Closing Bell: All 11 sectors sell off, but Mesoblast jumps 52pc on FDA nod

The ASX hit a six-week low on a red Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve struck a more hawkish interest rates-related tone than expected.

All 11 ASX sectors sold off amid rates concerns. Picture via Getty Images

• ASX hits six-week low as Fed signals slower rate cuts

• Mesoblast jumps 52pc on FDA approval

• Aussie dollar tumbles on Fed comments

The ASX took a heavy hit on Thursday, down by 1.7% after the US Federal Reserve’s cautious outlook on future rate cuts triggered a broad sell-off across Asian markets. 

All 11 ASX sectors closed in the red. Mining and tech stocks, particularly US-exposed companies such as Megaport (ASX:MP1), were among the hardest hit. MP1 shares plunged by 10%, while BHP (ASX:BHP) was down 2%.

The Australian dollar also got hammered, dropping almost 2% to trade at US62.25 cents, while Bitcoin retreated to US$100,877 at the time of writing.

Overnight, the market was braced for a 25 basis point rate cut from the Fed, which it delivered.

But the real shock came from its warning that future cuts would be much slower, with the forecast dropping from three to just two cuts in 2025, spooking investors.

This sent Wall Street into a tailspin, with the S&P 500 down 3%, and Asian markets followed suit, all sliding today.

Source: Bloomberg

On the ASX, this is where the things stood at 15:40 AEDT:

Source: Market Index

Source: Market Index

In the large caps space, Mesoblast (ASX:MSB)surged 52% after the US FDA approved its groundbreaking cell therapy, Ryoncil, to treat children with a serious blood disorder. 

Read more: Joy as Mesoblast wins its first FDA approval for a stem-cell therapy after decades of trying

Patriot Battery Metals (ASX:PMT) also saw a 16% jump after Volkswagen bought a 9.9% stake in the lithium miner for nearly $77 million.

In Energy, Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS) fell 2% after a deal with Chevron that saw it exit the $US34 billion Wheatstone LNG project in WA.

And, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX:ANZ) fell 2.5%, with its shareholder base in revolt over the bank’s executive pay report. This led to a vote that saw over a third of shareholders protest by rejecting the remuneration plan at today's AGM.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
1TT	Thrive Tribe Tech	0.002	100%	4,594,000	$703,362
IS3	I Synergy Group Ltd	0.005	67%	10,000	$1,068,653
88E	88 Energy Ltd	0.002	50%	946,540	$28,933,812
MSB	Mesoblast Limited	2.755	39%	24,006,321	$2,260,732,546
ERG	Eneco Refresh Ltd	0.013	30%	1,603,334	$2,723,583
C1X	Cosmosexploration	0.044	26%	981,225	$2,921,331
ERA	Energy Resources	0.003	25%	4,875,320	$810,792,482
MNC	Merino and Co	0.335	24%	32,915	$14,330,674
SCP	Scalare Partners	0.200	21%	5,000	$5,755,662
AXE	Archer Materials	0.470	21%	1,842,588	$99,390,335
ALM	Alma Metals Ltd	0.006	20%	600,000	$7,832,611
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.006	20%	174,027	$11,439,278
NTD	Ntaw Holdings Ltd	0.275	20%	386,389	$38,572,750
EWC	Energy World Corpor.	0.020	18%	209,027	$52,341,661
TOU	Tlou Energy Ltd	0.016	14%	369,735	$18,180,180
VKA	Viking Mines Ltd	0.008	14%	2,617,467	$9,297,031
PMT	Patriotbatterymetals	0.360	14%	4,463,983	$182,244,800
BDG	Black Dragon Gold	0.035	13%	1,079,982	$9,358,365
PVL	Powerhouse Ven Ltd	0.090	13%	363,838	$9,979,454
SHN	Sunshine Metals Ltd	0.009	13%	1,436,667	$12,701,158
TEG	Triangle Energy Ltd	0.005	13%	2,498,470	$8,356,936

Cosmos Exploration (ASX:C1X) has secured an exclusive option to acquire EAU Lithium, a company focused on Bolivia’s Lithium Triangle. EAU has partnered with Bolivia’s state-owned lithium group, Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos, to test lithium brines from key salars using Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX:VUL)’s direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology. If successful, Cosmos said this could help unlock Bolivia’s vast lithium resources.

