Market Update & Important Indicators:
U.S. stocks tumbled into the end of the trading week, wiping out much of the gains they had accumulated during a string of upbeat corporate earnings reports. Major indexes struggled for traction after the opening bell, then extended losses in afternoon trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding nearly 300 points at its session low. To some, the slowdown in the stock rally this year shows investors have already largely priced in solid earnings growth. The Dow industrials fell 201.95 points, or 0.8%, to 24462.94 for its third straight daily loss.
The S&P 500 lost 22.99 points, or 0.9%, to 2670.14 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 91.93 points, or 1.3%, to 7146.13. Despite the day's moves, all three indexes ended higher for the week, with the Dow industrials rising 0.4%, the S&P 500 adding 0.5% and Nasdaq advancing 0.6%. But selling in technology shares offset gains elsewhere, with Apple declining 7.08, or 4.1%, to 165.72 — its biggest one-day percentage loss since February — after analysts warned of a possible slowdown in iPhone sales. The US gold price fell overnight by 0.8% to finish at 1,335.20 US$/oz.
European shares edged lower as traders remain cautious about the global political outlook. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.03%, or 0.11 points, to 381.84 and Germany's DAX fell 0.2%, though France's CAC-40 rose 0.4%. Consumer-goods giant Reckitt Benckiser Group dropped 3.5% after first-quarter sales missed market expectations.
Asian stocks extended losses on Friday, with chip makers and consumer-goods companies among the worst performers following disappointing earnings reports. Hitting many global technology companies on Friday, Taiwan Semiconductor, one of the world's biggest chip makers, on Thursday said it expects second-quarter sales to come in more than 10% below analysts' estimates, citing soft demand for high-end smartphones. Taiwan's benchmark Taiex stock index was down 1.8%, and the wider Kospi index was off 0.4%.
A week-straight of gains ended today with Australian stocks falling like the rest of Asia-Pacific. The S&P/ASX 200, which rose for a 3rd-consecutive week (its first such run of 2018), fell 0.2% today to 5868.80. Declines were broad, with telecom again week and miners pulling back after recent strength. But energy edged up. Elsewhere, AMP fell 0.5% to put the week's slump at 9.6%, the most in 18 months. The company has been targeted in an ongoing probe of financial-industry misconduct.
The London Metal Exchange’s tin price rose 1.6% overnight to 22,045/t. Lead also gained 1.1% to 2,357 US$/t, while zinc gained 0.5% to 3,225 US$/t. Losses were seen in the nickel and aluminium prices, falling to 14,776/t and 2,484/t, respectively. The 3-month copper contract moved only slightly, rising 0.1% to 6,951 US$/t.
In this issue:
Sino Gas and Energy (SEH) | Production lifting and ODP Imminent | BUY
Market Cap $339m | Current Price $0.18/sh | Target Price $0.24/sh
Sino Gas and Energy (SEH) announced a strong increase in production which averaged 25MMscr/d for the March Q, up 16% Q-on-Q. Operating margins increased by 35% to US$4.8/Mscf driven by higher production and higher natural gas prices. SEH has now received Overall Development Plan (ODP) approval in-principle for Linxing (LX) and Sanjiaobei (SJB) with final finalisation for both expected in H1 2018. The only cloud looming over the ODP process is the ongoing negotiation with LX SOE partner CUCBM regarding profit and cost allocations under the Production Sharing Contract (PSC). We believe SEH should emerge from this process with an equivalent or better economic standing than at present.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
Global Energy Ventures (GEV),Advanced braking technology (ABV), Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), Helix Resources (HLX), Pantoro Limited (PNR), Alt Resources Ltd (ARS), Coziron Resources Ltd (CZR), ABM Resources Ltd (ABU), Vital Metals Ltd (VML), Todd River Resources Ltd (TRT), Pacific Energy Ltd (PEA), Carnarvon Petroleum Ltd (CVN), Australian Mines Ltd (AUZ), Australian Finance Group (AFG), Paladin Energy Ltd (PDN), Cooper Energy Ltd (COE), Medibio Ltd (MEB), Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOT), Salt Lake Potash Ltd (SO4), Golden Mile Resources Ltd (G88), NTM Gold Ltd (NTM), Ausmex Mining Group Ltd (AMG), Matrix C&E Ltd (MCE), Austal Ltd (ASB), Decmil Group Ltd (DCG), Ventnor Resources Ltd, Ausdrill Ltd (ASL), Alice Queen Ltd (AQX), PNX Metals Ltd (PNX), Alliance Resources Ltd (AGS)
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