It was a poor start to the week, as all sectors finished in the red, falling by 1.4 per cent or 95 basis points to 6667.80.
Australian fruit company Costa Group
(ASX:CGC) was subject to a cyber attack this afternoon, with fears that private information has been leaked. The company’s share price dropped by 0.9 per cent to close the day at $2.22.
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 87 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 12.25 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a fall of 46.75 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 94 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performersAll sectors closed in the red. The sector with the fewest losses was Utilities, down 3.18 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Consumer Staples, down 0.33 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Sims
(ASX:SGM), closing 2.34 per cent higher at $13.12. It was followed by shares in Fortescue Metals Group
(ASX:FMG) and Tabcorp Holdings
(ASX:TAH).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Johns Lyng Group
(ASX:JLG), closing 14.83 per cent lower at $5.63. It was followed by shares in Capricorn Metals
(ASX:CMM) and Imugene
(ASX:IMU).
Asian marketsHong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 2.49 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has lost 0.39 per cent.
Today markets in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia are closed for holidays.
Fed and markets saying different things on financial stressFedspeak continues to push back against concerns about financial stress and thoughts that dislocations will drive a meaningful policy pivot. The market seems to be of the mindset that Fed tightening usually ends with something breaking and this time will be no different, particularly given the aggressiveness of the current rate hike cycle. Gauge of stress in US markets produced by the Treasury's Office of Financial Research recently hit the highest levels since May 2020 (FT). FX remains front and centre with some key one-month vols near panic highs (The Market Ear). Yen back near levels that prompted the first intervention since 1998. Also some broader headlines about FX reserve erosion. Bond market volatility is another area of scrutiny with MOVE at highest weekly close since 2009 (The Market Ear). UK 30-year Gilt yields more than 50 bp above their recent intervention lows. BofA warned last week its Credit Stress Indicator (CSI) stands "borderline critical zone" (Zero Hedge).
Company newsicetana
(ASX:ICE), a global software company providing artificial intelligence solutions to detect real-time anomalous events, has entered into a binding placement agreement for an investment from Macnica Inc, a subsidiary of Macnica Holdings, Inc. The US$500k (A$771k) investment is for new fully paid ordinary shares. Funds will be used to accelerate icetana’s commercialisation activities and increasing global sales channels utilising Manica’s very strong global distribution platform for the company’s motion intelligence software. The new investment was made at 2.7 cents representing a small discount of 10 per cent to the 15 trading day volume weighted average price of 3.0 cents. Chief Executive Officer Matt Macfarlane commented: “We have enjoyed an excellent relationship with the team from Macnica who have been deeply engaged in our product journey as well as actively positioning us in the crucial Japanese surveillance market. This investment underlines our commitment to expand beyond Japan with Macnica and deepens the ties between our two companies”. Shares closed up 6 per cent to 4 cents.
Helix Resources
(ASX:HLX) provided an update this morning on the ongoing copper exploration drilling at its Canbelego Joint Venture Project located in the Cobar region of New South Wales. The company has received assays for two further diamond drill holes and one RC hole within the Canbelego Main Lode project area. Commenting on the latest drill results, Helix Managing Director Mike Rosenstreich said: “We are excited to deliver high-grade copper results from our advanced Canbelego Main Lode project featuring two to nearly five percent copper assays. Results also included the highest-grade intercept to date in the upper 150 metres of the Main Lode, confirming the potential for high-grade copper mineralisation at shallower depths. These results are significant because they are extending known high-grade shoots, and with new higher grades from infill drilling, both aspects potentially adding copper tonnes”. Shares closed unchanged at 1 cent.
Actinogen Medical
(ASX:ACW) announced positive Phase 2a clinical data from its Alzheimer’s Disease biomarker study, which validates the company’s Xanamem program. In response to the news, Professor Paul Rolan, Actinogen’s Chief Medical Officer, said: “These clinical results provide further validation of our Alzheimer’s Disease program and are a significant step forward in the development of Xanamem as a new treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease with a novel, amyloid- independent mechanism of action”. Shares closed up 25 per cent to 12 cents.
Galileo Mining
(ASX:GAL) today provided an exploration update from ongoing RC drilling north of the Callisto palladium platinum-gold-rhodium-nickel-copper discovery within the company’s 100 per cent owned Norseman project in Western Australia. Galileo’s MD Brad Underwood commented: “RC drilling north of Callisto has identified a new zone of disseminated nickel sulphide in the first exploration drill program in the area since the discovery at Callisto defined the prospective geological unit on Galileo’s ground. Our target generation model suggested that the five kilometres north of Callisto are the most prospective and these early drill results strongly support this concept”. Shares closed up 13 per cent to $1.36.
Knosys
(ASX:KNO), a global software-as-a-service (SaaS) information technology company offering a range of software solutions designed to boost productivity, collaboration, and connectivity in the digital workplace, announced this morning that the ANZ Bank has signed a 3-year contract extension for the continued use of Knosys’ Knowledge Management solution, KnowledgeIQ. The value of the contract over the 3 years is expected to exceed $5 million. In addition, ANZ Bank has committed to a series of upgrades to the latest release of KnowledgeIQ to benefit from its new features. Knosys Managing Director, John Thompson, said: “This contract extension reflects the confidence that ANZ has in our capacity to deliver a superior Knowledge Management solution. We are seeing more clients in government agencies and financial services, becoming increasingly focused on employee and customer engagement. Our solutions support these initiatives by enabling employees and customers to find relevant information more quickly, either through call centres or through digital channels such as websites and chatbots. KnowledgeIQ enables organisations to deliver consistent and accurate information by being a single source of truth”. Shares closed up 6 per cent to 9 cents.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1687.85 an ounce.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a rise of 2.69 per cent.
Light crude is trading $0.84 lower at US$90.51 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 63.32 US cents.
