Market Update & Important Indicators
The S&P 500 has finished at a new record following strong earnings from Best Buy and news that CVS Health would acquire senior pharmacy services company Omnicare for $US12.7 billion. The S&P 500 closed at 2,130.8, up 5 points or 0.23%, above Monday's record. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 19 points, or 0.4%, at 5,090.8, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially flat, adding a minor 0.3 at 18,285.8.European stocks rose slightly at the close as Wall Street also edged up, while dealers speculated over the exact timing of a hike in US interest rates. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index added 0.09 per cent to 7,013.5 points.
Japan's stocks squeezed out another 15-year high Thursday, but weaker than expected Chinese manufacturing data kept a cap on gains on the region, including Hong Kong.
Japan's Nikkei ended up less than 0.1%, at 20202.9 for its ninth rise in the last 10 sessions. The Hang Seng Index was off 0.2% at 27523.7, after an early reading of the HSBC China manufacturing purchasing manager’s index, a gauge of the country's factory activity, came in at 49.1 in May, compared with 48.9 in April. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.
Metals on the LME were mixed with copper gaining 0.6% to US$2.83/lb and nickel adding to further losses for the week, dropping 0.9% to US$5.88. Gold fell 0.3% to US$1207/oz, while Brent rose strongly, gaining 2.3% to close at US$66.54/bbl.
In This Issue
Northern Star (NST) |HOLD
Northern Star (NST) released exploration drilling results from its Kalgoorlie operations, highlighting potential for mine life extensions, particularly at Kundana where strong results were delivered from the Millennium deposit (100% NST). Other encouraging results came from various targets, all within trucking distance to the Kanowna Belle (KB) plant. The results are anticipated to be incorporated into a mid-year Resource update. Our recent site visit confirmed the KB plant is versatile and can be configured to process a variety of ore types (including refractory ore). This will enable significant discoveries to be rapidly converted into production ounces. The mill has ample capacity, running at ~1.3Mtpa (v 1.8Mtpa nameplate). NST’s A$50m exploration program will underpin continued newsflow and Resource updates. With Paulsens transitioning into a higher grade zone, Argonaut is expecting an improved June Q. The Company has the ambition to continue growth and NST has demonstrated a track record of making prudent and value accretive acquisitions. The stock is inexpensive on a FF EV / production basis (see Figure 2, Page 3). HOLD maintained with a $1.85 valuation.
Recent Contacts & Presentations
Gold Road (GOR), Saracen (SAR), Kibaran (KNL), Sino Gas & Energy (SEH), Rewardle (RXH), Alexium (AJX), Ausdrill (ASL), Tox Free (TOX), OBJ Limited (OBJ), Cash Converters (CCV), Decmil (DCG), TFS Corporation (TFC), Mobile Embrace (MBE), Dacian (DCN), Fertoz (FTZ), Atrum (ATU), Doray (DRM), Buru Energy (BRU), Carnarvon Energy (CVN), Otto Energy (OEL), Empire Oil & Gas (EGO), Pura Vida Energy NL (PVD), MZI Resources (MZI), High Peak Royalties (HPR), Spookfish (SFI), Mungana (MUX), Image Resources (IMA)
Please read Argonaut's Important Disclaimers & disclosures
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