ASX Small Caps Lunch Wrap: ASX recovers well from Fed hangover; mining stocks surge

The ASX reached a new record high this morning following the first rate cut from the US Fed in more than four years. It has since fallen back again, but the day is still young-ish yet…

ASX hits record high before dipping. Pic: Getty Images

• ASX hits record high before dipping

• Jobs report shows tight labour market, making rate cuts less likely for RBA

• Oil stocks slump as crude prices fall amid concerns over China's economy

The ASX touched a fresh record high this morning before taking a dip, thanks to the first interest rate cut from the US Fed Reserve in over four years.

At midday today, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.2% higher.

The initial morning rally came from gains in mining stocks when Singapore opened and iron ore futures jumped by 1.5%, pushing iron ore stocks higher.

Source: Marketindex

Overnight, Wall Street had a bit of a wild ride after the Federal Reserve announced a 0.50% interest rate cut. The US market started off strong but then reversed direction, ending lower for the day.

Traders got jittery after Fed chairman Powell said not to expect this rate cut as a new trend.

The statements from the meeting also showed that only 10 out of 19 Fed officials supported another 50 basis point cut in their upcoming meetings, which added to the uncertainty.

Locally today, the August jobs report showed a tight employment market, with the unemployment rate staying at 4.2%.

ABS data showed that the economy gained 47,500 jobs last month, significantly surpassing economists' prediction of 25,000.

For the RBA, this latest job figures could indicate that an interest rate cut is less likely in the near future.

“As it stands there's really nothing in this report that shows that we're going to have an interest rate cut in the next couple of meetings here in Australia,” said 9 News’ Chris Kohler.

Meanwhile, oil-related stocks were under pressure as crude prices dropped on concerns about China's economic slowdown and global oversupply.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for September 19 :

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

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
CNJ	Conico Ltd	0.002	100%	3,412,996	$2,201,528
ICU	Investor Centre Ltd	0.006	100%	170,447	$913,534
RNE	Renu Energy Ltd	0.002	100%	1,019,161	$764,134
IBG	Ironbark Zinc Ltd	0.003	50%	1,000,000	$3,667,296
M2R	Miramar	0.010	43%	7,515,597	$2,763,457
EDE	Eden Inv Ltd	0.002	33%	2,562,842	$6,162,314
CUS	Coppersearchlimited	0.045	29%	201,432	$3,975,489
GRE	Greentechmetals	0.120	28%	1,987,184	$7,809,518
BIM	Bindimetalslimited	0.099	27%	1,321,796	$2,515,500
88E	88 Energy Ltd	0.003	25%	6,669,453	$57,867,624
GTI	Gratifii	0.005	25%	31,401	$8,596,785
VML	Vital Metals Limited	0.003	25%	632,411	$11,790,134
NGS	NGS Ltd	0.030	20%	77,900	$2,780,821
JAV	Javelin Minerals Ltd	0.003	20%	3,586,144	$10,692,115
ROG	Red Sky Energy.	0.006	20%	4,958,392	$27,111,136
WMG	Western Mines	0.255	19%	66,565	$18,307,482
RRR	Revolverresources	0.058	18%	36,600	$13,383,089
PV1	Provaris Energy Ltd	0.021	17%	251,580	$11,357,412
AAU	Antilles Gold Ltd	0.004	17%	16,804,826	$5,567,228
DOU	Douugh Limited	0.004	17%	378,598	$3,246,207
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.004	17%	500,000	$7,330,908
NRZ	Neurizer Ltd	0.004	17%	594,603	$6,543,358
POS	Poseidon Nick Ltd	0.004	17%	1,092,046	$12,545,926
SRN	Surefire Rescs NL	0.007	17%	574,984	$11,917,847

Recent drilling at GreenTech Metals' (ASX:GRE) Whundo Copper Project has revealed strong potential for resource expansion, with high-grade copper results reaching up to 4.6% Cu. A 1,710-metre drilling program confirmed continuity of copper and zinc mineralisation at two sites, Austin and Ayshia, with significant intersections of 16 metres at 1.2% Cu and previous high-grade results of up to 5.4% Cu. GreenTech says it plans to advance its drilling efforts to target these high-grade areas and expand the current copper-zinc resource, which stands at 6.2 million tonnes.

Bindi Metals (ASX:BIM) has acquired two promising antimony projects in Serbia, located in the renowned Tethyan Magmatic Belt. The Mutnica Antimony-Copper Project has shown historical antimony grades of up to 4.5%, while the Lisa Antimony-Gold Project features high-grade antimony mines with grades between 5% and 20%, from which around 60,000 tonnes of ore were extracted between 1932 and 1951. These projects are well-positioned near major European markets and benefit from modern infrastructure, especially important given China’s recent export ban on antimony, which raises supply chain concerns for Europe. To support these initiatives, Bindi Metals has raised $2 million from investors for further exploration and development.

