The local market finished higher today ahead of the Martin Luther King Day holiday in the US and the second inauguration of Donald Trump.
The ASX 200 lifted 0.45% to 8,347 points, with the Tech sector leading the gains (+1.1%) — consistent with the US on Friday. All three major US indices ended Friday’s session higher, with the Nasdaq lifted by a rise in tech stocks.
Both Australian and Asian markets rose today after Trump said his pre-inauguration talk with China’s Xi Jinping was “very good”. Trump and the Chinese leader discussed trade, TikTok and fentanyl, lifting hopes for relations in the early days of the new administration.
Also well received was news that TikTok had started restoring service in the US on Sunday as Trump said he would halt enforcement of a law requiring the app’s Chinese owner to find a buyer for three months.
Sell the banks, says CIti
Citi has maintained its 'sell' call on Australia's banks, warning the banks’ elevated valuations are their “greatest risk” in 2025.
Banks analyst Brendan Sproules said in a note to investors that the strong 2024 rally in ASX bank stocks was unlikely to be repeated, as poor results were likely. Sproules pointed the blame at sluggish credit growth, an overreliance on government spending and worsening credit quality.
“The fundamental outlook is unlikely to improve, and in fact we see downside risk into 2025. That gives us greater confidence that the earnings will provide little incremental support to very stretched starting valuations.”
Small cap increases
Among the movers in the small cap sector today were Buru Energy Ltd which reached $0.057, a 21.28% increase on the previous close, Cyclone Metals Ltd was as much as 17.86% higher to $0.066 and Lumos Diagnostics Holdings Ltd lifted by 17.08% to a daily high of $0.048.
Other movers were AuMega Metals Ltd, which was 15.4% higher at $0.045, European Lithium Ltd (ASX:EUR) rose 12.99% to $0.087 on positive news from Greenland, Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX:PDI) moved 8.63% higher to $0.277 after receiving a key environmental licence in Guinea, Lightning Minerals Ltd reached $0.097, a lift of 8.33%, Tolu Minerals Ltd increased 6.98% to $0.92 and Cadoux Ltd was 6.25% higher to $0.051.
Five at Five
Great Boulder Resources hits fresh high-grade gold at Side Well South as drilling resumes
Great Boulder Resources Ltd has identified a new gold discovery at the Side Well Gold Project in Western Australia with aircore drilling revealing high-grade gold mineralisation at the Side Well South prospect north of the Golden Bracelet mine workings.
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European Lithium strikes high-grade REE in first Greenland drilling hole
The first results are in from exploration at the Tanbreez Project in Southern Greenland, where European Lithium Ltd and Critical Metals Corp have drilled the first hole
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Predictive Discovery de-risks Bankan Gold Project on receiving key environmental approval
Predictive Discovery Ltd has been awarded a key environmental certificate for the Bankan Gold Project in Guinea, further de-risking the project and marking a critical step in granting the necessary permits required to build Bankan into a Tier-1 gold mine.
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Brightstar Resources begins 2025 RC drilling in bid to grow 1.5-million-ounce Sandstone gold resource
Brightstar Resources Ltd has kicked off the 2025 drilling program at the newly acquired Sandstone Gold Project in Western Australia’s Murchison region as it seeks to grow the existing 1.5-million-ounce resource base and target new exploration discoveries.
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Astral (JO:ARLJ) Resources infill drilling delivers wide zones of strong gold mineralisation at Theia Deeps
Results of diamond drilling by Astral Resources NL at the company’s Mandilla Gold Project near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia are expected to support an upgrade of the current inferred MRE.
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On your six
Tech Bytes: US Department of Treasury hack affects more than 400 devices
The US Department of Treasury last week confirmed it had suffered a cyberattack, attributed to Chinese hackers, that had successfully gained access to several workstations. devices belonging to Secretary Janet Yellen and other top officials were also impacted by the attack, which reportedly compromised over 400 computers and more than 3,000 unclassified files.
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One to watch
Strickland Metals MD on ESG goals after Digbee assessment
Strickland Metals Ltd managing director Paul L’Herpiniere and Digbee Ltd founder and CEO Jamie Strauss talked with Proactive's Stephen Gunnion about the benefits of an independent ESG assessment for Strickland Metals.
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