Top 10 at 11: ASX slides as investors jump on profit taking … but the birthplace of BHP is back on the ASX

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.

Profit taking pushes ASX lower

After hitting two new fresh closing highs last week, it’s no surprise the ASX has slipped back into profit taking patterns, falling sharply in the first hour of trade.

The ASX200 is down 0.74% as of about 10.30am AEST, with all 11 sectors flashing red.

Our top 7 banks and broader gold stocks are taking the brunt of it at the moment, with the ASX 200 Banks index down 1.34% and the All Ords Gold shedding 0.93%.

The All Tech (-0.16%) and ASX 200 Resources (-0.39%) are in better shape than most, offering a hint of where some supporting strength might come from later in the day.

In the meantime, let’s check out which ASX small caps are finding their feet despite the general market hangover.

WINNERS

In the news…

Broken Hill Mines (ASX:BHM) has officially listed the ASX, simultaneously kicking off a 4000m drilling program at the Pinnacles Mine with another 3000m of results awaiting assay at the lab.

BHM is looking to expand the Pinnacles resource, which currently sits at 6Mt at 10.9% zinc equivalent. It owns the operating Rasp mine, located around the site of the Broken Hill discovery on which the world’s biggest miner BHP was founded.

Blaze Minerals (ASX:BLZ) is poised to begin drilling at the Loulombo base metals project in the Republic of Congo, after finalising the project’s acquisition from Congo Shining SARL.

BLZ is particularly interested in the Mimpala target, a 1.5km by 500m zone with artisanal workings over 800m of that strike. The target area has produced rock chip results of up to 60.5% lead, 13.2% vanadium, 2.3% copper and 6.3% zinc.

Mark Creasy-backed Peregrine Gold (ASX:PGD) has unearthed a large-scale channel iron deposit at the Newman gold project, over a continuous strike of 6.4km. Initial results have averaged about 57% iron, peaking at 61%.

It’s the first time iron has been identified in the area, having never been reported by past explorers or the GSWA.

ActivEX (ASX:AIV) has drummed up a 310,000-ounce gold resource at the Mt Hogan historical gold mine, the first JORC estimate for the mine, which sits within the Gilberton JV gold project with Gilberton Gold Pty Ltd.

Management is also keen to investigate two other historical gold mining centres at the Josephine and Comstock prospects, which have had little modern exploration.

RBR Group (ASX:RBR) is working to capitalise on a revival of liquid natural gas developments in Mozambique, spearheaded by TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil megaprojects.

The company offers a range of services including training, labour hire, and camp construction and management, all necessary components of project development and management.

LAGGARDS

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Broken Hill Mines and Peregrine Gold are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

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