Market Update & Important Indicators:
U.S. stocks fell intraday following their biggest daily advance this year, while expectations for higher interest rates boosted the dollar and government bond yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 64 points, or 0.3%, to 21051 intraday after reaching the 21,000 mark for the first time Wednesday. The S&P 500 declined 0.4%, the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.5% and the U.S. gold price overnight fell 1.2% at 1,234 US$/oz. Some traders welcomed the slight pullback after a string of records over the past two weeks. Stocks have drawn support this week from signs that the Federal Reserve is increasingly optimistic about the U.S. economy, and hopes that President Donald Trump will deliver on pro-growth policies. Investors have dumped government bonds while sending major U.S. stock indexes to records, plowing into shares viewed as most likely to benefit from a rising rate environment.
Stocks across Europe closed with minor losses, after rallying the previous day as investors saw the possibility of gains for European companies from a rise in U.S. fiscal spending. The Stoxx Europe 600 ended down less than 1 point at 375.61. Shares of consumer-related, metals and financial companies fell, while utility, health care and energy shares moved up. The pan-European index on Wednesday popped up 1.5% to mark the best finish since Dec. 2. The global rally in stocks Wednesday followed comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials that suggested the world's largest economy is ready for another interest rate hike.
Asian markets mostly climbed, tracking Wednesday's advance in the U.S. and Europe. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average added 0.9% to close at a two-month high as the yen continued to ease against the dollar, boosting export-oriented stocks. Financial stocks were among the best performers in Asia as bond yields climbed and expectations for higher U.S. interest rates were seen as good news for bank margins. Shanghai shares fell 0.5%, however, ahead of annual political meetings set to start this weekend, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.2%. Thailand shares gain 0.2%, amid positive cues from global equities markets. The Thailand SET Index gains 2.75 points to close at 1569.94, helped by banking and construction stocks.
Australian shares had their strongest day in more than three months, climbing in tandem with other markets in the region as investors welcomed optimism in comments from U.S. President Donald Trump. The rally snapped the decline over the past five sessions, the longest run lower in the new year as investors reacted cautiously to corporate earnings and the market pulled back from the strong gains seen after the U.S. election in the hope the new administration would spur growth in the world's biggest economy. News of a contraction in Australia's trade surplus in January was shrugged off by the market, coming on the heels of data a day earlier showing Australia's economy grew 1.1% in the fourth quarter following a 0.5% contraction in the previous three months. Finishing at its high of the day, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 71.8 points, or 1.3%, to 5776.6, the highest close in a week.
The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract closed down 1.43% to $5,930/t. The other base metals were all down on Thursday. Aluminium fell 2.0% to $1,903/t, zinc fell 2.8% to $2,773/t, tin fell 0.9% to $19,320/t, lead fell 2.3% to $2,246/t and nickel prices fell 2.3% at 10,725/t.
In this Issue:
Hazer Group (HZR) | Initiation – Cracking the Code | SPEC BUY
Market Cap $38m | Current Price $0.60
We initiate coverage of HZR with a speculative buy call. HZR’s technology to process natural gas into hydrogen and graphite has the potential to be highly disruptive and presents substantial value if the process can be scaled up to commercial quantities. HZR has advanced down the path to commercialisation, de-risking the technology and unlocking value along the way. The potential reward is large.
Paringa Resources (PNL) | Final Permits Received | SPEC BUY
Market Cap $109m | Current Price $0.51 | Target Price $1.15 (under review)
Paringa Resources (PNL) has completed permitting for the Poplar Grove thermal coal mine in the Illinois Basin, US. This follows the receipt of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) permit. In addition, PNL has attained the Kentucky Wastewater Discharge permit and met its obligations under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharge of fill or material into waterways and wetlands. The Company has now permitted two mines within the Buck Creek Complex, incorporating the 3.8M ton pa Cypress Mine, adjacent to Poplar Grove.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
Vault Intelligence Ltd (VLT), 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), Mincor Resources (MCR), Dacian Gold (DCN), Leaf Resources Ltd (LER), Alchemy Resources Ltd (ALY), OpenDNA Limited (OPN), MZI Resources Ltd (MZI), Seafarms Group Ltd (SFG), Marindi Metals Ltd (MZN), Rift Valley Resources Ltd (RVY), Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOT), Thundelarra Ltd (THX), DTI Group Ltd (DTI)
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