by Peter Milios
At noon, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.1 per cent lower at 7,549.20.
All sectors besides Energy and Materials are trading lower today, after the US sectors fell on Friday due to a strong jobs report, which caused some investors to worry about the Federal Reserve continuing to raise interest rates.
Amidst gold’s recent price surge, Newmont, the world’s biggest gold miner, has made two tentative bids for Newcrest (ASX:NCM) in a deal worth more than $24 billion.
Newcrest received a non-binding and conditional indicative proposal from Newmont to exchange 0.380 Newmont shares for each Newcrest share held. The Newcrest board is considering the proposal, which is subject to multiple conditions, but there’s a possibility that Barrick, the world’s second largest miner, will also bid for Newmont.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 17 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Materials, up 0.90 per cent. The worst-performing sector is REITs, down 1.40 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM), trading 11.45 per cent higher at $25.02. It is followed by shares in Incitec Pivot (ASX:IPL) and Computershare (ASX:CPU).
The worst-performing large cap is Insurance Australia Group (ASX:IAG), trading 2.22 per cent lower at $4.63. It is followed by shares in Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and Harvey Norman Holdings (ASX:HVN).
Asian news
Stocks in the Asia-Pacific were mixed on Monday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report from the US. Investors were worried that the Federal Reserve has room for more interest rate hikes, as it continues its efforts to control inflation.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.2 per cent and the Topix rose 0.9 per cent while the Kospi in South Korea fell 0.86 per cent and the Kosdaq lost 0.54 per cent.
Stocks of Adani Group will continue to be closely watched at Mumbai open, as allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud raised by Hindenburg raises concerns of spillover effects on the wider Indian markets and on Wall Street lenders. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index showed founder and chairman Gautam Adani’s net worth fell by more than 51.1 per cent, or $61.6 billion, year-to-date, on Friday.
Company news
Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) has confirmed that it received a conditional and non-binding indicative proposal from Newmont Corporation to acquire 100 per cent of the issued shares of Newcrest by way of a scheme of arrangement. Newcrest shareholders would be entitled to receive 0.380 Newmont shares for each Newcrest share held. Based on Newmont’s last trading price of $49.85 and the exchange rate, this represents an approximate premium of 22 per cent on Newcrest’s trading price of $22.45. Shares are currently trading 11.5 per cent higher at $25.03.
Imagion Biosystems (ASX:IBX), announced that an independent blinded review by a panel of expert breast cancer radiologists has corroborated the Company’s previously reported positive findings. In response, Bob Proulx, CEO. “We now have a clear indication that our MagSense® magnetic nanoparticle technology could work with the existing medical imaging infrastructure to provide the clinical benefit to breast cancer patients we have been aiming for.” Shares are currently trading 43.2 per cent higher at 3.2 cents.
Emyria (ASX:EMD) expands MDMA programs following a landmark TGA decision that changes down-scheduling to Schedule 8 medicines from July 1st, 2023. In response, Emyria’s Managing Director, Dr Michael Winlo said: “Emyria is well-prepared to support the safe provision of MDMA-assisted therapies under this new change as the only ASX company with a clinical service specialising in unregistered medicines and Real-World Data generation.” Shares are currently trading 47.4 per cent higher at 28 cents.
Immutep (ASX:IMM) has announced that the enrollment target has been reached for INSIGHT-003 Trial of 20 patients. In response, Immutep’s CSO & CMO Dr Frederic Triebel said, “The promising initial efficacy and favourable safety results reported in November 2022 from this first triple combination approach instil more confidence in the flexibility of our novel immunotherapy, to be combined with various therapeutics and safely drive superior patient outcomes.” Shares are currently trading 1.75 per cent higher at 29 cents.
Magnetite Mines (ASX:MGT) announced that it has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Whyalla Ports Pty, a company that is part of the GFG Alliance and managed by SIMEC Mining, a business unit within the GFG Alliance responsible for the iron ore business in the South Middleback Ranges. MGT CEO Tim Dobson said: “Our agreement to work with SIMEC Mining to investigate export services as part of an overall review of export options represents an important step in the development of the Razorback Iron Ore Project.” Shares are currently trading 2.44 per cent lower at 40.0 cents.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1782.70 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.9 per cent higher at US$126.25 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.2 per cent rise.
One Australian dollar is buying 69.14 US cents.
