Market Update & Important Indicators
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell roughly 240 points intraday, as threats from North Korea and another powerful hurricane weighed on major indexes. The blue-chip index fell 1.1%, to 21746 in recent trading. The S&P 500 declined 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.2%. The CBOE Volatility Index, a measure of expected swings in the S&P 500, jumped more than 30%. After North Korea's test of its most powerful nuclear bomb yet, investors headed for safer stores of value, like U.S. government bonds and gold. As U.S. government bonds strengthened, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.079%, according to Tradeweb, from 2.157% on Friday. Also hitting yields: Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard said that central banks should be cautious about raising short-term interest rates while inflation remains stubbornly low. The threat of another storm hitting the U.S. — Hurricane Irma — put insurers among the S&P 500's biggest decliners and deepened losses for the financials sector. The U.S. gold price added a further 0.4% overnight to close at 1,339.40 US$/oz.
European stocks erased morning gains and ended mostly lower, as concerns about North Korea's thermonuclear-bomb testing spooked investors. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.1% to close at 373.71, after trading with a gain of as much as 0.5% at 375.89 earlier in the day. The index fell 0.5%, snapping a three-session winning streak, after North Korea conducted a nuclear bomb test and was said to be preparing for a possible launch of another intercontinental ballistic missile. Germany's DAX 30 index put on 0.2% to 12,123.71, but France's CAC 30 index fell 0.3% to 5,086.56. In London, the FTSE 100 lost 0.5% to close at 7,372.92.
After rising as much as 0.5% at the start of the session, South Korea's Kospi ended the day down 0.1% — despite a 1.2% gain for index heavyweight Samsung Electronics, benefiting from optimism over its just-launched Galaxy Note 8 smartphone. The Kospi had declined 1.2% Monday. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended the day down 0.6% after a 0.9% fall on Monday, as buying of the yen, a traditional haven, accelerated during Asian trade. A stronger yen hurts Japan’s exporter. In China, the Shenzhen A Share index rose by 0.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.2%.
Steady afternoon buying, capped by a rush at the close, allowed Australia's stock benchmark to reverse what was an early 0.6% decline and finish slightly higher. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% to a session high of 5706.2 as mining stocks advanced and several big banks – notably CBA – steadied. Helping the cause was the central bank not making waves with its latest policy statement. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rose 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively, while iron-ore miner Fortescue gained 0.9%. Meanwhile, energy stocks weakened as Brent oil futures fell a bit further during Asian trading.
The London Metal Exchange’s 3-month copper contract traded lower overnight, falling 0.25% to finish at $6,900/t. The other base metals also finished lower. Nickel prices dropped 1.4% to 12,020/t, while aluminium prices fell by 1.2% to close at 2,072/t. Lead prices traded 2.6% lower at 2,306/t, whilst Zinc prices pulled back 2.1% to 3,138/t. Tin prices lost by 0.5% to finish at 20,890/t.
In this issue
Xanadu Mines (XAM) | Long high-grade intercept at Copper Hill | SPEC BUY
Market Cap $102m | Current Price $0.20
Xanadu Mines (XAM) announced another big intercept from its Kharmagtai Project in Mongolia. Hole KHDDH416 into the Copper Hill deposit intercepted mineralisation from surface with:
• 180m @ 0.95% Cu & 1.84g/t Au, including
– 30m @ 1.93% Cu & 4.14g/t Au from 66m, and
– 30m @ 1.55% Cu & 3.45g/t Au from 104m
Mineralisation is hosted in very high-density quartz stockwork veining with copper and gold predominantly found within chalcopyrite.
Recent Contacts & Presentations
Vault Intelligence Ltd (VLT), Fleetwood Corp Ltd (FWD), DTI Group Ltd (DTI), Calima Energy Ltd (CE1), Austal Ltd (ASB), Indoor Skydive Australia (IDZ), OZ Minerals Ltd (OZL), NorWest Energy Ltd (NEW), Berkut Minerals Ltd (BMT), Draig Resources Ltd (DRG), Minotaur Exploration Ltd (MEP), Ausdrill Ltd (ASL), Neometals Ltd (NMT), PNX Metals Ltd (PNX), Northern Minerals Ltd (NTU), New Century Zinc Ltd (NCZ), Metal Bank Ltd (MBK), Rift Valley Resources Ltd (RVY), Panoramic Resources Ltd (PAN), Doray Minerals Ltd (DRM), Wellard Limited (WLD), Bryah Resources Ltd (BYH), Auris Minerals Ltd (AUR), Gage Roads Brewing Co Ltd (GRB), Stavely Minerals Ltd (SVY), Orbital Corporation Ltd (OEC), 4DS Memory Ltd (4DS), Kin Mining NL (KIN)
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