Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the market opens

On Stockhead today, five ways spring property will be a buyers’ market, what’s happening with Covid focused biotechs and active vs passive – who’s winning?

But first, the day ahead.

Local shares are set to open higher today. At 8am AEST, the ASX 200 September futures contract is pointing up by 0.50%.

TRADING HALTS

The following companies went into trading halts yesterday and are expected out in the next few days:

Comet Ridge (ASX:COI) – Capital Raaaaaaise. Yee-ha! 

DXN (ASX:DXN) – The company’s got an update on the fire sale it announced a few days back in preparation for a wind-up (not the ‘prank’ kind – they’re shutting up shop). 

Norwest Minerals (ASX:NWM) – Capital Raise. Kanye’s Kardashian Kid’s Kronically low on Potassium (K).

GBM Resources (ASX:GBZ) – Capital Raise. I can’t think of a joke for this one, so we’d like you to imagine I did, and then have a quiet chuckle to yourself about how clever we are. Thank you. 

Australian Pacific Coal (ASX:AQC) – Trading Halt Extension request. These are pretty rare, and this one is because it’s Handbags at 20 Paces over control of AQC, which is gonna get ugly pretty soon.

COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES

Gold: $US1,717.11 (+0.93%)

Silver: $US18.46 (+2.27%)

Nickel (3mth): $US21,600/t (+0.12%)

Copper (3mth): $US7,622.50/t (-0.79%)

Lithium Carbonate, China (Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, Aug 17): $US71,200/t (+90.2% year-to-date)

Lithium Hydroxide, China (Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, Aug 17): $US71,775/t (+127.4% year-to-date)

Oil (WTI): $US82.00 (-5.52%)

Oil (Brent): $US87.78 (-5.44%)

Iron 62pc Fe: $US97.19 (-0.26%)

AUD/USD: 0.6761 (-0.12%)

Bitcoin: $US19,340 (+2.21%)

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Also, be sure to check in preopen each day for ‘Market highlights and 5 ASX small caps to watch’, and 10.30am for our daily ‘10 at 10’ column — a live summary of winners & losers at the opening bell.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

IRIS Metals (ASX:IR1) has identified two additional aeromagnetic targets over newly acquired ground at its Kookynie gold project just 60km south of Leonora, Western Australia.

The newly granted P40/1559 permit and the pending P40/1563 permit at the northern end of the project are located within the area covered by the company’s 2021 high resolution aeromagnetic survey that had highlighted 24 targets at that time.

This has allowed IR1 to incorporate the new tenements into the project-wide structural interpretation while identifying the two new structural targets for evaluation. The stock is going off.

The company says drill plans are being finessed based on areas with the most potential to deliver whacko-the-diddley economic resources.

MC Mining (ASX:MCM) Reuben’s been watching this one struggle bravely over the years, and now it appears, the tide has finally turned for this tiny South African coal miner and project developer.

Up on no specific news MCM could be the latest popper to suggest, damn it sure is a great time to be in coal.

MCM recently completed a Bankable Feasibility Study – the most advanced of all project studies – on its flagship 296Mt ‘Makhado’ hard coking coal project in South Africa (68% interest).

The BFS envisages a production of 13.7Mt (coking) and 11.9Mt (thermal) over a 22-year mine life. Post-tax IIR and NPV were estimated at 38.2% and $268m, respectively.

The project would use existing infrastructure to minimise upfront costs, which have been estimated at $41m.

MCM plans to start certain early-works activities at Makhado later in CY2022 and funding dependent, construction is planned to commence in early CY2023.

Meanwhile, a recently entered coal sales and marketing agreement will see coal exported from MCM’s small Uitkomst operation “ensuring the colliery benefits from the prevailing international coal prices”.

Reubs says that means potentially bigger profits going forward, starting in the current quarter.

The $70m market cap stock is up 289% year to date. It had $3.4m in the bank at the end of June.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

No small cap left behind.