Market Update & Important Indicators:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped again in intraday trading, a sign that investors' postelection optimism could be waning. The stock-market rally that catapulted the Dow industrials over 20,000 last week has stalled in recent sessions, with investors backing away from shares of financial and industrial companies while picking up havens like gold. Some investors and analysts said President Donald Trump's move to restrict immigration and the pushback it received had tempered risk appetite at the end of an otherwise strong month for stocks. Market enthusiasm in the wake of the U.S. election was deflated by President Trump's executive order Friday restricting immigration from seven countries, triggering legal challenges and protests and leading to the firing of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates. Recent earnings results also hurt shares of some big companies. Paul Hatfield, global chief investment officer at Alcentra, said recent U.S. policy changes had "caught people on the hop…turning what was a pause for breath into a more defensive stance." Despite the week's setbacks, major indexes remain on track to end the month higher, which would be their first January gains since 2013.
European stocks ended in the red, analysts blaming the selling in part on a surging euro as investors sifted through a mixed round of corporate updates. The Stoxx Europe 600 index finished down 0.7% at 360.12, swinging between small gains and losses in morning trading ahead of a key reading on the Eurozone economy. The benchmark ended with a January loss, giving up ground as the month wrapped up. On Monday, the gauge fell 1.1%, its biggest daily percentage drop since November, retreating alongside U.S. stocks, as some investors were spooked by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order that banned citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. "The events of the last 24 hours and the departure of the U.S. Attorney General have served to build up that apprehension," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, in a note.
Bourses in Asia closed lower on the last trading day of the month, while futures pointed to a 0.1% opening loss for the S&P 500. Analysts and investors said concerns around U.S. President Donald Trump's move to restrict immigration and the protests against the move tempered appetite for risk after Wall Street climbed to fresh records last week. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed down 1.7%, echoing the downbeat tone on Wall Street. Exporters, technology and financial stocks were among the biggest decliners.
The political uncertainty stirred up by U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policy weighed on Australian stocks for a second day running, adding to caution ahead of corporate earnings season kicking off next week. The local market pared some of its early decline but most sectors still ended the day in the red after broad selling. After its sharpest decline of the New Year, the S&P/ASX 200 retreated 40.6 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 5620.9.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract closed up 2.94% to $5,991/t. All other base metals were up on Tuesday. Aluminium closed up 1.0% to $1,815/t, zinc closed up 3.0% to $2,853/t, tin closed up 0.9% to $19,783/t, lead closed up 0.5% to $2,371/t and nickel closed up 2.9% to 9,900/t.
In this Issue:
Salt Lake Potash (SO4) | 2Q17 activities yield valuable data | SPEC BUY
Market Cap $84m | Current Price $0.63
During the December quarter SO4’s operational highlights included trench pump tests, an off-lake drilling programme, and process development testwork that produced the first SOP samples from Lake Wells brine. The Scoping Study released in the prior quarter highlighted attractive opex and capex estimates. With feasibility work ongoing at Lake Wells we expect considerable newsflow, and numbers to be tightened, over coming months.
Orthocell (OCC) | Quarterly Update | SPEC BUY
Market Cap $45.2m | Current Price $0.445
OCC has a strong cash position to progress its product pipeline. In the December quarter the Company achieved significant milestones and received high-level recognition for their innovative suite of products. The subsequent J&J collaboration announcement puts OCC on the international map in the orthopaedic space, whilst the granted patent in Europe further strengthens OCC’s IP.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
Resolute Mining Ltd (RSG), Capricorn Metals Ltd (CMM), Eve Investments Ltd (EVE), Australian Mines Ltd (AUZ), Heron Resources Ltd (HRR), St George Mining Ltd (SGQ), Threat Protect Australia Ltd (TPS), Paringa Resources Ltd (PNL), The Gruden Group Ltd (GGL), Primary Gold Ltd (PGO), Vault Intelligence Ltd (VLT), Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOT) Orthocell Ltd (OCC), Strandline Resources Ltd (STA) Dragontail Systems Ltd (DTS), ABM Resources Ltd (ABU), Acacia Coal Ltd (AJC), Troy Resources Ltd (TRY), Hazer Group Ltd (HZR), Berkeley Energia Ltd (BKY), Sino Gas & Energy Holdings Ltd (SEH), Sovereign Metals Ltd (SVM), Kin Mining (KIN), Vital Metals Ltd (VML)
Please read Argonaut's Important Disclaimers & disclosures
