After getting off to a positive start this morning, the ASX was unable to maintain its gains and fell away in the afternoon to close down 0.15% at 8,323 points.
Consumer discretionary stocks were hard hit, down 1.1%, as Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) lost 1.7%. Consumer Staples and Property also underperformed.
The Financial and Telco sector ended the session higher. The Energy sector also closed slightly higher with Woodside up 1% while Santos gained 0.5% and Ampol added 0.7%. Australia’s biggest power and gas supplier Origin Energy lifted 1.1% while Meridian Energy (NZ:MEL) was up 1.3%.
Bitcoin surges
Bitcoin continues its march towards $100,000, reaching a new record in Asian trading of $96,898 in early trade.
This is the first time the cryptocurrency has breached $95,000 as optimism builds that US President-elect Donald Trump will push through measures to ease cryptocurrency regulation.
Bitcoin has more than doubled this year and is now up about 40% in the two weeks since Trump was voted in as the next US president and pro-crypto lawmakers were elected to Congress.
IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore said, "While it's now firmly into overbought territory, it is being drawn toward the $100,000 level.”
Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said mounting confidence that President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will usher in a crypto-friendly era” is “fuelling a frenzy as the digital asset edges toward an unprecedented valuation”.
MinRes' Ellison has regrets
Mineral Resources founder Chris Ellison addressed misconduct allegations against him at the company’s annual general meeting today, telling shareholders “I deeply regret the impact this has had on our business and our people. I can’t stress how much I hate what I’ve done.
“I’ve made some mistakes along the way; I own those mistakes and I’m standing here and take full responsibility for them.”
MinRes’ market valuation has dropped from more than $9 billion to $6.8 billion since allegations of impropriety were raised, which included undeclared payments to offshore entities he owned, questionable property deals and conflicts of interest.
Social media ban
The Federal Government today introduced a much-discussed bill to parliament that aims to ban social media for children under 16 and proposed fines of up to $49.5 million for social media platforms for systemic breaches.
There are plans to trial an age-verification system that may include biometrics or government identification to enforce a social media age cut-off.
Small cap gains
Among the gains for small caps today were Cyclone Metals Ltd (ASX:CLE), which was as much as 13.05% higher on reaching $0.026, Nexus Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXM) lifted 8.33% to $0.065, Magnetite Mines Ltd (ASX:MGT) hit $0.145, an increase of 7.41% on the previous close, Race Oncology Ltd (ASX:RAC, OTC:RAONF) increased 5.52% to an intra-day high of $1.435, Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM) was 5.34% higher to $0.79, Gold Hydrogen Ltd (ASX:GHY) rose 5.27% to $0.70 and Richmond Vanadium Technology Ltd (ASX:RVT) reached $0.30, an increase of 3.45% on the previous close.
Five at Five
Race Oncology FTO program at Monash develops valuable new IP in RNA epigenetics space
Race Oncology Ltd (ASX:RAC, OTC:RAONF) has wrapped up a drug discovery program at Monash University’s Fragment Platform (MFP) targeting the fat mass and obesity-associated protein or FTO, making some significant findings along the way.
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Tempest Minerals confirms high-grade iron at Yalgoo Project’s Remorse target
Tempest Minerals Ltd (ASX:TEM) has had some preliminary success from reverse circulation drilling at the Remorse target, part of the company’s flagship Yalgoo Project in Western Australia.
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Lightning Minerals identifies six priority targets across Lithium Valley projects in Brazil
Lightning Minerals Ltd (ASX:L1M) has selected six priority targets across its lithium projects in the Lithium Valley of Minas Gerais, Brazil, after reprocessing government geophysical data for the area.
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Sipa Resources expects gravity survey results will point to Barbwire Terrace drill sites
Sipa Resources Ltd (ASX:SRI) expects to receive results in the next few weeks from detailed interpretation of a ground gravity survey at the Barbwire Terrace Lead-Zinc-Silver Project in Western Australia’s north.
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Maximus Resources fields positive metallurgical test results from Eagles Nest Gold Deposit
A preliminary metallurgical test program by Maximus Resources Ltd (ASX:MXR, OTC:MXRRF) has delivered high gold recoveries from the Eagles Nest Gold Deposit, including gold recovery rates of 89.5% to 92.4%.
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On your six
Government directs Future Fund to invest in climate and housing
The Australian Government has directed the Future Fund to consider investments in housing and the green energy transition, provided these align with its primary objective of maximising returns.
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One to watch
Kris Martinick on Botala Energy’s project plans
Botala Energy Ltd (ASX:BTE) CEO Kris Martinick talks with Proactive’s Tylah Tully about the company’s significant progress, including a 43% uplift in CBM resources at the Serowe CBM Project in Botswana.
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