Lunch Wrap: ASX seesaws into a slippery dip as markets await tariff pause deadline
Gold stocks dragging, down more than 2pc
ASX All Tech adds 0.24pc
ASX seesaws wildly ahead of tariff pause deadline
The ASX wasn't quite sure which way to go earlier this morning, but as of about 1pm AEST it seems to have made up its mind, dipping by about 0.36% at the time of publishing.
Jumping 10 points in the first five minutes, the ASX 200 dropped about the same before spiking back up again an hour later.
It's been a choppy affair ever since, but at least the utilities sector is doing its best to stem too much blood.
Looking at our large caps, market favourites Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) and Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) are trending lower, down 0.12% and 6.6% each.
NST failed to meet its revised production guidance range for the Kalgoorlie production centre, offloading 842k ounces compared to guidance of 850-860k.
The company managed to scrape just over the line for its total gold production guidance numbers, producing 1.643m ounces compared to estimates of 1.63-1.66, but the market was overall displeased with the update.
Healthcare giant CSL (ASX:CSL) is moving in the opposite direction, adding 1.94% alongside a 1.85% jump for James Hardie Industries (ASX:JHX).
Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) has also jumped more than 6% intraday, leading the greater utilities sector higher.
12 countries to receive 'take it or leave it' offers
Twelve countries currently negotiating trade deals with the US Trump administration will soon receive letters offering a final deal from the White House.
A pause on tariffs set to be imposed on the majority of US trading partners will expire on July 9, with most tariffs going into effect by August 1.
"I signed some letters and they'll go out on Monday, probably twelve," Trump said, when asked about the trade negotiations. "Different amounts of money, different amounts of tariffs."
While the Trump administration was initially very optimistic about establishing concrete trade deals with its major partners, the prez has since changed his tune, stating it was easier to send a letter.
That tracks – most major trade deals take years to negotiate, so it was always going to be a tall order to come to dozens of agreements in a matter of months.
Hotly anticipated deals with India and the EU appear to have fallen through at the last minute, leaving the door open for some big market upsets when the new tariffs finally come into effect.
On Friday, Trump added more fuel to that fire, stating tariffs could range up to 70% compared to the 10% to 50% threatened in April.
That said, investors aren't running for the hills as they were on Liberation Day.
"The markets are discounting a return to tariff levels of 35%, 40% or higher, and anticipating an across-the-board level of 10% or so,' Boston-based Twinfocus chief investment officer John Pantekidis told Reuters.
ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for July 7 :
Security Description Last % Volume MktCap
VN8 Vonex Limited. 0.036 100% 2156808 $13,546,863
BMM Bayanminingandmin 0.06 71% 21465707 $3,603,439
EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.0015 50% 546851 $3,253,779
BPM BPM Minerals 0.043 48% 9538695 $2,531,709
ZMM Zimi Ltd 0.011 38% 495333 $3,420,351
GTR Gti Energy Ltd 0.004 33% 13565308 $8,996,849
FRB Firebird Metals 0.098 27% 1505249 $10,961,828
NWM Norwest Minerals 0.014 27% 4401658 $10,651,944
KPO Kalina Power Limited 0.0075 25% 2850600 $17,597,974
BIT Biotron Limited 0.0025 25% 1617648 $2,654,492
BUY Bounty Oil & Gas NL 0.0025 25% 297011 $3,122,944
MMR Mec Resources 0.005 25% 8400000 $7,399,063
SKK Stakk Limited 0.005 25% 102300 $8,300,319
SRZ Stellar Resources 0.02 25% 15750554 $33,276,009
TMK TMK Energy Limited 0.0025 25% 501642 $20,444,766
SCP Scalare Partners 0.13 24% 2500 $4,392,677
NH3 Nh3Cleanenergyltd 0.05 22% 3120545 $26,093,310
ALY Alchemy Resource Ltd 0.006 20% 45000 $5,890,381
WSR Westar Resources 0.006 20% 840301 $1,993,624
CMO Cosmometalslimited 0.02 18% 878586 $5,476,306
DRE Dreadnought Resources Ltd 0.0105 17% 4930863 $45,715,500
AON Apollo Minerals Ltd 0.007 17% 413000 $5,570,741
AS2 Askarimetalslimited 0.007 17% 1859773 $2,425,024
LML Lincoln Minerals 0.007 17% 1550000 $12,615,418
RRR Revolverresources 0.036 16% 114474 $8,564,502
In the news…
Bayan Mining and Minerals (ASX:BMM) has staked 72 lode claims in the Mojave Desert of California in a bid to form the Desert Star rare earth project.
