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

On Stockhead today, it’s World EV Day! And Australia’s even worse than Toyota at it! Plus, why need to consider a wind turbine stock, and uh, some coal news. Sorry.

But first, the day ahead, where’s there’s not much on the data front for Australia – unless you consider China CPI for August and China PPI for August kind of a big deal. Which it is.

Also, it’s Friday.

Local shares are set to open higher today. At 8am AEST, the ASX 200 September futures contract is pointing up by 0.10%.

TRADING HALTS

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

Healthia (ASX:HLA) – There’s an accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer of fully paid ordinary shares. Not a slow one. An accelerated one. Zoom zoom.

Lithium Power International (ASX:LPI) – Capital Raise, coz they want to buy a new MC Hammer and MC Drill.

Heavy Minerals (ASX:HVY) – Please stand by for the impending release of Heavy Minerals’ latest album, “Port Gregory Scoping Study (PGSS) and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA)”. It’s got Absolute Banger written all over it.

RareX (ASX:REE) – Getting in on the Scoping Study action is RareX, with the must-read hit for Springtime, “Cummins Range Rare Earths Project: A Scoping Study by R.E.E. Rarex”

Antipa Minerals (ASX:AZY) – It’s a capital raise announcement, and you weirdos can put your tiki torches away… it says Antipa. With a P. 

MC Mining (ASX:MCM) – MC Mining is launching a capital raise, by selling off MC Hammer’s entire stash of parachute pants.

COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES

Gold: $US1,708.58 (-0.53%)

Silver: $US18.53 (+0.11%)

Nickel (3mth): $US21,900/t (+1.48%)

Copper (3mth): $US7,850/t (+2.98%)

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): $US82.74 (+0.98%)

Oil (Brent): $US88.41 (+0.47%)

Iron 62pc Fe: $US98.37 (+1.21%)

AUD/USD: 0.6751 (0.00%)

Bitcoin: $US19,348 (-0.14%)

WHAT GOT YOU TALKING</h2
In honour of World EV Day, here’s Tesla struggling to get its new battery working:

Eye on Lithium: #EV front-runner @Tesla reportedly struggling with new #battery tech https://t.co/PbGyGGehC1 #ASX $CHR $ASN $XTC $MGA $EUR

— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) September 8, 2022

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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:

West Cobar Metals (ASX:WC1)  looks set to acquire Salazar rare earth elements (REE) clay project in WA. That’s an instant win.

Those shares in payments firm Tyro (ASX:TYR) certainly went on a bit of a crazy-burn, adding well over 25% before lunch yesterday, following the rejected and wholly unsolicited takeover bid. The unwelcome, indicative and non-binding proposal came out of a consortium of private equity investors led by Potentia Capital Management and included HarbourVest, MLC Investments and The Construction and Building Unions Superannuation Fund.

Tyro’s board, led by ex Telstra boss David Thodey, were pretty frank, saying the offer “materially below Tyro’s fundamental value and highly opportunistic” saying the fintech was taking share from the banks in payments and business banking, and it had strong growth prospects.

Australian Pacific Coal (ASX:AQC) gained over 100% by lunchtime. Reuben calling it “another huge rerate for the once maligned tiddler.”

Tiddler no more as AQC shares have gained as much as 600% over the past month.

Former coal baron Nathan Tinkler – via his company PPC – has now upped his bid for control of AQC and its mothballed Dartbrook operation to $1 per share.

That dwarfs the 36c per share offered by M Resources — – largest shareholder in Bowen Coal (ASX:BCB) and significant shareholder in Stanmore Resources (ASX:SMR) – which also wants to acquire the formerly producing operation.

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 caps were killed in the making of this post today.