by Peter Milios
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 1.4 per cent lower at 7,008.9, a three-month low. The fall was mainly due to concerns about a financial crisis after the collapse of US lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Tech stocks, including Novonix (ASX:NVX), BrainChip (ASX:BRN), and Computershare (ASX:CPU), were among the hardest hit.
However, PPK Group (ASX:PPK) rose by more than 14 per cent after announcing plans to acquire a large stake in PowerPlus Energy.
Tinybeans Group (ASX:TNY) also climbed, rising 7.4 per cent to a 10-month high after recovering US$1.3m in deposits at Silicon Valley Bank. Regional banks such as Suncorp (ASX:SUN), Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ), and Bendigo (ASX:BEN) suffered losses, while gold miners Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) and Northern Star (ASX:NST) rose on increased demand for the precious metal.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 138 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 19.75 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 58.5 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 115 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performers
All sectors are in the red. The sector with the fewest losses was REITs, down 0.26 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Information Technology, down 3.44 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ), closing 3.13 per cent higher at $4.95. It was followed by shares in Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) and Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY).
The worst-performing large cap was Computershare (ASX:CPU), closing 7.71 per cent lower at $21.90. It was followed by shares in Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has lost 2.15 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 1.83 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has gained 0.45 per cent.
Company news
Patrys (ASX:PAB) has announced that their preclinical data supports synthetic lethality mechanisms to treat relevant cancers. Patrys Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Dr. James Campbell, said, “This study confirms the potential to use deoxymabs as a single agent to treat cancers which have pre-existing mutations that compromise their DDR systems.” Shares closed 2.1 per cent higher at 2.5 cents.
Mt Monger Resources (ASX:MTM) has completed a drilling program at its East Laverton project in WA. Commenting on the completion of the drilling program, Managing Director Lachlan Reynolds said: “the program involved testing of a number of different geological targets, including the known rare earth element mineralisation anomalies at the Pt Kidman prospect.” Shares closed 7.1 per cent higher at 10.5 cents.
Immutep (ASX:IMM) announced the initiation of Phase II/III trial for metastatic breast cancer. The first patient is expected to be enrolled in early quarter 2 of CY2023. Shares closed 1.9 per cent lower at 26 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,908.30 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1.8 per cent higher at US$132.35 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.43 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.81 lower at US$73.99 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.53 US cents.
