Top 10 at 11: ASX rotates into defensive sectors as small caps fire up the drill bit

Morning, and welcome to Stockhead’s Top 10 (at 11… ish), highlighting the movers and shakers on the ASX in early-doors trading.

With the market opening at 10am sharp eastern time, the data is taken at 10.15am in the east, once trading kicks off in earnest.

In brief, this is what the market has been up to this morning.

ASX goes on the defensive

The first day of October trade is looking a tad choppy at the time of writing – not unlike the last day of September.

The ASX 200 pushed it’s way into the green a bit earlier, but has now slipped 0.17% a bit past 11am AEST, with just four sectors higher.

Gold futures are still climbing, settling almost daily new highs as the US Government prepares for a budget-driven shut down.

Up 0.45% overnight, gold futures are hovering near US$3890.80 an ounce. Gold prices have jumped more than 16% over the quarter.

Utilities and healthcare sectors are leading gains as investors brace for impact, rotating into defensive stocks in preparation.

Our major banks are also getting some love, up 0.3% after a spot of profit taking yesterday.

Oil slid 1.4% overnight and now sits at US$67.02 a barrel of Brent crude as surplus looms.

That’s despite reports Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure have crippled the country’s production and distribution networks, leading to massive shortages nationwide.

Iron ore slid marginally, down 0.1% to US$105.29 a tonne. Chinese manufacturing data is still disappointing the market in the short term, but iron ore rose more than 11% for the quarter.

SMALL CAP WINNERS

In the news…

Tambourah Metals (ASX:TMB) has identified the Beatty Park south project as an emerging gold system with potential for growth after hitting 24m at 18.8g/t gold from 20m. The drill bit struck both oxide and fresh rock gold targets, with results peaking at 4m at 92.2g/t gold.

TMB is keen to follow up with reverse circulation drilling, having only tested 25% of the 500-metre-long gold-in-soil anomaly.

AXP Energy (ASX:AXP) has confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons across multiple pay zones in its Charlie #1 Well in Noble County, Oklahoma.

With the well cased, AXP expects to bring it to production within the next few weeks. The company plans to begin staged hydraulic fracturing between 4293 feet and 4623 feet of depth, accessing more than 260 feet of oil and gas shows.

Alchemy Resources (ASX:AKY) has hit a very broad copper intersection of 113m at 1.17% copper equivalent at the Yellow Mountain project.

AKY says the results confirm and build on historical drilling from the 1970s, validating the value of historical data to guide modern exploration. The Yellow Mountain mine reportedly produced about 360kg of copper from an open put, although accurate records don’t exist.

SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.