The ASX is on track to finish the day around 0.9% higher, led by strength in the Tech sector. All of the 11 GICS sectors are set to finish the week on a strong note, with the exception of Energy, which is down 0.45% in late afternoon trade.
Financial stess peaked
ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott has said the cost of living and financial stress on Aussie consumers appeared to have peaked in June or July. Elliott said things are still tough for many and he believes the cash rates will be cut “later than earlier” with the Reserve Bank likely to keep watching the pace of inflation.
ASIC investigating MinRes
There was more bad news for Mineral Resources today, as ASIC launches a formal investigation into managing director Chris Ellison, probing his alleged role in a tax evasion scheme involving British Virgin Islands-based entities.
Additionally, credit ratings agency Moody’s cut its outlook for MinRes to negative, citing “negative implications” of its governance issues.
Nine's West re-elected
Nine Entertainment chair Catherine West has been re-elected to the company’s board, despite shareholder criticism at the company’s annual shareholder meeting around her failure to act on the organisation’s poor workplace culture.
Risk appetite still positive
State Street (NYSE:STT) Global Markets has released the results of the latest State Street Institutional Investor Indicators. The State Street Risk Appetite Index remained positive at 0.18 in October, only modestly less risk seeking than the 0.27 reading in September.
The State Street Holdings Indicators showed that long-term investor allocations to equities fell back 39bps to 52.7%. Allocations to cash rose a similar amount (42bps) to 19.2%, leaving fixed income holdings largely unchanged.
State Street head of Macro (BCBA:BMAm) Strategy Michael Metcalfe said: “Long-term investors went into November with their largest allocation to equities ahead of an election in two decades, so they were well-positioned for the initially positive market reaction to the election result.
“Within equities long-term investors remain overweight US equities relative to both European equities and emerging market equities, so are also well-prepared for the potential negative implications of US tariffs if they are enacted.”
Small cap performers
Among the strongest performers this week in the small cap sector was AuKing Mining which, alongside its Saudi partner Barg Alsaman Mining Company, was awarded the Shaib Marqan exploration project in Saudi Arabia.
Tryptamine Therapeutics was another small cap which notched gains this week… it reached a more than 18 month high of 4.1 cents per share.
Equinox Resources was up by as much as 56% today after announcing ultra-high grade antimony results from rock chips at its Alturas Project.
The Five at Five
Imugene opens first Australian site for azer-cel clinical trial targeting lymphoma
Imugene Ltd (ASX:IMU, OTC:IUGNF) has opened the first Australian site for its azer-cel (azercabtagene zapreleucel) Phase 1b clinical trial, which expands its allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy program for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
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Polymetals Resources primed to re-start the Endeavor mine with a US$20 million loan facility
Polymetals Resources Ltd (ASX:POL) has finalised all the paperwork for a US$20 million (around A$30 million) pre-payment loan facility with Ocean Partners, meaning it can re-start production at the Endeavor silver, zinc and lead mine.
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Premier1 Lithium to raise $1.5 million to progress exploration at Yalgoo and Abbotts North
Premier1 Lithium Ltd (ASX:PLC) advises that it is seeking to raise $1.5 million to advance exploration at Yalgoo and Abbotts North projects.
The company has already received binding commitments to raise around $209,000 via a placement at $0.008 per share to sophisticated and professional investors, and has now launched an entitlement offer to raise a further $1.3 million.
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Lithium Universe raises $1.94 million with first tranche of share placement
Lithium Universe Ltd (ASX:LU7, OTC:LUVSF) has settled the first tranche of a share placement plan, issuing just under 162 million shares at A$0.012 each to raise $1,941,500 in funding.
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Surefire Resources kicks off drilling at Yidby Gold Project, targeting new gold targets
Surefire Resources NL (ASX:SRN) has put drills to ground at the Yidby Gold Project in Western Australia, undertaking a 2,500-metre drilling program across 12 holes with reverse circulation (RC) drilling rigs.
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One to watch
AuKing Mining confirms gold mineralisation at Shaib Marqan
AuKing Mining Ltd (ASX:AKN) managing director Paul Williams joins Proactive’s Tylah Tully to discuss the potentially significant gold mineralisation the company has confirmed at the Shaib Marqan project in Saudi Arabia through recent rock chip assays.
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On your six
Institutional investors brace for transformation
State Street Global Markets has released the results of the latest State Street Institutional Investor Indicators. The State Street Risk Appetite Index remained positive at 0.18 in October, only modestly less risk seeking than the 0.27 reading in September.
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