Lunch Wrap: Stock markets on edge again after Trump's latest serve at Powell
Gold and Aussie dollar pop
Yancoal warns of rocky road, Perenti pulls out of Botswana
The ASX copped a bit of a knock early on, but by lunch it was pretty much treading water.
Overnight, Wall Street had a rough session thanks to a fresh spray from US President Donald Trump, who took aim once again at Jerome Powell, the head of the Fed Reserve.
Trump is apparently looking into whether he can legally fire Powell altogether. He called Powell a 'loser' and demanded immediate interest rate cuts, claiming inflation was basically gone.
″'Preemptive Cuts' in Interest Rates are being called for by many,' Trump growled on Truth Social.
"There can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW."
That sent a chill through the markets, immediately dragging down US stocks, bonds and the greenback.
The S&P 500 dropped 2.36%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 2.55%, and Tesla got belted 6% ahead of its earnings release this week.
'If you actually did try to remove the Federal Reserve chairman, I think you would see a severe reaction in markets with yields higher, dollars lower and equities selling off,' said Krishna Guha at Evercore ISI.
Trump's latest outburst came just after the Fed boss warned last week a trade war could push prices higher, which is why he's keeping rates steady for now.
It also came after Beijing warned that China will hit back at any countries that sign trade deals with Trump.
Meanwhile, gold jumped past US$3400 an ounce to a new record, smashing through its previous (real) high from the inflation-rattled 1980s.
Elsewhere, the US dollar copped a belting, sinking to its lowest point since 2023. That gave the Aussie dollar a lift, pushing it above 64 US cents this morning.
Iron ore has also clawed back some ground, up by 2%, helped along by the softer US dollar and stronger than expected Chinese steel output.
Back home, there's a bit to get stuck into on the ASX this morning.
Coal giant Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) has flagged a rocky road ahead after reporting a 19% drop in quarterly sales. Shares fell 1.25%.
'The coal sector is facing a weak pricing environment as a result of strong supply, and subdued short-term demand in both thermal and metallurgical coal markets,' said Yancoal's acting CEO, Ning Yue.
Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) has hit pause on its Namibian uranium mine, saying current prices aren't enough to justify charging ahead with full development, though it will keep pushing forward on early infrastructure build.
Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) said it has closed out $110.8 million worth of near-term gold hedge contracts after a cap raise last week.
That means almost all of its production through to the end of 2025 will now be sold at spot prices, which should give it a nice boost in free cash and fatten up the balance sheet, the company said. Shares were still down 1%.
And mining services company Perenti Global (ASX:PRN) is pulling the plug on its six-year copper gig in Botswana, saying the numbers just aren't adding up.
The company will wrap things up at the Khoemacau copper mine, with its underground arm Barminco set to flog off the gear to the client, MMG, when the contract ends on 30 June. PRN's shares also slipped 1%.
ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for April 22 :
Security Description Last % Volume MktCap
JLL Jindalee Lithium Ltd 0.350 37% 663,729 $18,765,921
CUL Cullen Resources 0.004 33% 2,975,789 $2,080,206
OLI Oliver'S Real Food 0.004 33% 52,134 $1,622,196
SRN Surefire Rescs NL 0.004 33% 157,125 $7,248,923
TAS Tasman Resources Ltd 0.004 33% 124,473 $2,415,749
SMM Somerset Minerals 0.012 33% 717,386 $2,357,032
AUR Auris Minerals Ltd 0.005 25% 199,210 $1,906,504
CAV Carnavale Resources 0.005 25% 10,000 $16,360,874
YAR Yari Minerals Ltd 0.005 25% 416,946 $1,929,431
SHP South Harz Potash 0.006 20% 500,000 $5,412,894
SKK Stakk Limited 0.006 20% 165,008 $10,375,398
TMS Tennant Minerals Ltd 0.006 20% 234,748 $4,779,452
ADG Adelong Gold Limited 0.007 17% 28,820,802 $8,384,917
PSL Paterson Resources 0.007 17% 280,000 $2,736,227
WIN WIN Metals 0.026 16% 3,994,995 $12,101,278
ATH Alterity Therap Ltd 0.008 14% 3,163,507 $63,891,595
EE1 Earths Energy Ltd 0.008 14% 200,000 $3,709,750
FUL Fulcrum Lithium 0.080 14% 22,550 $5,285,000
AVM Advance Metals Ltd 0.054 13% 17,440,551 $10,273,672
CXU Cauldron Energy Ltd 0.009 13% 30,000 $11,691,237
GBZ GBM Rsources Ltd 0.009 13% 258,850 $9,368,560
H2G Greenhy2 Limited 0.009 13% 161,194 $4,785,473
SHN Sunshine Metals Ltd 0.009 13% 4,571,540 $15,874,492
OCT Octava Minerals 0.037 12% 1,122 $2,013,307
Jindalee Lithium's (ASX:JLL) McDermitt lithium project over in the US just scored a spot on the FAST-41 list, a federal initiative that helps fast-track big-name projects through the red tape. It's one of only ten resources projects nationwide to make the cut, showing just how important it's becoming for America's energy and mineral security. Being on the Permitting Dashboard means more visibility, better coordination between government agencies, and quicker decisions to help get things moving.
