It was a strong start to the day in the opening hours of trading but the ASX has languished since to finish up just 10 points or 0.12% to 8,215.70.
That was despite a strong upward push early in the day, which lifted the ASX200 almost 30 points or 0.32% in the first hour.
The sectors were a very mixed bag with a couple of standouts in either direction – Consumer Staples provided most of the momentum, gaining 1.38%, with consumer discretionary making its own mark, up 0.47%.
On the other side of the ledger, Information Technology dragged, falling 1.16%. There was also weakness in Energy (-0.76%) and Healthcare (-0.38%).
The top-performing stocks were Qantas Airways (ASX:QAN), up 3.64%, and Steadfast Group, up 2.96%.
Over the last five days, the ASX has lost 0.83% and sits 2.01% below its 52-week high.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)'s earnings: a crucial moment
Joining us today from eToro, market analyst Sam North shares his analyses ahead of Tesla’s Q3 earnings report later today.
As Tesla prepares to unveil its latest earnings report, the spotlight only draws attention to the company's stark contrast against fellow members of the Magnificent 7.
While Nvidia soars with an impressive 190% gain year-to-date, Tesla finds itself in the shadows, down over 10% — the only stock among its elite peers languishing in the red.
This divergence raises eyebrows as investors brace themselves for a crucial update on the company’s performance amidst a backdrop of mounting competition and market pressures.
Since its last earnings announcement in late July, Tesla’s stock has slumped approximately 10%, a trend exacerbated by a 7% drop following its much-anticipated robotaxi event, which failed to deliver substantive details.
With analysts poised to scrutinise CEO Elon Musk’s ambitious robotaxi plans, Tesla must reaffirm its core business of selling cars.
Expectations are tempered, as many foresee a potential decline in profit margins due to increased incentives aimed at boosting sluggish EV sales.
This quarterly report is set to be pivotal, and the options market reflects this uncertainty, pricing in a 7.4% move in either direction.
As Tesla faces this moment of reckoning, all eyes will be on whether it can regain its footing and reassure investors about its path forward.
ASX movers
Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:PRU, TSX:PRU, OTC:PMNXF) released its quarterly report today and shares hit the $3 mark, an increase of 2.39% on yesterday's close.
On the small cap front, it was another good day for Polymetals Ltd as it set another record of $0.565 intra-day, a 22.83% increase.
Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, NASDAQ:NVA) was as much as 25% higher during the day to $0.25, Piedmont Lithium (ASX:NASDAQ:PLL, OTC:PLLTL) was up to 16.13% higher to $0.18, Astral Resources NL (ASX:AAR) was 12% higher intra-day to $0.14 and Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM) was as much as 5.47% higher to $0.907.
The Five at Five
Nova Minerals hits bonanza gold at RPM ahead of resource update
An upcoming resource update for the Estelle Gold Project in Alaska is shaping up to be a potentially sizeable one, after Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX:NVA, NASDAQ:NVA) hit an intersection of 29 metres at 7.1 g/t gold from surface at the RPM deposit.
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Suvo Strategic Minerals raises $2 million including cornerstone investment by PERMAcast shareholders
Suvo Strategic Minerals Ltd (ASX:SUV) has strengthened its capacity to develop and commercialise the Intellectual Property (IP) for low-carbon cement (green cement) on fielding firm commitments for $2 million in an oversubscribed placement at $0.048 per share.
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Astral Resources gold hits up to 3 metres at 177 g/t at Kamperman "surprise to the upside"
Astral Resources NL (ASX:AAR) has recorded a “spectacular” high-grade gold intercept of 3 metres at 177 g/t at Kamperman prospect of the Feysville Gold Project in Western Australia.
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Artemis Resources to start drilling for gold at Lulu Creek following Aboriginal Corporation backing
Artemis Resources Ltd (ASX:ARV, AIM:ARV, OTCQB:ARTTF) has the green light to proceed with drilling at the Lulu Creek prospect in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
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Torque Metals expands gold zone at Paris beyond 250,000-ounce resource
Drilling by Torque Metals Ltd (ASX:TOR) has expanded the gold zones at Paris Project in the Western Australian Goldfields beyond the existing recently defined mineral resource estimate, with positive results from reverse circulation and diamond drilling.
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On your six
Tech Bytes: Murdoch’s stable of US newspapers sues Perplexity AI over alleged copyright infringement
Rupert Murdoch’s Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, has filed a lawsuit against generative AI company Perplexity, accusing it of unlawfully scraping human-made content from its famous platforms to train machine-learning models.
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One to watch
Eclipse Metals out to meet demand for uranium and rare earths
Eclipse Metals Ltd (ASX:EPM) executive chairman Carl Popal joined Proactive’s Jonathan Jackson to talk about the company’s efforts to capitalise on the rising demand for uranium and rare earth elements.
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