Market Update & Important Indicators:
The postelection rally in U.S. stocks stalled midweek. Banks retraced some of their recent gains, as financial shares in the S&P 500 fell 1.6%. Lenders were among the main companies swept up in investors' surge of enthusiasm for the prospect of expansive fiscal spending, tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks under a Trump administration. Health-care, materials and industrials shares also slipped Wednesday, after President-elect Donald Trump's pledges to ramp up infrastructure spending and revamp Obamacare spurred postelection gains in those sectors. Some analysts said investors' concerns about the impact that Mr. Trump's protectionist policies could have on the global economy might damp enthusiasm for potential increased government spending. Financial markets' optimistic reaction to the outcome of the election seems to clear the way for the U.S. Federal Reserve to nudge up interest rates in its long-awaited December policy meeting. Federal funds futures, used by traders to bet on central bank moves, on Wednesday showed a 91% chance of a rate rise in December, according to CME Group. Signs of earnings growth in the third quarter reinforces the case for tighter monetary policy, investors say. In European markets, the Stoxx Europe 600 reversed morning gains and fell 0.2%, as banks surrendered some of last week's rally.
Asian shares were higher early Wednesday, with financial stocks tracking gains in the U.S., as investors added to their bets that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's policies would be good for global banks. The Nikkei Stock Average closed up 1.1%. Korea's Kospi finished 0.6% higher and Indonesia's JSX Index gained 1.9%. Asian currencies, on the other hand, were largely stable against the U.S. dollar, which has strengthened recently. In Hong Kong, stocks reversed earlier gains in the last hour of trading, dragged lower by a mixed open in European markets. The Hang Seng Index ended down 0.2%. In the morning, it was up by as much as 0.8%. Elsewhere, Asian technology stocks rebounded from recent declines, taking a nod from the U.S. This follows brisk retail sales growth in the U.S. for October, supporting hopes for a strong holiday shopping season.
A surge in energy stocks thanks to a rally in oil prices helped steady Australia's equities market Wednesday, countering weakness in the mining space. Beginning the day stronger after two sessions in the red, the local market retraced gains to end little changed, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 1.5 points at 5327.7. The major banks added support to the energy sector's strong gains, after oil prices bounced off a three-month low in overnight trading on heightened speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are working out the details of a proposed reduction in crude output. That was balanced out by a third day of heavy losses by materials stocks after iron-ore and copper prices retreated from recent strong gains. About 3.3 billion shares were traded for the day with a value of 6.14 billion Australian dollars (US$4.64 billion), Commonwealth Securities said.
Copper for delivery in three months was down 1.7% to $5,433/t on the London Metal Exchange. Other base metals were mainly lower Wednesday. Zinc fell 3.5% to $2,507/t, aluminium fell 1.9% to $1,708/t, lead fell 2.3% to 2,147/t, and tin fell 1.8% at $20,050/t. Nickel bucked the trend and ended up 0.3% at 11,284/t.
In this Issue:
Agrimin (AMN) | Size matters – Initiation | SPEC BUY
Market Cap $71m | Current Price $0.57
We initiate coverage of AMN with a Speculative Buy recommendation and a positive view on the development of the Mackay SOP Project. Key is scale. This should allow extraction of brine via well-understood near-surface trenching techniques, and enable delivery of product to port toward the lower end of the industry cost curve despite the distances involved. We expect progress through a well-articulated development plan in coming months will continue to unlock the potential value.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
BC Iron Limited (BCI), ALT Resources Ltd (ARS), Gascoyne Resources Ltd (GCY), Dacian Gold (DCN), Orocobre Ltd (ORE), Alchemy Resources Ltd (ALY), Acacia Coal Ltd (AJC), Minotaur Exploration Ltd (MEP), Northern Minerals Ltd (NTU), Walkabout Resources Ltd (WKT), Antipa Minerals Ltd (AZY), Noxopharm Limited (NOX), Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOT), Emerald Resources NL (EMR), Metals of Africa Ltd (MTA), Stavely Minerals Ltd (SVY), Australis Oil & Gas Ltd (ATS), Davenport Resources Ltd (DAV), TFS Corporation Limited (TFC), Emmerson Resources Ltd (ERM), Syntonic Ltd (SYT), MZI Resources Ltd (MZI), Resolute Mining Ltd (RSG), Orthocell Ltd (OCC)
Please read Argonaut's Important Disclaimers & disclosures