Somerset Minerals (ASX:SMM) has locked in $2.4 million from investors to kick off its first drill campaign at the Coppermine Project in Canada. It's planning to sink around 1500 metres of drilling into the Coronation target from early July, chasing high-grade copper and silver hits, including past rock chip samples with up to 45% copper. Permits are nearly sorted, with final ticks expected in a week or two, and the project itself still needs shareholder approval next week to go ahead.
Prospech (ASX:PRS) has nearly doubled the size of its rare earths resource at the Korsnäs project in Finland, with the updated estimate now sitting at 13.5 million tonnes at just over 1% TREO. It comes off the back of fresh drilling this year plus sampling of old cores from the 50s through to the 70s. PRS said the new numbers confirmed Korsnäs as one of Europe's more exciting rare earths plays still in the early stages.
ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for April 22 :
Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap
AOA Ausmon Resorces 0.001 -50% 28,000 $2,622,427
TEG Triangle Energy Ltd 0.003 -40% 47,908,516 $10,446,170
SRL Sunrise 0.460 -35% 383,058 $64,061,524
1TT Thrive Tribe Tech 0.001 -33% 2,000,000 $3,047,585
BUY Bounty Oil & Gas NL 0.002 -33% 2,197,434 $4,684,416
EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.001 -33% 15,912,733 $4,880,668
CRR Critical Resources 0.003 -25% 164,878 $9,856,885
ERA Energy Resources 0.002 -25% 1,612,056 $810,792,482
TFL Tasfoods Ltd 0.003 -25% 5,711 $1,748,382
VEN Vintage Energy 0.003 -25% 405,934 $7,155,687
CCO The Calmer Co Int 0.004 -20% 22,000 $12,769,356
EVR Ev Resources Ltd 0.004 -20% 78,000 $9,929,183
NAE New Age Exploration 0.004 -20% 7,753,858 $13,296,995
TOU Tlou Energy Ltd 0.018 -18% 70,820 $28,568,855
VHM Vhmlimited 0.315 -17% 342,658 $82,516,982
VMM Viridismining 0.295 -17% 878,913 $30,264,823
5GG Pentanet 0.035 -17% 356,265 $18,193,210
ANX Anax Metals Ltd 0.005 -17% 100,000 $5,296,845
IFG Infocusgroup Hldltd 0.005 -17% 485,256 $1,504,188
LU7 Lithium Universe Ltd 0.005 -17% 4,233,656 $4,715,878
CCR Credit Clear 0.185 -16% 161,352 $93,422,701
SNS Sensen Networks Ltd 0.032 -16% 468,365 $30,135,424
SKY SKY Metals Ltd 0.043 -16% 86,343 $36,245,861
BRX Belararoxlimited 0.115 -15% 95,006 $21,130,518
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Neurizon Therapeutics (ASX:NUZ) has brought 20 years' experience in accounting, finance, tax, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, procurement, share services and government and industry relations on board in the form of incoming chief financial officer Dan O'Connel. O'Connel previously served as CFO for Newcrest Mining until it was acquired by gold mining giant Newmont Corporation.
Preparations for an environmental impact study are underway at the El Zorro gold project in Chile, as Tesoro Gold (ASX:TSO) moves to secure the necessary permits to begin construction and operations at the gold mine. The company estimates the permitting process will take about 24 months.
A second drilling rig is poised to begin work at the Develin Creek project, where QMines (ASX:QML) will soon begin RC drilling at the Sulphide City deposit. The drilling forms part of a 10,000-metre campaign designed to expand the 4.2Mt resource base at Develin.
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Neurizon Therapeutics, Tesoro Gold and QMines are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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