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

On Stockhead today, Guy turns Le Page on Australia’s next lithium opportunity, while Gregor (insert udder joke) is all over the enormous upside in Australia’s unsung dairy sector.

Like the legend she is, Emma has every single IPO you ever thought might not be audacious enough to list at this curious time of the year.

Yes, Christmas is almost here. But first, the day ahead.

TRADING HALTS

Earlypay (ASX:EPY) – Sounds like one of the many Black and Gold brand BNPL stocks on the ASX, actually a long-running business finance lender. It’s got a halt on for an update of its FY23 outlook guidance one fortnight after it said the collapse of its biggest “borrower exposure” would not mean an update in guidance. Are the announcements linked at all? Maybe, maybe not. Guess we’ll find out.

Opyl (ASX:OPL) – Needs the halt to raise some money in an orderly fashion, which means they’re presenting to investors wearing scrubs we presume.

Nuheara (ASX:NUH) – Nuheara can’t talk right now, it’s raising cash.

Infinity Lithium (ASX:INF) – Halted pending an announcement into the investigation permit at its San Jose lithium project.

IRIS Metals (ASX:IR1) – We hear food trucks are good investments these days if you can make it work. IRIS Metals is probably acquiring some sort of mining project though.

Fiji Kava (ASX:FIJ) – Another capital raise.

PhosCo (ASX:PHO) – PhosCo has something to say about its Chaketma Mining Concession Application.

Vital Metals (ASX:VML) – Rare earths co. Vital plans to release an announcement of the outcome of a review with respect to optimising the Tardiff Project and the Saskatoon Plant.

COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES

Gold: $US1,814.30 (-0.16%)

Silver: $US23.97 (-0.68%)

Nickel (3mth): $US29,736.50/t (+6.2%)

Copper (3mth): $US8,404.00/t (+0.4%)

Lithium Carbonate, China (Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, DEC 21): $US80,275/t (-1.3% weekly, +123% year-to-date)

Lithium Hydroxide, China (Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, DEC 21): $US80,650/t (-0.4% weekly, +169.2% year-to-date)

Oil (WTI): $US78.50 (+3.1%)

Oil (Brent): $US82.40 (+3.2%)

Iron 62pc Fe: $US110.50 (+0.5%)

AUD/USD: 0.670 (+0.5%)

Bitcoin: $US16,779.64 (-0.6%)

WHAT GOT YOU TALKING YESTERDAY?

New lithium offtake prices for Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) had investors smiling after a tough month for battery metals stocks.

Prices for $PLS spod continue to rise despite investors getting all jittery about whether the lithium market has peaked.https://t.co/bQ49csZaHp

— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) December 21, 2022

And a new acquisition had Arizona Lithium (ASX:AZL) fans humming.

Arizona Lithium has entered into a binding pre-acquisition agreement to acquire Prairie Lithium – which holds the highest quality Inferred lithium brine resource in Canada discovered to date.https://t.co/OjjXkv6F8I #ASX $AZL #AD

— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) December 21, 2022

Keep up to date with Stockhead coverage or you’ll miss gold like that EVERY DAY. Follow our Twitter page.

For all you crypto lovers Stockhead’s Coinhead Facebook group is the place to share your views, insights, tips and ideas.

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.

YESTERDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Here are yesterday’s best performing ASX small cap stocks:

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

Bougainville Copper (ASX:BOC), owner of the controversial Panguna copper mine in PNG, rose steeply for no reason at all.

The 5.3Mt copper and 19.3Moz gold deposit was once run by Rio Tinto but has not been mined since 1989 as tensions around its operation played a role in a decade long civil war.

Consultants conducting a report due to be submitted to an oversight committee in 2024 on the mine’s long term environmental, health, cultural and social impacts were reported to have visited the site for the first time this month.

Shares in iron ore tiddler Pearl Gull Iron (ASX:PLG) rose 28% in a bump one day after raising $2m to keep the lights on and rigs turning at its Cockatoo Island project.

It is drilling there for extremely high-grade hematite, the kind only found in commercial quantities in Australia at neighbouring Mount Gibson Iron’s (ASX:MGX) Koolan Island operations.

YESTERDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are yesterday’s best performing ASX small cap stocks:

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