by Peter Milios
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.32 per cent or 23 points lower at 7,128.30. Only Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary were able to finish higher, closing 0.22 per cent and 0.18 per cent higher respectively.
Major mining stocks, including gold, iron ore and lithium players, led today’s losses. BHP (ASX:BHP) fell by 0.4 per cent, Rio Tino decreased by 0.46 per cent, Santos (ASX:STO) closed 0.84 per cent lower, and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) closed 1.53 per cent lower.
However, on the lithium front, Lake Resources closed 1.2 per cent higher as its Kachi plant operations reached a milestone.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 84 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 11.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 41.75 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 30 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Communication Services, up 0.22 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Materials, down 0.63 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL), closing 2.07 per cent higher at $32.02. It was followed by shares in The Lottery Corporation (ASX:TLC) and carsales.com (ASX: CAR)
The worst-performing large cap was Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC), closing 3.69 per cent lower at $8.215. It was followed by shares in QBE Insurance Group (ASX:QBE) and Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has gained 0.70 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.34 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has gained 0.63 per cent.
Company news
Turaco Gold’s (ASX:TCG) RC drilling program has delivered excellent results, confirming good continuity, with high-grade plunging shoots. In response, Managing Director, Justin Tremain commented: “We look forward to receiving and reporting results from the reconnaissance, which, if positive, would show substantial growth potential at Satama.” Shares last traded 5.17 per cent higher at 6.1 cents.
Calidus Resources (ASX:CAI) is pleased to declare commercial production at their gold project. The processing plant is now operating at nameplate capacity. Calidus Managing Director Dave Reeves said: “We are very pleased to have achieved commercial production and positive cash flow from the operations for the month. We are now focussing on fine tuning operations to increase throughput rates and production and we look forward to releasing guidance later this month.” Shares last traded 7.46 per cent higher at 36.0 cents.
Leaf Resources (ASX:LER) has received a signed non-binding Letter of Intent from Formosa Plastics Group for offtake of 300,000 tonnes per annum of premium wood pellets. Construction of the initial pine chemicals plant to be located at Rotorua, New Zealand is expected to commence in Q1 2023 and targeted to be operational by Q4 2023. Shares last traded 13.6 per cent lower at 1.9 cents.
Clean lithium developer Lake Resources (ASX:LKE) and its direct lithium extraction technology partner, Lilac Solutions, are pleased to announce the on-time achievement of key milestones for Project Kachi. Project Kachi is a world-class lithium development project that is poised to lead the industry in the production of high-quality lithium with a minimal environmental footprint. Lake CEO and Managing Director David Dickson said the achievement of these milestones demonstrated the significant promise of Project Kachi. “Lilac has proven to be an exceptional partner to work with in our joint pursuit of the efficient and cleaner delivery of high-quality lithium, which is in increasingly high demand by battery makers.” Shares last traded 2.12 per cent higher at 84.3 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,875.60 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.9 per cent lower at US$118.70 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.9 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.45 lower at US$74.18 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 69.14 US cents.
