ASX Small Caps Lunch Wrap: Super Special Extra-Spooky Friday the 13th edition

Local markets are higher this morning after a surge in gold and oil overnight.

Pic via Getty Images.

Local markets opened higher this morning, thanks to a surge from Energy stocks and the goldies, helped along by some decent US data overnight and news that the ECB has cut rates by 25 basis points overnight.

Also, it’s Friday the 13th, so here’s a picture of a ghost.

Boo! Pic via Getty Images.

So spooky.

Righto – let’s get on with it, shall we?

TO MARKETS

The ASX 200 benchmark is working pretty hard this morning, veering wildly after jumping 57 points in the first 30 minutes of the session, to be around +0.4% on the way into lunch.

The main factors driving that were a surge in oil prices overnight and a sharp spike in gold prices as well, both of which have lent support to a couple of sectors that have been doing it tough in recent weeks.

Source: MarketIndex

The Energy sector is up about 1.3% this morning, after crude oil prices shot up to take US crude up 2.72% to $69.14 a barrel and Brent higher by 2.21%, to $72.17 per barrel.

Meanwhile, spot gold added 1.85% to $2,558 an ounce overnight, and has continued to climb throughout the session this morning as well, reaching new records highs. At the time I wrote this, the price was at US$2,562.21 per ounce, and ticking upwards at a steady pace.

That’s lit a fire under the goldies this morning, which are up more than 5.0% on the way towards lunch.

Source: MarketIndex

Losing ground this morning, however, is the Financials sector, which was down by about 0.7% at lunchtime, with the big banks all off by between 0.71% and 0.85%.

The big news from around the place has been an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank overnight, as inflation in the region continues to slow amid signs that the economy may be faltering.

The ECB took 25 basis points off to bring the rate to 3.5%, adding even more weight to the foregone conclusion that the US Fed will follow suit next week – which I’ll mention more about shortly.

Up the fancy end of town, shares in Nine Entertainment have continued to slide, despite Nine boss Mike Sneesby falling on his sword yesterday.

But among the big movers with big bottom lines were Fortescue (ASX:FMG) – up by 5.5% – along with 11 other Billion-Dollar-Plus companies, including an 8.85% jump for West African Resources (ASX:WAF), and a 7.9% boost for Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN).

NOT THE ASX

Overnight, Wall Street rallied after the US producer price (PPI) data solidified expectations for a small rate cut by the Fed next week.

The S&P 500 closed 0.75% higher, the Dow Jones rose by 0.58% and the tech heavy Nasdaq lifted by 1%.

The PPI for August came in at 2.4%, falling short of the 2.5% forecast and matching the figure from July.

Following the release, spot gold touched a new all-time high of US$2,559 during the US session, while the US dollar weakened.

“We are headed towards a lower interest rate environment so gold is becoming a lot more attractive,” said Alex Ebkarian at Allegiance Gold.

Right now, markets are betting there’s an 85% chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points at its meeting on September 17-18. There’s only a 15% chance of a bigger 50 basis point-cut, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

In US stock news, Adobe tumbled 9% in post-market after releasing disappointing revenue outlook.

Supermarket chain Kroger rose 8% after raising its full-year sales forecast.

And, American Airlines rose 1% after its flight attendants approved a new labour contract, which helped avoid a potential strike.

In Asian markets this morning, the mood is mixed. Hong Kong markets are up 1.6%, and Shanghai markets are up 0.34% – however, Japan’s Nikkei is down 0.65% in morning trade.

Markets in Asia are gearing up for a swathe of holidays next week, which will see many markets closed for two or more days due to traditional, seasonal days off.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for September 13 :

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
EXL	Elixinol Wellness	0.005	66.7	1,367,893	$3,963,547
DOU	Douugh	0.004	33.3	500,000	$3,246,207
NES	Nelson Resources	0.004	33.3	1,420,000	$1,840,783
NRZ	Neurizer	0.004	33.3	39,686,138	$6,543,358
RML	Resolution Minerals	0.002	33.3	500,000	$2,415,033
DXN	DXN	0.083	27.7	2,240,232	$12,147,808
MEG	Megado Minerals	0.014	27.3	259,839	$2,799,011
EMT	Emetals Limited	0.005	25.0	12,518,659	$3,400,000
LPD	Lepidico	0.0025	25.0	9,286,736	$17,178,250
WML	Woomera Mining	0.0025	25.0	96,681	$3,036,278
OSM	Osmond Resources	0.235	20.5	563,219	$14,305,728
CUL	Cullen Resources	0.006	20.0	250,000	$3,467,009
MTH	Mithril Silver Gold	0.125	19.0	765,255	$10,823,003
ASO	Aston Minerals	0.014	16.7	200,587	$15,540,771
CTQ	Careteq	0.014	16.7	1,007,218	$2,845,425
MOH	Moho Resources	0.007	16.7	72,142	$3,235,069
OAU	Ora Gold	0.007	16.7	60,009,790	$42,846,958
TMK	TMK Energy	0.0035	16.7	1,652,649	$20,764,836
LRL	Labyrinth Resources	0.022	15.8	9,961,241	$25,144,164
AAM	Au Megametals	0.052	15.6	279,208	$23,677,638

