Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens
Pic: Via Getty
On Stockhead today, 10 cheap copper stocks ready for the run, and China’s got a sub-$10k EV.
But first, the day ahead.
MARKET CALENDAR: THURSDAY
The February labour force survey is released today, with Commonwealth Bank boffins predicting the creation of 45,000 jobs for the month.
“The unemployment rate could ease from near two-year highs of 4.1 per cent to 4.0 per cent with the labour force participation rate at all-time highs of 66.8 per cent,” it says.
Trading updates are also due from construction stock Brickworks (ASX:BKW) and pharmacy operator Sigma Healthcare (ASX:SIG).
COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES
Gold: US$2,154.62/oz (-0.12%)
Silver: US$24.84/oz (-0.26%)
Nickel (3mth): US$17,395/t (-2.67%)
Copper (3mth): US$8,976.50/t (-1.24%)
Oil (WTI): US$82.10 (-0.75%)
Oil (Brent): US$86.89 (-0.59%)
Iron 62pc Fe: US$108.50/t (+3.83%)
AUD/USD: 0.6523 (-0.08%)
Bitcoin: US$63,063 (-1.07%)
TRADING HALTS
These stocks went into trading halts yesterday and are expected out in the coming days:
Opyl (ASX:OPL) – receipt of a non-binding offer to acquire the Opin business from the company
Pentanet (ASX: 5GG) – capital raising
Askari Metals (ASX:AS2) – capital raising
Red Mountain Mining (ASX:RMX) – capital raising
WHAT GOT YOU TALKING YESTERDAY?
Are manganese prices about to get a much-needed boost?
Manganese Macro #ASX S32‘s Groote Eylandt port was damaged the other day and manganese mining has stopped. We don’t know for how long. There are sufficient stockpiles for a few weeks in China, but longer delays will create significant manganese shortages. Manganese prices are…
— Euroz Hartleys (@EurozHartleys) March 20, 2024
Meanwhile, uranium ….
#Uranium price retreat an “attractive entry point” for investors says Sprott. https://t.co/oDiEKnYW9i
— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) March 20, 2024
Keep up to date with by subscribing to our email (its free, unsub anytime) and following our Twitter page.
Also, be sure to check Stockhead at preopen each day for ‘Market Highlights and 5 ASX Small Caps to Watch’, and 10.40am for our daily ‘10 at 10’ column — a live summary of winners & losers at the opening bell.
YESTERDAY’S SMALL CAP LEADERS
Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:
| Code | Company | Price | % | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RIL | Redivium Limited | 0.005 | 67% | 12,195,807 | $8,192,564 |
| ADS | Adslot Ltd | 0.003 | 50% | 3,000,000 | $6,448,991 |
| LRD | Lord Resources | 0.076 | 49% | 25,840,382 | $1,893,738 |
| LIO | Lion Energy Limited | 0.036 | 44% | 30,604,108 | $10,924,444 |
| PLG | Pearl Gull Iron | 0.034 | 36% | 285,984 | $5,113,545 |
| SRX | Sierra Rutile | 0.105 | 35% | 9,253,036 | $33,090,443 |
| SOV | Sovereign Cloud Holdings | 0.044 | 34% | 110,936 | $11,126,776 |
| AVE | Avecho Biotech Ltd | 0.004 | 33% | 12,908,653 | $9,507,891 |
| AVD | Avada Group Limited | 0.65 | 31% | 135,165 | $42,042,837 |
| BEO | Beonic Ltd | 0.026 | 30% | 214,805 | $8,489,899 |
| SCN | Scorpion Minerals | 0.039 | 30% | 3,358,893 | $12,283,686 |
| PBL | Parabellum Resources | 0.069 | 28% | 79,199 | $3,364,200 |
| COD | Coda Minerals Ltd | 0.14 | 27% | 175,151 | $15,660,851 |
| DME | Dome Gold Mines Ltd | 0.19 | 27% | 457 | $54,682,304 |
| KNB | Koonenberry Gold | 0.03 | 25% | 16,700 | $3,305,075 |
| ECT | Env Clean Tech Ltd | 0.005 | 25% | 221,245 | $11,457,242 |
| SGC | Sacgasco Ltd | 0.01 | 25% | 1,069,605 | $6,237,497 |
| PEK | Peak Rare Earths Ltd | 0.23 | 24% | 1,829,578 | $49,199,226 |
| 1AI | Algorae Pharma | 0.011 | 22% | 889,391 | $14,952,172 |
| MXO | Motio Ltd | 0.028 | 22% | 40,000 | $6,168,562 |
| ASM | Ausstrat Materials | 1.19 | 20% | 745,489 | $165,124,062 |
| AQX | Alice Queen Ltd | 0.006 | 20% | 1,425,872 | $3,454,921 |
| BLZ | Blaze Minerals Ltd | 0.006 | 20% | 58,262 | $3,142,791 |
| GTI | Gratifii | 0.006 | 20% | 1,162,240 | $6,846,113 |
| ABE | Australian Bond Exchange | 0.025 | 19% | 59,388 | $2,366,030 |
An unexceptional MinRes (ASX:MIN) farm-in deal was enough to power tightly held, $2m capped lithium explorer Lord Resources’ (ASX:LRD) to a strong daily gain.
