by Peter Milios
The ASX has opened slightly higher today, contradicting the Wall Street fall overnight, which was prompted by deep concerns of a reduction in consumer spending over the upcoming Christmas period.
Energy and Materials are the only sectors down at noon, down by 0.68 per cent and 0.81 per cent respectively.
In other news, the ASX has dumped its blockchain project, which would have replaced its ageing Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, or CHESS, settlement system.
The independent report by Accenture found that there were huge gaps and deficiencies with the technology, governance and delivery with the design of the product.
In addition, the Australian economy added 32 thousand jobs in October, more than double the expected amount and September’s downwardly revised 3.8 thousand fall. The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to an almost 50-year low of 3.4 per cent from 3.5 per cent.
At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.12 per cent or 8.60 points higher at 7130.80.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 13 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Communication Services, up 1.18 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Materials, down 0.82 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Webjet (ASX:WEB), trading 8.01 per cent higher at $6.07. It is followed by shares in Pendal Group (ASX:PDL) and St Barbara (ASX:SBM).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Perpetual (ASX:PPT), trading 17.35 per cent lower at $26.10. It is followed by shares in Nickel Industries (ASX:NIC) and Virgin Money UK (ASX:VUK).
Asian news
Asian equities are lower to open the day.
The Nikkei index in Japan is trading 0.26 per cent lower, whilst the Kospi index in South Korea is down 0.41$. Futures in Hong Kong are pointing to losses on the open.
Moving pieces in data and earnings
There were a few moving pieces at work today. While there was a lower rate backdrop, fuelled by peak inflation momentum, there has been a big tailwind for the latest rally, which has been muted today amid heightened concerns about some continued softening in consumer discretionary categories following Target’s earnings. However, interestingly, the October retail sales data still fit with the broader consumer resilience theme. The economic normalisation dynamics are also evident in the retail sales data, though the risks are two-sided and partly on display with the negative update from Micron this morning. Housing is an area of scrutiny, as the 11th straight decline in builder sentiment highlights the more real-time drag from the Fed’s aggressive tightening cycle against the lagged effect for other metrics. At the same time, there is still a lot of pushback against any financial crisis comparisons when it comes to housing.
Company news
Antilles Gold (ASX:AAU) has announced that further drilling has confirmed copper mineralisation at El Pilar deposit in Cuba. The length and grade of the copper mineralisation in the hole shows that El Pilar is potentially a significant copper-gold discovery. In response, Mr Brian Johnson, Executive Chairman of Antilles Gold, said, “the Company intends to complete JORC Resources and a Scoping Study for a proposed low cap-ex open cut oxide gold-copper mine at El Pilar to produce gold and copper concentrates, by October 2023.” Shares are trading flat at $0.043.
Mt Monger Resources (ASX:MTM) has confirmed its drilling program shows that the REE mineralisation contains a significant proportion of valuable heavy, magnetic and critical rare earth oxides. The recent program confirms REE grades and a continuity of clay-hosted mineralisation. In response, Managing Director Lachlan Reynolds commented, “We are excited by the scale of this opportunity – the mineralisation potentially extends over a very large area, most of which is still untested by drilling.” Shares are trading 20 per cent higher at $0.12.
Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) is expanding its northern lithium hub in Québec, following an agreement with Troilus Gold, concerning a significant exploration package located near the Moblan Lithium Project. Sayona is paying C$40 million worth of SYA stock as consideration for the claims to be acquired. In response, Sayona’s Managing Director, Brett Lynch, stated, “This is an investment in Sayona’s future production by acquiring nearly 1,000 square kilometres of prospective lithium acreage, more than 200 times the size of our current Moblan project.” Shares are trading 2.13 per cent lower at $0.23.
TerraCom (ASX:TER) announced a fully franked dividend of 10 cents per fully paid ordinary share (Share) has been declared by the company’s Board of Directors. This dividend is in line with the previously announced dividend policy and applies to the quarter ended 30 September 2022. Some details include: the dividend will total 10 cents per share (comprising an ordinary dividend of 7.5 cents per share and a special dividend of 2.5 cents per share), the dividend will return approximately 75 per cent of NPAT for the period ended 30 September 2022 and the dividend is fully franked. Commenting on the dividend, Non-Executive Chairman, Graeme Campbell, said, “Following payment of this dividend in December 2022, the Company will have returned 20 cents per share to shareholders since July 2022. This is an excellent return for shareholders and represents a dividend yield in excess of 25 per cent for the half year, based on the current share price.” Shares are trading 8.93 per cent higher at $0.915.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1773.82 an ounce.
Iron ore is 2.5 per cent higher at US$98.10 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 0.6 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.36 US cents.
