Market Update & Important Indicators:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 59 points, or 0.2%, to 24753. The S&P 500 lost 6 points, or 0.2%, to 2721, and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 9.42 points, or 0.1%, to 7433.85. For the week, the Dow industrials rose 0.2%, while the S&P 500 added 0.3% and the Nasdaq climbed 1.1%. Trading was quiet Friday, with some traders attributing the lull to a dearth of activity ahead of the long weekend. U.S. financial markets are closed Monday in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Shares of utilities rallied throughout the week as investors flocked to bond like stocks that tend to do well in times of market volatility. The gains helped offset steep losses in the S&P 500 energy sector, which fell Friday and posted a 4.5% weekly loss as U.S. crude oil prices tumbled. The US Gold Price Decreased 0.2% to record 1301.20 US$/oz.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed 0.1% higher at 391.1 as investors remained broadly risk averse after the U.S. pulled out of a meeting with North Korea late Wednesday, while political uncertainty in both Italy and Spain caused stocks in those countries to slide. But German shares outperformed, benefiting from the euro falling to a multi-week low against the dollar, with the DAX closing up 0.65%. A weak pound also helped U.K. stocks, with the FTSE 100 ending up 0.2%. A no-confidence vote in Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sent Spain's IBEX 35 index sliding 1.7%, while Italy's FTSE MIB closed down 1.5%. Italian banks were among the biggest fallers, with Banco BPM down 7.5%. France's CAC 40 ended down 0.1%.
In Asian trading Friday, Chinese and South Korean indexes edged down, and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed up 0.1%. Equity markets around the world had closed broadly down Thursday after President Donald Trump called off a much-awaited summit between Washington and Pyongyang citing "open hostility" from North Korea, just as the Commerce Department said the U.S. administration was considering new tariffs on vehicles and auto-parts imports. Money managers have started to pay much closer attention to a raft of geopolitical concerns over the past few weeks — after brushing them off earlier in the year — including tensions between the U.S. and Korea, the potential of a U.S.-China trade war and developments in Italy once again testing the resilience of the Eurozone.
Aussie stocks tried to get higher, but weren't able to do so today as commodities stocks again capped the local market. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.07% to 6032.8, putting the week's drop at 0.9%, the most since late March. Energy was the week's villain, skidding 4.4% to end a 7-week winning streak, the longest in a decade. It fell a further 1.3% today while materials dropped 1.1%, putting this week's decline at 2.8%, the most since early February's global swoon. But consumer discretionary jumped 1.4% today, hitting fresh 10-year highs.
Base metal prices were mostly down on the London Metal Exchange. The aluminium price decreased 1.2% to 2,254/t, while the lead price fell 2.4% to 2,428/t. A smaller gain of 0.1% was recorded in the 3-month copper contract, which closed at 6,865/t. The nickel price fell only slightly by 0.8% to 14,724/t. Tin declined 1.3% to close at 20,185/t.
In this issue:
Myanmar Metals (MYL) | Strategic alliance affirms asset quality | SPEC BUY
Market Cap $38m | Current Price $0.06 | Target Price $0.25
Myanmar Metals (MYL) is now fully funded to exercise its share of the Bawdwin option. The Company has reached a binding agreement with Perilya for a strategic cornerstone investment of up to A$14.9m at $0.06/sh. Perilya will emerge with up to 19.9% of MYL’s outstanding shares following the upcoming proposed share placement of up to A$35m. Perilya’s parent company Zhongjin Lingnan is China’s largest integrated zinc producer with a Market Cap of US$3.4b. The speed and upfront quantum of their investment confirms the quality of the Bawdwin asset. MYL’s largest shareholder Mark Creasy, has also signed a binding agreement to invest an additional $4.2m. We believe Perilya’s investment is analogous to Guangdong Rising Assets Management’s (GRAM) cornerstone investment to PanAust (ASX:PAN) in 2009, which ultimately led to a $1.2b takeover. GRAM is Zhongjin’s major shareholder. MYL is capped at <$40m and earning a majority stake in arguably the best undeveloped polymetallic project globally.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
Calima Energy (CE1), Peel Mining (PEX), Catalyst Metals (CYL), Vault Intelligence (VLT), Doray Minerals (DRM), Nzuri Coppoer (NZC), Bowen Coking Coal (BCB), Phosphagenics Limited (POH) Great Boulder Resources (GBR), Orthocell (OCC), Northern Minerals (NTU), 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), Myanmar Metals Ltd (MYL), Primary Gold Ltd (PGO), Sino Gas & Energy Holdings Ltd (SEH)
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