Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens

Good morning, and Happy Thursday! Here’s everything you need to know before the ASX opens today.

The locals at Bondi are always keen to get a few laps in as the sun comes up. Pic via Getty Images.

Good morning everyone, and welcome to 27 June, 2024 – a dark date indeed in the history of the New York Stock Exchange.

It was on this day in 1893 that a panic started among New York’s investors, which has been blamed on a number of factors from around the world – including right here in Australia.

The main thrust of it, though, has its roots three years prior to the panic, when a failed coup in Buenos Aires didn’t meet its objectives but did result in the resignation of Miguel Juárez Celman as President of Argentina – and a severe dampening of investment via Baring Brothers bank as a result.

That and a failed wheat crop in 1890 in various parts of the world combined to knock the stuffing out of a lot of investment in South America, Australia and South Africa – and the Europeans, concerned that the rot might spread, hit the panic button.

And thus, a run on “specie” began – specie being gold bullion coins that were used as a store of value – which were seen to be a much safer bet than the paper money that the US was using for day-to-day transactions.

In the years that followed, the results of the Great American Railroad Bubble became apparent. Investment in railroads in the US went ballistic during the 1880s, and once it turned out that every square inch of railroadable land had been railroaded, the inevitable happened – and the bubble burst.

In February 1893, receivers were appointed to deal with the collapse of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad – and the wheels came off everything from there. US investors sparked a run on the banks, and European investors – smelling blood in the water – sold off everything they could that wasn’t backed by cold, hard gold.

The end result was catastrophic in the US – 500 banks closed, around 15,000 businesses failed, and farms all over the country went belly up. Unemployment hit 25% in Pennsylvania, 35% in New York, and 43% in Michigan.

It took the US government two horrible years to get its act together, eventually striking a deal with the somewhat shadowy "Morgan-Belmont Syndicate" – a body of private investors and bankers led by Drexel, Morgan & Co., A. Belmont & Co., J. S. Morgan & Co., and N. M. Rothschild & Sons.

The deal saw the bankers essentially strongarming the wider business community into line, pushing for investment in Treasury bonds paid for in gold to help rebuild the shattered gold reserves that had fallen to just US$42 million – far below the mandated minimum of US$100 million that the government was supposed to maintain.

Luckily for you, you won’t need to enter into a murky backroom deal with private capital merchants in order to get the information you need before the market opens today.

Christian Edwards has turned his towering intellect on an explainer of what’s in store for Emerging Markets in the near future, and – as always – I’ve thrown together lots of fiddly little things below, so you don’t need to go ferreting all over the internet for your ASX info this morning.

COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES

Gold: US$2,316.53(-0.22%)

Silver: US$28.92 (-0.05%)

Nickel (3mth): US$17,319/t (+2.78%)

Copper (3mth): US$9,581/t (+0.95%)

Zinc: US$2,807/t (+0.32%)

Oil (WTI): US$81.25 (+0.53%)

Oil (Brent): US$84.61 (-0.47%)

Iron 62pc Fe: US$106.46/t (-0.08%)

AUD/USD: 0.6676 (+0.51%)

Bitcoin: US$61,629.50 (-0.26%)

WHAT GOT YOU TALKING

If you’re ever feeling the Stock Market Blues, take a solid dose of Eddy Sunarto and have yourself a nice lie down… doctor’s orders.

#ASX #health #stocks:
Cleo Diagnostics' ( $COV ) #FDA process
Imricor ( $IMR ) expands into Hungary https://t.co/KVkjb0IshB

— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) June 26, 2024

YESTERDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:

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

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
CNJ	Conico Ltd	0.002	100%	4,966,528	$1,805,145
CLZ	Classic Min Ltd	0.002	50%	6,915,275	$551,029
HLX	Helix Resources	0.003	50%	7,876,848	$6,528,387
DBO	Diabloresources	0.022	38%	303,851	$1,649,143
KOR	Korab Resources	0.009	29%	261,892	$2,569,350
GCM	Green Critical Min	0.005	25%	300,000	$4,546,340
SI6	SI6 Metals Limited	0.003	25%	1,190,393	$4,737,719
MLM	Metallica Minerals	0.021	24%	1,886,749	$16,318,707
MTH	Mithril Resources	0.188	21%	1,220,961	$13,109,314
AML	Aeon Metals Ltd.	0.006	20%	1,838,791	$5,482,003
AHK	Ark Mines Limited	0.155	19%	188,625	$7,208,034
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.004	17%	1,136,400	$7,330,908
PUR	Pursuit Minerals	0.004	17%	4,199,245	$10,906,200
LEX	Lefroy Exploration	0.115	16%	175,172	$19,845,390
LSA	Lachlan Star Ltd	0.058	16%	352,350	$10,378,660
PGO	Pacgold	0.115	15%	67,182	$8,414,544
CMD	Cassius Mining Ltd	0.008	14%	1,529,857	$3,794,031
SPQ	Superior Resources	0.008	14%	4,269,547	$14,008,543
A1G	African Gold Ltd.	0.024	14%	30,000	$5,023,530
ETM	Energy Transition	0.024	14%	922,773	$29,492,969
AAM	Aumegametals	0.058	14%	918,754	$26,802,297
EVG	Evion Group NL	0.018	13%	1,418,382	$5,535,347
HOR	Horseshoe Metals Ltd	0.009	13%	1,093,000	$5,196,629
HAV	Havilah Resources	0.190	12%	572,403	$53,828,666

Yesterday’s Small Cap Winners included:

Diablo Resources (ASX:DBO) cancelled a bunch of securities on Wednesday afternoon. Enough to enlarge the survivors to $0.022 for a 37% gain. Easy money.