It's a Tier 1 area for rare earth mineralisation, just 4.5km from the Mountain Pass REE Mine (supplied 15.8% of global rare earth production in 2020) and 4.7km from Dateline Resources' (ASX:DTR) Colosseum project, which has shown similar radio metric signatures for REE mineralisation to Mountain Pass.
BMM will begin with a desktop review, field recon and rock chip sampling to drum up some early drilling targets.
Back on Australian soil, BPM Minerals (ASX:BPM) is preparing to begin drilling at its newly acquired Forelands gold project in the Yilgarn Craton–Albany Fraser Orogen margin of WA.
The project has already produced bonanza-grade hits up to 3m at 65.8 g/t gold from 25m of depth in drilling, and BPM reckons Foreland presents a near-term resource conversion opportunity.
Tenement acquisition is a bit of a theme today – Westar Resources (ASX:WSR) is also moving higher after staking a new copper tenement application in the under-explored Birrindudu Basin of Northern Territory.
The Northern Territory Geological Survey and CSIRO both found evidence of sedimentary copper deposits in a review of drill core from Birrindudu, highlighting the area as a potential frontier district for copper mineralisation.
Finally, Dreadnought Resources (ASX:DRE) is launching a test work sampling program at the Mangaroon critical metal project after fielding growing commercial interest in the rare earth and critical mineral potential of the Gillford Creek prospect.
Gillford Creek is prospective for a suite of rare earths as well as niobium, scandium, titanium, phosphorus and zirconium.
DRE management stresses that this sampling program won't distract from its 'More gold, Faster' strategy, but will advance its critical metal commercialisation ambitions.
ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for July 7 :
Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap
GMN Gold Mountain Ltd 0.002 -33% 7556216 $16,859,278
FAU First Au Ltd 0.003 -25% 1009478 $8,305,165
EXT Excite Technology 0.008 -20% 1136999 $20,726,419
GGE Grand Gulf Energy 0.002 -20% 750000 $7,051,062
HTG Harvest Tech Grp Ltd 0.015 -17% 773452 $16,362,330
PV1 Provaris Energy Ltd 0.015 -17% 613604 $12,564,023
ALM Alma Metals Ltd 0.005 -17% 1224333 $11,104,423
ARV Artemis Resources 0.005 -17% 156112 $15,214,033
MRD Mount Ridley Mines 0.0025 -17% 751500 $2,335,467
NES Nelson Resources. 0.0025 -17% 31999 $6,515,783
AVM Advance Metals Ltd 0.041 -16% 6485856 $12,986,707
AGY Argosy Minerals Ltd 0.029 -15% 13769095 $49,501,312
AKN Auking Mining Ltd 0.006 -14% 2943588 $4,023,451
AYT Austin Metals Ltd 0.003 -14% 104766 $5,544,670
LCL LCL Resources Ltd 0.006 -14% 95362 $8,394,800
SPX Spenda Limited 0.006 -14% 750000 $32,306,508
SFM Santa Fe Minerals 0.125 -14% 40492 $10,558,724
SVG Savannah Goldfields 0.02 -13% 630461 $26,256,272
AJX Alexium Int Group 0.007 -13% 39265 $12,691,429
AM5 Antares Metals 0.007 -13% 2163706 $4,118,823
ATS Australis Oil & Gas 0.007 -13% 20000 $10,544,500
GSM Golden State Mining 0.007 -13% 2000000 $2,234,965
RGL Riversgold 0.0035 -13% 875981 $6,734,850
BRU Buru Energy 0.023 -12% 1504129 $20,264,650
SPQ Superior Resources 0.004 -11% 490000 $10,669,422
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Break it Down: MTM Critical Metals (ASX:MTM) is adding national security expert Gregory L. Bowman to the advisory board of US subsidiary Flash Metals USA.
Indiana Resources (ASX:IDA) has leveraged results from geochemical sampling near the Minos project to identify new gold targets.
Australia has a new globally focused deep tech company in MagnaTerra Technologies following the merger of mining innovator NextOre and explosives detection startup MRead.
As the US starts to ramp up domestic antimony support, Nova Minerals' (ASX:NVA) Estelle Project in Alaska is shaping up as a strategic solution.
StockTake: Anson Resources (ASX:ASN) has boosted its exploration prospects at the Green River lithium project in Utah.
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