Top 10 at 11: ASX ticks up; Metal Bank and Haranga Resources shine

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 higher as Wall Street reaches record highs

The ASX 200 is up slightly at the time of writing (+0.09%) as all three major US indexes closed at record highs overnight.

Wall Street rallied on expectations of a more dovish Federal Reserve on the back of further figures showing a weakening US labour market. The S&P 500 closed up 0.3%, the Nasdaq advanced 0.4% and the Dow Jones added 0.4%.

The economy added 911,000 fewer jobs than previously estimated in the 12 months to March, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note edged higher to 4.09% as markets continue to assess the outlook for interest rates.

Gold is holding near US$3,665 an ounce after hitting a record above US$3,714.

Oil has gained after Israel launched an attack against Hamas leaders in Qatar. Brent crude trades at US$66.45 a barrel and WTI at US$63.

Iron ore on the Singapore exchange is at ~US$107 a tonne, Bitcoin hovers around US$111,500, and the Australian dollar is buying US66c.

SMALL CAP WINNERS

Metal Bank (ASX:MBK) is up 23% in morning trade after signing a non-binding term sheet with Hastings Technology Metals (ASX:HAS) to acquire HAS ‘s WA gold assets, subject to due diligence and shareholder approval. MBK has also begun a scoping study on the Kingsley and Homestead deposits at its Livingstone project.

The deal includes Great Western Gold, which holds a 75% interest in the Whiteheads project near Kalgoorlie, the Ark project northeast of Carnarvon, and the Darcy project in the East Kimberley, together spanning more than 480km².

MBK will issue $2.3 million in shares to HAS at $0.014373 per share, being the 10-day VWAP at the time of signing the term sheet, comprising $2m for the assets and $300,000 for cash held by Great Western Gold at completion.

Haranga Resources (ASX:HAR) shares were up 22% in morning trade after reporting initial assay results from its maiden aircore drilling program at the Ibel South gold project in southeastern Senegal. The campaign, completed in July, confirmed strong gold anomalism previously identified through termite mound sampling.

The 2,000-metre program covered 41 drillholes across four lines targeting anomalies and artisanal workings, with results pointing to broad, shallow and high-grade gold zones. Highlights included 20m at 6.54 g/t gold from 12m, including 4m at 14.64 g/t, and 10m at 6.35 g/t from 44m, with the hole ending in mineralisation.

Drilling suggests mineralisation could extend laterally over 700m or more, with potential for greater strike length if zones connect, supporting the project’s prospectivity.

Superior Resources (ASX:SPQ) is up 20% in morning trade after reporting results from its Greenvale project, confirming Halls Reward and Telegraph as high-grade copper-gold-silver targets. Sampling at Halls Reward returned up to 46.5% Cu with 6.58g/t Au and 24.5g/t Ag, alongside several other multi-gram gold and silver assays.

Historical drilling and soil geochemistry indicate at least 1.1km of unmined extensions of the Halls Reward Lode, including 4m at 8.8% Cu (2.4m at 13.5% Cu) and 7m at 3.5% Cu (1.8m at 7.6% Cu). At Telegraph, 3km northwest, reconnaissance returned copper up to 10.99% with notable gold and silver.

The results confirm Halls Reward and Telegraph as priority VMS Cu-Au targets. Superior Resources plans follow-up fieldwork and drilling to test depth extensions and strike continuity of the mineralisation.

SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

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