Top 10 at 11: ASX goes for a dip; mining stocks target critical minerals
With the market opening at 10am sharp eastern time, the data is taken at 10.15am in the east, once trading kicks off in earnest.
In brief, this is what the market has been up to this morning.
Profit taking sets the tone
The market is in an odd kind of shape this morning, down 0.28% in the first hour with 8 of 11 sectors higher.
After setting two new record closing highs this week, it's not terribly surprising to see traders lock in gains by selling down, taking profits in financial and utilities stocks in particular.
The ASX 200 Utilities index is up 6.2% for the year so far, while the financials sector has added 8% over the same period.
Oil dipped again overnight, sliding to US$66.15 a barrel of Brent. Gold futures also slid, down 0.2% to US3399 an ounce with spot gold trading at US$3344 an ounce this morning.
Critical minerals are taking the spotlight in early trade, with three of our four small cap winners for the morning looking to unlock their strategic value.
SMALL CAP WINNERS
Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap
SFG Seafarms Group Ltd 0.002 100% 4403092 $4,836,599
OD6 OD6 Metals Ltd 0.054 54% 2041428 $5,616,378
IS3 I Synergy Group Ltd 0.012 50% 6865393 $13,650,399
ATT Altitude Minerals 0.027 35% 2552650 $3,729,213
CHM Chimeric Therapeutic 0.004 33% 170503 $9,763,676
CYQ Cycliq Group Ltd 0.006 20% 100000 $2,302,583
OVT Ovanti Limited 0.007 17% 2193931 $25,645,942
KNG Kingsland Minerals 0.15 15% 23628 $9,432,918
WLD Wellard Limited 0.039 15% 135468 $18,062,511
LML Lincoln Minerals 0.008 14% 220000 $14,892,988
In the news...
OD6 Metals (ASX:OD6) is celebrating the production of a mixed rare earth carbonate product of about 56% total rare earth oxides and a mixed rare earth hydroxide product of 59% TREP using feedstock from the Splinter Rock project.
Management says the results are a major milestone for the project, demonstrating a simplified and scalable heap leach flow sheet process is suitable for producing high-quality, low-impurity rare earth products.
I Synergy (ASX:IS3) has inked an MoU with Treasure Global Inc to purchase AI-based GPUs for a total contract value of $300k. IS3 will pay six monthly instalments to procure high-performance computing hardware and software capable of supporting advanced artificial intelligence applications.
Altitude Minerals (ASX:ATT) has identified a zone of zircon and titanium mineralisation with surface sampling at the Nilpinna Eromanga Basin heavy mineral sands project.
ATT is gearing up to drill the area in September, targeting areas that graded up to 30% zircon, 40% ilmenite (titanium dioxide), 10% leucoxene (fine-grained titanium dioxide) and 5% rutile (naturally occurring titanium).
Kingsland Minerals (ASX:KNG) is a step closer to unlocking the gallium mineralisation at the Leliyn graphite project after the CSIRO's testing demonstrated strong potential for an economical byproduct.
While graphite is KNG's main focus at Leilyn, gallium grades up to 135 parts per million in the host rock offer a lucrative opportunity. As a critical mineral, gallium is in high demand, garnering a US$1089 per kilogram price tag.
The company says it's working toward a maiden gallium resource estimate, while also advancing a separate graphite-based scoping study to be wrapped up this quarter.
SMALL CAP LAGGARDS
Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap
1AD Adalta Limited 0.002 -33% 102173 $3,463,949
DTM Dart Mining NL 0.002 -33% 3683801 $3,594,167
TMK TMK Energy Limited 0.002 -33% 1350000 $30,667,149
AYT Austin Metals Ltd 0.003 -25% 3930000 $6,336,765
MRQ Mrg Metals Limited 0.003 -25% 691143 $10,906,075
PRX Prodigy Gold NL 0.002 -20% 1 $16,854,657
MRD Mount Ridley Mines 0.0025 -17% 268209 $2,335,467
ANX Anax Metals Ltd 0.006 -14% 45318 $6,179,653
GTR Gti Energy Ltd 0.003 -14% 2121280 $13,029,292
M4M Macro Metals Limited 0.006 -14% 25000 $27,841,923
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While OD6 Metals and Kingsland Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
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