The S&P/ASX200 is lower today, dropping 35.60 points or 0.46% to 7,752.50 and crossing below its 20-day moving average.
Bottom-performing stocks were Gold Road Resources Ltd and NextDC Ltd, down 6.87% and 5.39% respectively.
Over the last five days, the index is virtually unchanged but is currently 2.00% below its 52-week high.
The sectors were a mixed bag today.
Information Technology was down as much as 1.75%, with everything else down or flat except for Energy and Materials, which were in the green, rising 0.38% and 0.35% respectively in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, across the Tasman
Moody’s Analytics has released some interesting research on the fortunes of our friends across the ditch compared with our own trajectory in 2024.
The data says that a quarter of the way through 2024, the fortunes of the Australian and New Zealand economies are diverging.
In Australia, inflation is coming down quickly, unemployment is low and real wages are finally rising again.
Across the Tasman, the Kiwi economy ended 2023 with a double-dip recession, unemployment figures back around pre-pandemic levels and challenging inflation.
The Australian economy, by contrast, grew throughout the year, albeit at a steadily declining rate.
In both countries, the prediction is that rate cuts will support families in the second half of the year and that the two economies will slow in 2024 and rebound in 2025.
The five at five
Intra Energy Corp fields rock chip samples with elevated lithium and critical minerals from Maggie Hays Hill
Intra Energy Corporation Ltd (ASX:IEC) has welcomed results it describes as “outstanding” for rock chip samples from the Maggie Hays Hill (MHH) Project in the Lake Johnston Greenstone Belt of Western Australia.
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Celsius Resources bolsters Philippines’ war chest through £922,000 AIM placement
Celsius Resources Ltd (ASX:CLA, AIM:CLA) has boosted its war chest by £922,000 after completing a placement in AIM with the funds to advance its suite of copper-gold projects in the Philippines.
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Anson Resources produces first lithium carbonate at Green River Sample Demonstration Plant
Anson Resources Ltd (ASX:ASN, OTCQB:ANSNF) has passed a major milestone at its Green River Lithium Project, commissioning the Green River Sample Demonstration Plant (SDP) on the company’s property in Utah, US, and producing the first lithium carbonate product.
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Sovereign Metals' sustainable farming program in Malawi set to triple crop yields
The Conservation Farming Program of Sovereign Metals Ltd in Malawi is on track to triple crop yields as the company actively executes its environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy whilst developing the Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project
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Kin Mining and PNX Metals to merge, creating diversified resources powerhouse
Kin Mining NL (ASX:KIN) and PNX Metals have inked a definitive merger agreement that will set the stage for accelerated exploration and development activities across the multiple assets in their collective portfolio.
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On your six
Tech Bytes: Governments must crackdown on AI interfering with elections, says CDU expert
Democratic elections are under threat from Artificial Intelligence, says Charles Darwin University (CDU) Computational and Artificial Intelligence expert associate professor Niusha Shafiabady.
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The one to watch
Imugene opens enrolment for Bile Tract Cancer expansion study
Imugene Ltd (ASX:IMU, OTC:IUGNF) CEO Leslie Chong sits down with Proactive’s Jonathan Jackson to discuss enrolment for a pivotal expansion study targeting bile tract cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) patients.
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