DXN (ASX:DXN) has released its FY24 results, and they’re excellent – the company is reporting that it has achieved a statutory EBITDA of $644,000 –  the first positive EBITDA result in DXN’s history – on FY24 revenue of $10.8 million. Managing Director Shalini Lagrutto says the year has been “transformational”, following the company’s exit from its unprofitable data centre in Sydney.

eMetals (ASX:EMT) has delivered an update to its exploration in Uganda, revealing that a total of 40 soil samples and 77 rock-chip samples were taken on the Bukuya target within the Mubende Gold Project as part of the first phase of field activities. Numerous high grade rock chip samples were returned including 29.1g/t Au, 9.2g/t Au and 3.1g/t Au, with soil sampling confirmed gold mineralisation extends beyond current artisanal workings and has defined an anomalous zone across a strike of approximately 1,200m which remains open along strike in both directions.

Labyrinth Resources (ASX:LRL) was rising on news that the company has been reviewing the historical Vivien data base in the lead up to the company’s EGM and completion of the Distilled Acquisition. LRL says that the historical data shows “significant exploration upside and underexplored nature of Vivien and Comet Vale”. Both the Comet Vale and Vivien Projects are located close to existing infrastructure and linked via major access ways to the Goldfields, and the existing drilling shows that there is ample untested prospectivity at both projects.

And Mithril Resources (ASX:MTH) was up after delivering an investor presentation this morning.

Earlier, Mount Burgess Mining (ASX:MTB) was climbing on news that local officials have finally let the company to move forward, after the Botswanan Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) confirmed it had approved a Scoping Report and requested a Final EIA be lodged following MTB’s receipt of DEP’s comments. The timeframe to the completion of the EIA review period is estimated to be in the region of four to six weeks, after which MTB should be able to begin infill drilling at its Nxuu Project.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the most-worst performing ASX small cap stocks for September 13 :

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume	Market Cap
FAU	First Au	0.001	-50.0	214,309,429	$3,623,987
VPR	Volt Group	0.001	-50.0	250,000	$21,432,416
1TT	Thrive Tribe Tech	0.001	-33.3	491	$917,432
AL8	Alderan Resources	0.002	-33.3	17,334	$3,818,584
BNL	Blue Star Helium	0.0035	-30.0	15,715,990	$9,724,426
ENV	Enova Mining	0.011	-26.7	17,631,808	$14,773,940
EDE	Eden Inv	0.0015	-25.0	188,023	$8,216,419
RNE	Renu Energy	0.0015	-25.0	6,500,000	$1,528,268
WTN	Winton Land	1.55	-22.5	499	$593,227,472
CRB	Carbine Resources	0.004	-20.0	250,000	$2,758,689
JAV	Javelin Minerals	0.002	-20.0	28,493	$10,692,115
LIO	Lion Energy	0.02	-16.7	1,082,932	$10,487,466
ODE	Odessa Minerals	0.0025	-16.7	50,000	$3,129,848
SLZ	Sultan Resources	0.005	-16.7	35,000	$1,185,519
STM	Sunstone Metals	0.005	-16.7	51,565,231	$23,111,422
ADR	Adherium	0.011	-15.4	444,763	$9,861,540
MCTDB	Metalicity	0.017	-15.0	1,596,022	$9,392,132
AUK	Aumake	0.006	-14.3	4,890,742	$13,497,687
SRN	Surefire Resources	0.006	-14.3	3,500,000	$13,904,155
PSL	Paterson Resources	0.019	-13.6	255,000	$10,032,833

ICYMI – AM EDITION

Nothing to mention here for this morning. Check back with us again for Closing Bell.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as ASX Small Caps Lunch Wrap: Super Special Extra-Spooky Friday the 13th edition