If the deal goes ahead, serial lithium acquirer MIN will spend $1m on exploration to get an initial 40% of the early stage Horse Rocks project, near its 66Mt Mt Marion mine in WA.
Lion Energy (ASX:LIO) has development approval for its hydrogen generation and refuelling hub project at the Port of Brisbane, with construction to kick off Q2 this year.
The hub will initially focus on supplying hydrogen to domestic public bus fleets, truck fleets, and fuel cell gensets for the construction and mining industry.
Rare earths hopeful Peak Rare Earths (ASX:PEK) drilled into high grade fluorspar at its Ngualla project in Tanzania.
Fluorspar is mainly used in steel, iron, and aluminium production; refrigeration and air conditioning; fluorochemicals; nuclear uranium fuel; and oil refining.
Parabellum Resources (ASX:PBL) hit high-grade near-surface nickel-cobalt in drilling at the Miandetta-Redlands prospect in NSW.
And shareholders of troubled Iluka (ASX:ILU) mineral sands spinout Sierra Rutile (ASX:SRX) have been thrown a lifeline in the form of an unsolicited takeover offer.
PRM Services wants to acquire all SRX shares it does not own at a price of A$0.095 cash per share, which represents a 21.79% premium to the closing price of SRX shares on 19 March.
SRX – which has plummeted 56% in the last 12 months — says ‘take no action’ for the time being.
YESTERDAY’S SMALL CAP LAGGARDS
Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:
| Code | Company | Price | % | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLZDC | Classic Minerals | 0.014 | -72% | 14,665,728 | $12,890,085 |
| AXP | AXP Energy Ltd | 0.001 | -50% | 662,170 | $11,649,361 |
| AYM | Australia United Min | 0.002 | -33% | 300,000 | $5,527,732 |
| JPR | Jupiter Energy | 0.016 | -27% | 203,462 | $28,020,348 |
| GMN | Gold Mountain Ltd | 0.003 | -25% | 10,596,184 | $9,111,514 |
| LNU | Linius Tech Limited | 0.0015 | -25% | 35,000 | $10,393,481 |
| CLV | Clover Corporation | 0.62 | -23% | 738,958 | $134,434,470 |
| PLC | Premier1 Lithium Ltd | 0.028 | -22% | 320,000 | $6,284,667 |
| S66 | Star Combo | 0.12 | -20% | 4,467 | $20,262,447 |
| ATH | Alterity Therap Ltd | 0.004 | -20% | 5,464,074 | $26,190,089 |
| ALA | Arovella Therapeutic | 0.125 | -19% | 8,034,951 | $143,399,217 |
| HPC | The Hydration Company | 0.013 | -19% | 180,000 | $4,242,269 |
| CG1 | Carbonxt Group | 0.072 | -18% | 325,633 | $28,593,105 |
| EQN | Equinox Resources | 0.175 | -17% | 728,368 | $21,246,751 |
| GSM | Golden State Mining | 0.01 | -17% | 210,029 | $3,352,448 |
| IVX | Invion Ltd | 0.005 | -17% | 21,043 | $38,547,193 |
| NGS | NGS Ltd | 0.01 | -17% | 561,591 | $3,014,729 |
| TIG | Tigers Realm Coal | 0.005 | -17% | 84,169 | $78,400,214 |
| BM8 | Battery Age Minerals | 0.105 | -16% | 1,293,028 | $11,470,040 |
| AMM | Armada Metals | 0.016 | -16% | 10,000 | $3,952,000 |
| ABX | ABX Group Limited | 0.056 | -15% | 427,575 | $16,502,661 |
| OMX | Orange Minerals | 0.023 | -15% | 100,000 | $2,315,255 |
| HHR | Hartshead Resources | 0.006 | -14% | 3,887,947 | $19,660,775 |
| MOZ | Mosaic Brands Ltd | 0.12 | -14% | 255,297 | $24,990,902 |
Sales revenue plummeted 39% to $27.3m in the half year ending 31 January, says infant formula stock Clover Corp (ASX:CLV).
It blames declining global birth rates, a shift in Chinese manufacturing preferences towards algae DHA over fish DHA, and intensified competition in a shrinking market for continued sluggish demand.
Orange Minerals (ASX:OMX) drilled a bunch of dusters in a phase one 1000m program at the Eastern Gold Fields project.
Cancer fighter Arovella Therapeutics (ASX:ALA) says the partnership to combine its ALA‐101 platform and Imugene’s (ASX:IMU) onCARlytics platform has ended “with immediate effect”.
Related Stories
UNLOCK INSIGHTS
Discover the untold stories of emerging ASX stocks.
Daily news and expert analysis, it's free to subscribe.
By proceeding, you confirm you understand that we handle personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
