Market Update & Important Indicators:
U.S. stocks climbed Tuesday, resuming their postelection rally, as gains in health-care stocks helped offset losses in the energy sector. Stocks posted rare declines Monday amid weeks of gains, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite and the Russell 2000 index of small-capitalization companies all falling after closing at records on Friday. A surge in health-care stocks helped indexes rise again Tuesday, putting the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 back near their highs. Limiting overall gains, energy shares in the S&P 500 fell 1.2% as U.S. crude oil lost 3.9% to $45.23 a barrel.
In Europe, banks were among the biggest gainers as Italian lenders started to recover from a spate of losses ahead of Sunday's constitutional referendum. Many investors have been concerned that the vote could mark the next victory for a global antiestablishment movement that has rattled markets so far this year. Italy's FTSE MIB index gained 1.8%, but remains down roughly 4% this month and roughly 23% from the start of the year. Investors have grown jittery that a "no" vote could lead to a period of political instability and push back plans to raise capital for troubled lenders. The Stoxx Europe 600 ended up 1.11 points, or 0.33%, to 340.94.
Caution over Italy's impending referendum and uncertainty over oil weighed on stocks in Asia on Tuesday, with investors booking modest profits to hold cash. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was a major decliner among key Asian markets, ending down 0.3% and adding to Monday's 0.1% loss, with Tuesday's decline led by financial and electronics stocks. The upward momentum for U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar against the yen following the U.S. election has eased in recent sessions, fuelling more profit-taking pressure in the stock index. The declines come as data released Tuesday showed that consumption in the country slid 0.4% from a year earlier in October, adjusted for price changes. It was nonetheless an improvement from the 2.1% drop in September. Japanese markets couldn't shake off the impact of a stronger yen earlier in the day and ended lower despite the dollar gaining 0.4% against the yen in late Asian trading. Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.4%, while the Singapore Straits Times Index and Kospi were roughly flat. The Shanghai Composite Index bucked the broader trend and closed up 0.2%.
Australian shares fell for the second session running Tuesday, continuing to pull back from last week's strong advance. The S&P/ASX 200 declined 6.9 points, or 0.1%, to 5457.5. A rise by financial stocks added to gains among more defensive sectors, including utilities and property trusts, but was countered by losses among mining, energy and industrial stocks. Crude oil was also lower in Asian trade Tuesday, amid rising doubts the world's biggest oil producers can reach a deal to cut output at Wednesday's Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting in Vienna.
Copper for delivery in three months closed down 3% at $5,705/t on the London Metal Exchange. All other base metals were down on Tuesday. Aluminium prices fell 1.5% to $1,719/t, tin fell 2.2% to $20,780/t, nickel fell 4.8% to $11,028/t, zinc prices dropped 6.9% to $2,686/t, and lead fell 6.9% to $2,340/t.
In this Issue:
Threat Protect (TPS) | Funding underpins strategy | SPEC BUY
Market Cap $18m | Current Price $0.023 | Valuation $0.030
The recently secured $10.5m funding package does two things. It addresses the weak cash position ($0.5m at the end of the last quarter) and provides significant funding to back up the longer term consolidation strategy. This aims to leverage existing monitoring capacity through the acquisition of additional lines, positively impacting margin. Our cash concerns are alleviated and we upgrade from Hold to Spec Buy.
Recent Contacts & Presentations:
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), Capricorn Metals Ltd (CMM), Eve Investments Ltd (EVE) , Australian Mines Ltd (AUZ), Heron Resources Ltd (HRR), St George Mining Ltd (SGQ), Threat Protect Australia Ltd (TPS), Paringa Resources Ltd (PNL), The Gruden Group Ltd (GGL), Primary Gold Ltd (PGO)
Please read Argonaut's Important Disclaimers & disclosures
