At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 1.40 per cent or 94.40 points lower at 6664.40.
Iron ore futures prices have fallen to their lowest point since 2021, as Chinese President Xi shows no signs of change. Investors now have to wait till Tuesday for the release of more Chinese economic data.
Lithium stocks were up, amid reports Chinese lithium prices have hit a new all-time high:
- Lake Resources (ASX:LKE) closed 3.03 per cent higher at $1.01
- Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) closed 4.89 per cent higher at $1.72
- Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) closed 5.19 per cent higher at $1.22
FuturesThe Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 128 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 16.25 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 45 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 106 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performersAll sectors closed in the red. The sector with the fewest losses was Real Estate Investment Trusts, down 0.49 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Energy, down 2.11 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Core Lithium
(ASX:CXO), closing 5.19 per cent higher at $1.22. It was followed by shares in Liontown Resources
(ASX:LTR) and News Corporation
(ASX:NWS).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Adbri
(ASX:ABC), closing 22.01 per cent lower at $1.44. It was followed by shares in Costa Group Holdings
(ASX:CGC) and St Barbara
(ASX:SBM).
Asian marketsAsia equities trading lower Monday. Japan's Nikkei has so far lost 1.33 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng has so far lost 1.13 per cent and China's Shanghai Composite has so far lost 0.10 per cent.
Most of the sectors are underperforming as growth/tech stocks continue to underperform. Financials are also lower with energy/materials somewhat mixed. Dollar broadly lagging with yen also mostly weaker and euro, sterling outperforming. Yuan markets mixed with offshore strength contrasting with onshore softening.
Company newsDreadnought Resources
(ASX:DRE) announced today that REE mineralised carbonatite intrusions have been confirmed at the C3 and C4 carbonatites. The company has intersected thick rare earth mineralisation in both C3 and C4 in both fresh and weathered material. Dreadnought’s Managing Director, Dean Tuck, commented: “The initial fence line drilling at C3 and C4 was designed to confirm the extent and complexity of the interpreted carbonatite intrusions. The results have already exceeded expectations, we are already off to a good start so the next few months should be extremely exciting.” Shares closed 5.3 per cent higher at $0.10.
Patrys
(ASX:PAB), a therapeutic antibody development company, released this morning new preclinical data for its full-sized IgG antibody, PAT-DX3. Results from a new study support the potential to use deoxymabs to deliver small molecule therapeutics and gene editing technologies across the blood-brain barrier to treat various neurological targets and conditions. Patrys CEO and Managing Director, Dr James Campbell, said: “This is an important result that opens up a range of potential applications for Patrys and its development partners. As we advance PAT-DX1 towards the first clinical trial in cancer patients, it is very exciting for Patrys to be able to identify additional applications for PAT-DX3 that may open up new development or partnering opportunities for the Company.” Shares closed 5.3 per cent higher at $0.02.
Strickland Metals
(ASX:STK) this morning provided an update on its flagship Millrose gold project located in WA. Andrew Bray, CEO, said: “The assay result is one of the most impressive assays returned to date from our flagship Millrose gold project. The oxide mineralisation we are seeing at Wanamaker is arguably more impressive than what has been historically intersected at Millrose, particularly if it continues opening up to the north. The results from the Wanamaker drilling will feed into an updated Mineral Resource, which the Company plans to release to the market in Q1 2023.” Shares closed 2.5 per cent higher at $0.04.
Australian Rare Earths
(ASX:AR3) have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with international rare earths producer Neo Performance Materials Inc (TSX:NEO) to accelerate AR3’s Koppamurra rare earth project. AR3 Non-Executive Chairman, Professor Dudley Kingsnorth, said: “AR3 is delighted to partner with Neo, a world-leader in the rare earths industry, to accelerate the development of our world-class Koppamurra project. Koppamurra has the potential to be a significant near-term source of strategically important heavy rare earths as well as Neodymium and Praseodymium and it is pleasing to see Neo identify the significance of our project.” Shares closed 11.3 per cent higher at $0.34.
Melbana Energy
(ASX:MAY) announced that their Zapato-1 exploration well in Cuba is being drilled. Given the light crude oil that existed in the shallow section of the project, the company believes there is a hydrocarbon zone underneath the volcanics that they are drilling through. Melbana Energy’s Executive Chairman, Andrew Purcell, commented: “We chose the Zapato structure for our second exploration well not just for its potential in its own right but because establishing the validity of this thesis unlocks the potential for similar and multiple very large plays in adjustment structures.” Shares closed 4.8 per cent lower at $0.06.
TerraCom
(ASX:TER) announced its quarterly activities report for the three months ending 30 September 2022 (September Quarter). The company’s production highlights included: total coal sales of 2.34Mt, representing an annualised run rate of 9.36Mt per annum; equity coal sales of 1.38Mt, representing an annualised run rate of 5.52Mt per annum; Blair Athol (BA) completed a planned 14-day dragline shutdown. As a result of these scheduled works, BA achieved coal sales of 452kt (annualised run rate of 1.8Mt per annum). The company’s production highlights included: operating EBITDA of $180million for the September Quarter; average coal price of $497 per sold tonne achieved at BA for the September Quarter; closing cash at bank of $119 million as at 30 September 2022; dividend payment in September 2022 of 10 cents per share (comprising 7.5c ordinary dividend and 2.5c special dividend) for the period ended 30 June 2022. The total payment was $79.9 million. Managing Director, Danny McCarthy commented: "TerraCom continues to deliver solid results, with the September Quarter achieving a combined operating EBITDA result of $180 million from the Australian and South African operations." Shares closed 1.9 per cent lower at $1.05.
Commodities and the dollarGold is trading at US$1652.15 an ounce.
Iron ore is 2.1 per cent higher at US$96.15 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 2.4 per cent.
Light crude is trading $0.72 higher at US$85.37 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 62.38 US cents.
