by Peter Milios
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.67 per cent lower at 6,968.60, with 9 out of 11 sectors in the red.
The materials sector was the worst performer, falling by 1.3 per cent, and Polynovo (ASX:PNV) and Megaport (ASX:MP1) shares dropped by 12.3 per cent and 8.5 per cent, respectively.
However, consumer staples and one other sector were in the green, rising by 0.2 per cent. Iron ore prices traded higher in Singapore, increasing by 0.5 per cent to US$126.80 per tonne, while BHP (ASX:BHP) fell 0.8 per cent.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 141 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 18.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 60.25 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 46 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Consumer Staples, up 0.13 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Materials, down 1.13 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Infratil (ASX:IFT), closing 2.50 per cent higher at $8.19. It was followed by shares in Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) and Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST).
The worst-performing large cap was Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS), closing 4.72 per cent lower at $3.43. It was followed by shares in Allkem (ASX:AKE) and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has lost 0.25 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has gained 0.80 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has lost 1.60 per cent.
Company news
88 Energy (ASX:88E) announced that the Hickory-1 surface hole was successfully drilled. The company anticipates the primary and secondary target zones to be intersected within the next two weeks. Shares closed 9.09 per cent higher 1.2 cents.
Kuniko (ASX:KNI) has announced that exceptional cobalt mineralisation drill intersection and new shallow mineralised horizon has been observed at their Skuterud Project in Norway. In response, Antony Beckmand, CEO, commented, “Our further drilling now is cause for excitement with these intersections having an abundance of visible cobalt mineralisation and delivering a new shallow horizon.” Shares closed 19.8 per cent higher at 48.5 cents.
Argonaut Resources (ASX:ARE) has announced that Lithium drilling is underway at their Higginsville project in WA. All soil samples have now been submitted to the laboratory for analysis. Shares closed 33.3 per cent higher 0.2 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,980.10 an ounce.
Iron ore is 2.6 per cent lower at US$121.40 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $0.70 lower at US$70.20 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.40 US cents.
