by Peter Milios
The ASX’s two-day positive run has turned to three days. It finished the day having increased slightly by 0.03 per cent or 1.80 points higher to 6817.50.
Energy finished the day 2.2 per cent higher, up 9.2 per cent over the last 5 days. The sector surged after OPEC+ agreed to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day to stem falling oil prices.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 141 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 20.25 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 75.50 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 15 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Energy, up 2.21 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Real Estate Investment Trusts, down 0.84 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), closing 7.17 per cent higher at $10.46. It was followed by shares in Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and Link Administration Holdings (ASX:LNK).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Magellan Financial Group (ASX:MFG), closing 8.43 per cent lower at $10.75. It was followed by shares in Kelsian Group (ASX:KLS) and Domain Holdings Australia (ASX:DHG).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has gained 0.96 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.43 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite is closed for National Day.
Yen poised for worst year since 1970
A Reuters poll found FX strategists expect USD/JPY to trade around the current 144 level at year-end, which would leave yearly losses of more more than 20 per cent, the biggest since 1970. Further ahead, they see limited 7 per cent rebound over the next year to 135, equating to a one-third retracement. Also noted 18 out of 60 FX strategist predicted a breach of the 24-year low 145.89 at some point in the next year. Reiterated doubts that unilateral FX intervention will have much impact (despite the possibility of additional operations) against the core dynamic of Fed-BOJ policy divergence. Finance Minister Suzuki maintained readiness to act again after yen weakened back into the 145 handle early this week. Prior JPY2.8T intervention continues to resonate with attention turning to whether repeated moves will lead to rapid drawdown in FX reserves.
Company news
Riversgold (ASX:RGL) is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement to acquire a Prospecting Licence, consolidating its landholding at the Tambourah Lithium Project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The licence covers an area of prospective greenstones in the southern part of the main Tambourah tenement. Riversgold CEO Julian Ford said: “We are pleased to continue the consolidation in and around Tambourah where it makes economic sense and is value-adding for the Company. While the new prospecting licence was previously mined for gold, it sits within what is considered the ‘Goldilocks zone’ for large lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) systems.” Shares finished the day trading 11.43 per cent higher at $0.039
Mount Ridley Mines (ASX:MRD) provided a drilling update today following the receipt of further assay results from its 2022 drilling programme, which specifically targeted clay-hosted rare earth element (REE) mineralisation. The Mount Ridley Project is located near Esperance, Western Australia. Mount Ridley’s Chairman Mr Peter Christie commented “With over 90 per cent of assays now received, the regional drilling programme has been an outstanding success in demonstrating widespread clay hosted REE mineralisation throughout the entire Project area. We are very encouraged by these results with new targets discovered, higher grade and thicker intersections, and significant mineralisation occurring at shallower depths. These results have given the Company confidence to commit to a substantial drilling and metallurgical programme at the REE Project”. Shares finished the day trading 20 per cent higher at $0.006
Clean lithium developer Lake Resources (ASX:LKE) announced today that it has entered into a Conditional Framework Agreement (CFA) with WMC ENERGY for the offtake of up to 25,000 metric tonnes per annum of battery grade lithium from the Kachi Project, and a 10 percent investment by WMC in Lake at $1.20 per share, which represents a 17 per cent premium to Lake’s closing price yesterday. The initial offtake term is for ten years with an option to extend by an additional five years. The offtake will be priced on an agreed market price formula based upon the average quoted price in the quotational applying a discount. The CFA is subject to a standard set of conditions being achieved by Lake Resources that include the finalisation of the Definitive Feasibility Study, the performance of Lilac’s demonstration plant and further due diligence by WMC. The CFA becomes unconditional upon satisfaction of these conditions. Stu Crow, Lake’s Executive Chairman states “The CFA delivers a long-term strategic alignment with WMC and its supply chain into its European and North American customers”. Shares finished the day trading 1.99 per cent higher at $1.025
Immutep (ASX:IMM) a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune disease, will announce first interim data from the INSIGHT-003 clinical trial in a poster presentation at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (CTC) Annual meeting 2022, which is taking place in person in Boston, USA, and virtually from the the 8th till the 12th of November. Shares finished the day trading 4 per cent higher at $0.26.
For North Stawell Minerals (ASX:NSM), composite sampling re-splits have revealed high-grade gold anomalism, emphasising the prospectivity of the Lubeck Tip target. “We are proud to announce that the 1m @ 5.05 g/t Au result in NSAC0172 is the third highest grade air core result drilling through Murray Basin Cover in our tenement package (1925 holes for 108,000m). This result came from the 12th hole drilled into the formerly untested target,” North Stawell Minerals Chief Executive Russell Krause stated. Shares finished the day trading 0.73 per cent higher at $12.32
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1721.77 an ounce.
Light crude is trading $0.01 higher at US$86.85 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.29 US cents.