Revaia has agreed to merge with RegenCo in an all-scrip deal, valuing Revaia at $24 million. Following the merger, Revaia’s shareholders will own 32% of RegenCo, which will become one of Australia’s leading independent carbon project developers, with a combined annual production of 450,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). Powerhouse Ventures (ASX:PVL), which holds an investment in Revaia, will increase its stake with an additional $250,000. 

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Today’s worst performing small cap stocks:

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
MOM	Moab Minerals Ltd	0.002	-33%	25,366,444	$4,700,998
EGY	Energy Tech Ltd	0.021	-32%	177,017	$13,833,665
CRB	Carbine Resources	0.003	-25%	15,300	$2,206,951
NTM	Nt Minerals Limited	0.003	-25%	400,948	$4,843,612
4DS	4Ds Memory Limited	0.063	-21%	10,650,333	$141,074,793
ALV	Alvomin	0.040	-20%	106,710	$5,857,944
BMO	Bastion Minerals	0.004	-20%	266,350	$4,223,623
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.002	-20%	974,000	$6,125,968
C7A	Clara Resources	0.005	-20%	1,363,661	$1,759,291
AZY	Antipa Minerals Ltd	0.025	-19%	42,401,211	$150,471,287
VMT	Vmoto Limited	0.049	-17%	613,035	$24,705,201
NAG	Nagambie Resources	0.015	-17%	567,808	$14,459,442
MEM	Memphasys Ltd	0.005	-17%	184,000	$10,578,489
KCC	Kincora Copper	0.026	-16%	200,000	$6,725,503
AS2	Askarimetalslimited	0.011	-15%	235,660	$2,773,608
AUA	Audeara	0.034	-15%	50,000	$7,005,709
FAL	Falconmetalsltd	0.115	-15%	55,809	$23,895,000
ATH	Alterity Therap Ltd	0.006	-14%	4,239,479	$37,242,353
CHM	Chimeric Therapeutic	0.006	-14%	2,227,814	$11,026,049
CPM	Coopermetalslimited	0.038	-14%	394,191	$3,447,649
SBW	Shekel Brainweigh	0.019	-14%	217,177	$5,017,347
NVQ	Noviqtech Limited	0.130	-13%	4,912,560	$33,665,601
PR2	Piche Resources	0.085	-13%	65,044	$7,868,473

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG)has boosted the antimony resource estimate at the Wild Cattle Creek deposit within its Achilles project in NSW, by 92%, now totalling 1.52Mt at 1.97% Sb, containing 29,902t of antimony. The company is planning further drilling to expand the resource, believing there's plenty of upside and room to include gold and tungsten.

Non-bank lender MoneyMe (ASX:MME)has secured a $125 million funding facility from iPartners to drive funding efficiencies and support the expansion of its loan book.The funding will also help grow MME’s tech-driven offerings, and ultimately meet the rising demand for fast, flexible personal lending solutions.

Flotation testwork on the fines component of samples from TG Metals' (ASX:TG6) Burmeister deposit have returned excellent lithium recoveries, increasing total recovery to between 75.5% and 80.2%. The results also further support the potential for establishing Lake Johnston as a large, low-cost, open-cut lithium mining operation.

BlinkLab (ASX:BB1) has reached an important milestone with a positive outcome from a pre-submission meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the regulatory pathway for its BlinkLab Dx 1 platform, aimed at aiding in autism diagnosis.The FDA has confirmed the design for the registrational study, with several top clinical sites across the US selected, and ethics submissions and site activations underway.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Trigg Minerals, MoneyMe, TG Metals and BlinkLab are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as Closing Bell: All 11 sectors sell off, but Mesoblast jumps 52pc on FDA nod