In complex, but ultimately happy news, Actinogen Medical (ASX:ACW)  said it had a very positive phase 2a biomarker trial for its Xanamem Alzheimer’s Disease candidate, which was published in the (100th edition!) of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. ACW says the trials demonstrate potential Xanamem efficacy in patients with elevated blood pTau.

And Metallica Minerals (ASX:MLM) was higher because of a takeover offer from Diatreme Resources, and nothing else matters right now. The offer – which Diatreme is adamant will not be improved upon – is gaining momentum, with the company now boasting a 63.79% interest in its target.

Elsewhere on Wednesday morning, Classic Minerals (ASX:CLZ) was up early, after announcing an extension to the closing date of its non-renounceable pro-rata rights issue at an issue price of $0.004 per new share, with 1 bonus option for every 2 shares subscribed for, exercisable at $ 0.02 on or before 30 June 2027.

Minbos Resources (ASX:MNB) has signed a non-binding collaboration agreement with Talus Renewables to develop the Capanda Green Ammonia Project through the deployment of Talus green ammonia technology, TalusAg, “a first-to-market green ammonia system which enables sustainable and cost-effective localised ammonia production”.

Mithril Resources (ASX:MTH) has received firm commitments for a capital raising of $3.7 million at $0.20 with cornerstone investment by Jupiter Gold and Silver Fundn at a 29 per cent premium to its last traded share price.

Eastern Resources (ASX:EFE) has engaged Nagom, an experienced lithium consultancy in Perth, to plan and manage metallurgical testwork for samples from the Lepidolite Hill Project.

And Cassius Mining (ASX:CMD) was up on news that its international arbitration against the Government of the Republic of Ghana  – seeking damages in excess of US$275 million as a consequence of Ghana’s “breaches of contract and statute” – has taken a step in the right direction for the company, with the Tribunal finding that it has jurisdiction to hear the company’s contractual claims despite Ghana’s objections.

YESTERDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:

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

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
LPD	Lepidico Ltd	0.002	-33%	1,146,483	$25,767,358
VML	Vital Metals Limited	0.002	-33%	5,911,765	$17,685,201
ALR	Altairminerals	0.003	-25%	151,000	$17,186,310
IBG	Ironbark Zinc Ltd	0.003	-25%	16,710,535	$6,375,490
PUA	Peak Minerals Ltd	0.003	-25%	215,410	$4,165,506
SVG	Savannah Goldfields	0.015	-25%	282,111	$5,621,698
OCN	Oceanalithiumlimited	0.031	-23%	298,240	$2,163,060
FIN	FIN Resources Ltd	0.007	-22%	1,486,088	$5,843,418
ADD	Adavale Resource Ltd	0.004	-20%	2,000,000	$5,201,327
AYT	Austin Metals Ltd	0.004	-20%	1,206,620	$6,620,957
LRL	Labyrinth Resources	0.004	-20%	1,545,040	$5,937,719
PKO	Peako Limited	0.004	-20%	1	$2,635,424
POS	Poseidon Nick Ltd	0.004	-20%	3,388,805	$18,567,674
RDS	Redstone Resources	0.004	-20%	1,784,444	$4,626,892
ABX	ABX Group Limited	0.038	-19%	954,559	$11,751,895
1MC	Morella Corporation	0.003	-17%	6,223,407	$18,536,398
BMO	Bastion Minerals	0.005	-17%	286,000	$2,610,503
CCZ	Castillo Copper Ltd	0.005	-17%	3,920,666	$7,797,032
CZN	Corazon Ltd	0.005	-17%	2,861,810	$3,693,587
FAU	First Au Ltd	0.003	-17%	2,064,554	$4,985,980
GMN	Gold Mountain Ltd	0.003	-17%	697,258	$9,533,230
NAG	Nagambie Resources	0.010	-17%	86,527	$9,559,628
RGL	Riversgold	0.005	-17%	627,462	$7,257,461

TRADING HALTS

Pexa (ASX:PXA) – pending a public announcement by the Australian Registrars National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC).

Traka Resources (ASX:TKL) – pending the release of an announcement relating to an acquisition and a capital raising.

Bannerman Energy (ASX:BMN) – pending the release of an announcement relating to a proposed capital raising.

Originally published as Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens