At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.40 per cent higher at 7,057.50.
The gains come from Energy and Utilities. Energy shares saw a rebound, bouncing back from the previous day's decline. Despite the drop in crude oil prices, energy stocks remained resilient as investors anticipated the upcoming online OPEC+ meeting next week. Angola and Nigeria advocated for increased output quotas, leading to the change from an in-person to an online meeting format.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 28 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Utilities, up 1.82 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Information Technology, down 0.43 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Origin Energy (ASX:ORG), trading 2.58 per cent higher at $8.545. It is followed by shares in Steadfast Group (ASX:SDF) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC).
The worst-performing large cap is WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC), trading 3.16 per cent lower at $64.06. It is followed by shares in EBOS Group (ASX:EBO) and Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN).
Company news
Ark Mines (ASX:AHK) announced that the first pass water-based beneficiation test work of the Sandy Mitchell Rare Earth sands has produced a high commercial grade rare earth concentrate with excellent recoveries. In response to the news, Executive Director Ben Emery said, “the samples had no mechanical or chemical preparation processing before the initial pre-screen to reject oversize +2mm material, and the results achieved are well beyond our expectations.” Shares are trading 14.29 per cent higher at 24 cents.
Aurumin (ASX:AUN) has executed a binding term sheet with Polaris Metals Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN), for the sale of the Iron Ore rights on four of Aurumin’s Mt Dimer exploration tenements. In response, Managing Director, Brad Valiukas, commented, “This agreement allows Aurumin to unlock further value from Mt Dimer, complementing the sale of the Mining Tenements to Beacon Minerals, and will allow further reduction of the Convertible Note.” Shares are trading 14.29 per cent higher at 2.4 cents.
Krakatoa Resources (ASX:KTA) announced that the 6,000m RC drilling program at their King Tamba lithium project will commence in early December. In response, Executive Chairman Colin Locke commented, “Previous drilling covered a mere fraction of the 3km LCT corridor. It’s time to take an aggressive approach and carry out comprehensive drill testing of the high grade anomalous soil zone.” Shares are trading 3.92 per cent higher at 5.3 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2014.60 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.9 per cent lower at US$134.80 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent fall.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.69 US cents.
