paying attention.
And elsewhere on the site this morning we’ve got Eddy Sunarto’s look at who’s been doing what in the wild world of IPOs, while Nadine McGrath’s been looking into why it’s on the heads of tech stocks to start doing something about climate change.
Enjoy your day.
Gold: US$2,035.89 (+0.55%)
Silver: US$22.41 (+0.24%)
Nickel (3mth): US$16,020/t (-1.32%)
Copper (3mth): US$8,359.50/t (-1.44%)
Oil (WTI): US$73.42 (+0.88%)
Oil (Brent): US$78.70 (+0.91%)
Iron 62pc Fe: US$127.39/t (-1.20%)
AUD/USD: 0.6523 (+0.60%)
Bitcoin: US$43,151 (+1.75%)
LTR Pharma’s about to press the button on a crucial test of its erectile dysfunction nasal spray – they just need some fellas keen to give it a try, it seems.
All essential criteria for the pivotal FDA clinical study have been met. Now all $LTP needs is a bunch of guys to try it. https://t.co/9O9l6fNB7e
— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) February 6, 2024
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:
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Janison Education Group (ASX:JAN) was topping the winners list on Tuesday morning, posting a 43% gain on news that the company has inked a deal with the New South Wales Department of Education to deliver the state’s selective education placement tests as computer-based tests via Janison’s digital assessment platform.
The deal, which also includes Cambridge University Press & Assessment, is reportedly worth up to $45 million over the initial five-year term – provided all stages are approved – with an option for the department to extend for a further five-year term.
Mako Gold’s (ASX:MKG) position as market darling looks set to continue again today, with the company landing another 25% jump this morning on the back of a string of happy announcements that kicked off at the end of January with the company’s quarterly.
Since then, Mako has revealed positive rock chip sampling results that suggest a “very high grade” find at Tchaga North, on the company’s 90% owned flagship Napié Project in Côte d’Ivoire.
Since 30 January, Mako has improved from a close of $0.011 to be at $0.032 per share at lunchtime today, and up 220% for the year so far.
And another junior goldie, Koonenberry Gold (ASX:KNB), was up 23% Tuesday morning, improving on the previous session’s gains when it announced that Phase 2 drilling at the company’s Bellagio prospect has defined widespread gold mineralisation >1g/t Au over >125m area, with the target remaining open down dip and plunge.
The afternoon session saw a couple of small goldies meandering around on no news, including BMG Resources (ASX:BMG) and Australasian Metals (ASX:A8G).
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:
Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:
Culpeo Minerals (ASX:CPO)– pending an announcement on a proposed capital raising.
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