Javelin Minerals (ASX:JAV) is set to begin drilling at the Coogee Gold-Copper Project in Western Australia during the December quarter. The initial program will involve about 2,500 metres of drilling aimed at extending known mineralisation and exploring new targets around the Coogee Pit, which is located near the St Ives goldfield. Despite its promising resource of 126,685 ounces of gold, Coogee hasn’t seen a systematic drilling campaign since 2014. The company is finalising a drilling-for-equity agreement with a Kalgoorlie contractor and said it was excited about the potential for significant discoveries in the area.

And, Cann Group (ASX:CAN) says it expects to return to underlying earnings profitability this year, having posted a $13.2 million loss in the 2023-24 stanza. The company also expects to be cash-flow positive in 2025-26. In a presentation to the Pitt Street Research life sciences conference in Sydney today, the company has outlined a plan to increase capacity at its flagship Mildura facility to the maximum 10,000 tonnes per annum, by 2026-27.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the most-worst performing ASX small cap stocks for September 19 :

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

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume	Market Cap
EEL	Enrg Elements Ltd	0.002	-33%	5,935,913	$3,135,048
FGH	Foresta Group	0.003	-25%	19,079,360	$9,421,516
PKO	Peako Limited	0.003	-25%	10,000	$3,513,899
BUY	Bounty Oil & Gas NL	0.004	-22%	6,940,004	$6,743,254
OVT	Ovanti Limited	0.004	-22%	792,396	$6,851,725
CTQ	Careteq Limited	0.011	-21%	1,796,811	$3,319,662
NAE	New Age Exploration	0.004	-20%	627,500	$8,969,495
PUR	Pursuit Minerals	0.002	-20%	3,062	$9,088,500
SKN	Skin Elements Ltd	0.004	-20%	385,891	$2,947,430
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.005	-17%	23,988,296	$11,569,446
HT8	Harris Technology Gl	0.010	-17%	47,667	$3,589,626
IPB	IPB Petroleum Ltd	0.005	-17%	2,900	$4,238,418
TFL	Tasfoods Ltd	0.010	-17%	8,500	$5,245,146
LOM	Lucapa Diamond Ltd	0.036	-16%	300,000	$12,475,246
TGM	Theta Gold Mines Ltd	0.145	-15%	115,865	$120,961,772
CDT	Castle Minerals	0.003	-14%	101,813	$4,804,849
PAB	Patrys Limited	0.006	-14%	677,576	$14,402,131
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	0.006	-14%	1,663,784	$7,770,545
SPA	Spacetalk Ltd	0.024	-14%	1,801,703	$13,356,680
SVG	Savannah Goldfields	0.025	-14%	262,264	$8,151,463
IPC	Imperial Pacific Ltd	1.350	-13%	5,000	$8,242,137
AOK	Australian Oil.	0.004	-13%	16,666	$3,778,561
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.004	-13%	5,099,626	$9,380,988
LIO	Lion Energy Limited	0.021	-13%	41,700	$10,487,466
AI1	Adisyn Ltd	0.031	-11%	290,909	$8,089,620

ICYMI – AM EDITION

Victory Metals (ASX:VTM)

Portable x-ray fluorescence (P-XRF) has recorded heavy rare earth yttrium in clay regolith 2.6km south of the existing resource estimate at its North Stanmore project.

While not a substitute for lab analysis, the company says the results are a useful HREE vector that shows the potential extension of rare earth mineralisation defined in the resource.

“Drilling has now commenced 9km north of the current MRE,” CEO and executive director Brendan Clarks said.

“Shallow saprolitic clay horizons similar to those observed in previous drilling campaigns have been identified, supporting the prospect of further rare earth element (REE) mineralisation.”

To date, over 2,239m have been successfully completed in the current aircore drill program.

Firetail Resources (ASX:FTL)

The company has appointed a new managing director in Glenn Poole, with Brett Grosvenor to transition to non-executive chairman.

Poole’s promotion is expected to facilitate exploration and development of Firetail’s portfolio of copper-focused assets, with his combination of advanced technical and corporate experience specifically expected to expedite the exploration and development of the York Harbour copper-zinc-silver project in Newfoundland.

“It is clear to us from the early works completed, that the York Harbour project will be transformational for Firetail and these changes ensure that we have the right team to develop the asset,” Grosvenor said.

In Newfoundland, the team is assembled and the company is eagerly awaiting the commencement of drilling and geophysics activities in the coming weeks.

“Work is ongoing reassessing the historic core, so we can further understand and demonstrate the unrealised potential of this project,” Poole said.

In Peru, the focus is on modification of the approved work area to encompass the highly prospective Ichucollo target in preparation for drilling, planned for mid 2025.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While GreenTech Metals, Victory Metals and Firetail Resources are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

Originally published as ASX Small Caps Lunch Wrap: ASX recovers well from Fed hangover; mining stocks surge