Closing Bell: ASX slips, Star crashes 27pc and China faces fresh deflation woes

The ASX dipped on Thursday as retail data cooled rate cut hopes. Meanwhile Star fell (again) on cash burn, Bitcoin stumbled and China faces deflation.

The ASX slipped as retail data dampened rate cut hopes. Picture via Getty Images

• ASX slips as retail data dampens rate cut hopes

• Star Entertainment crashes 27% on cash burn warning

• Bitcoin dips, China faces fresh deflation fears

After five days of gains, the ASX took a breather on Thursday, dipping 0.24% as retail sales data threw a spanner in the works. 

Ten out of 11 sectors on the ASX200 index were in the red, with energy stocks leading the way down as oil prices fell 1%. 

Retail sales rose 0.8% in November, but not quite as much as expected, casting doubt on hopes for an imminent interest rate cut.

The bond market shows traders are betting big on a rate cut, with almost a 70% chance the RBA will pull the trigger in February.

Many ASX heavyweights took a bit of a beating today. BHP (ASX:BHP) dipped 0.5% and Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) slid 1%.

In the crypto world, Bitcoin stumbled to its lowest since New Year's Eve earlier today, but clawed its way back above US$94,000 this afternoon.

This is where things stood at 15:45 AEDT:

Source: Market Index

Source: Market Index

In the large caps space,  Star Entertainment Group (ASX:SGR) stunned the market with news that it only had $79 million left in cash after burning through $107 million in just the past three months. 

The company’s share price crashed 27% as it warned it may struggle to meet the terms of a $100 million loan.

Over in the jewellery sector, Lovisa Holdings (ASX:LOV) slipped 12% on no specific news, although there is chatter of it being hit with a “sell” rating from UBS.

Avita Medical's (ASX:AVH) shares have tumbled almost 30% in the last two sessions after revealing that it wouldn’t hit revenue forecasts – a brutal reminder that the market can turn quickly when numbers disappoint.

And just to add a little global flavour, data today shows China's consumer prices barely budged in December, raising fresh fears of deflation holding back spending and stalling the world's second biggest economy.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
EAT	Entertainment Rewards	0.003	50%	58	$2,617,572
MSI	Multistack Internat.	0.006	50%	100,000	$545,216
MTL	Mantle Minerals Ltd	0.002	50%	2,900,000	$6,197,446
AAU	Antilles Gold Ltd	0.004	33%	4,279,835	$5,573,628
MRQ	Mrg Metals Limited	0.004	33%	36,322,310	$8,179,556
TX3	Trinex Minerals Ltd	0.002	33%	105,256	$2,742,978
MRR	Minrex Resources Ltd	0.009	29%	3,105,699	$7,594,073
AYT	Austin Metals Ltd	0.005	25%	1,604,284	$5,296,765
CDT	Castle Minerals	0.003	25%	1,120,036	$3,793,628
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.003	25%	3,945,000	$3,625,007
VEN	Vintage Energy	0.005	25%	6,941,694	$6,678,125
D3E	D3 Energy Limited	0.068	24%	37,295	$4,371,125
AKA	Aureka Limited	0.175	21%	575,269	$14,853,060
PIM	Pinnacleminerals	0.060	20%	80,000	$2,273,166
HCT	Holista CollTech Ltd	0.024	20%	794,663	$5,715,334
LML	Lincoln Minerals	0.006	20%	3,154,256	$10,281,298
BDG	Black Dragon Gold	0.056	19%	445,895	$14,239,405
NPM	Newpeak Metals	0.013	18%	100,000	$3,359,456
NRX	Noronex Limited	0.013	18%	3,845,062	$5,496,561
HVY	Heavymineralslimited	0.135	17%	329,543	$7,710,013

Trinex Minerals (ASX:TX3) said its recent soil geochemistry program at the Dudley lithium project in South Australia has revealed several promising drilling targets. The project contains thick, lithium-rich pegmatites stretching up to 6 kilometres, and these have never been drilled before. Results from over 1,100 soil samples show encouraging anomalies, which could point to a significant lithium discovery in the area.

First Graphene (ASX:FGR) has just filed a patent for a new process that makes graphene-based electrocatalysts for hydrogen production. The process improves the cost-effectiveness of metal oxide graphene, using base metals like cobalt, iron, and nickel, which were previously tough to work with. The company said this technology opens up big opportunities in the global electrocatalyst market, which is valued at over $1 billion.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Today’s worst performing small cap stocks:

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
DTR	Dateline Resources	0.002	-33%	718	$7,548,781
88E	88 Energy Ltd	0.002	-25%	1,816,858	$57,867,624
NTD	Ntaw Holdings Ltd	0.195	-25%	1,302,099	$43,603,979
SGR	The Star Ent Grp	0.148	-24%	80,459,242	$559,392,771
SBW	Shekel Brainweigh	0.028	-24%	450,986	$8,438,266
SP8	Streamplay Studio	0.008	-20%	130,002	$11,506,238
TEM	Tempest Minerals	0.004	-20%	10,801	$3,172,649
CDD	Cardno Limited	0.150	-19%	334,693	$7,226,223
GES	Genesis Resources	0.005	-17%	297,361	$4,697,048
MTB	Mount Burgess Mining	0.005	-17%	1,771	$2,037,225
TKM	Trek Metals Ltd	0.021	-16%	130,155	$13,003,072
SCP	Scalare Partners	0.170	-15%	623	$6,976,560
ADN	Andromeda Metals Ltd	0.006	-14%	134,989	$24,001,094
CRR	Critical Resources	0.006	-14%	12,070,152	$17,023,742
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.006	-14%	1,866,666	$16,014,989
IME	Imexhs Limited	0.325	-13%	1,312	$17,209,135
ATS	Australis Oil & Gas	0.007	-13%	450,000	$10,312,078
BCB	Bowen Coal Limited	0.007	-13%	1,171,778	$86,204,221
CTO	Citigold Corp Ltd	0.004	-13%	2,000,000	$12,000,000
WOA	Wide Open Agricultur	0.007	-13%	68,085	$4,269,493
NXS	Next Science Limited	0.105	-13%	45,605	$35,059,228
AVH	Avita Medical	3.090	-12%	1,232,064	$243,975,537

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Adisyn (ASX:AI1) has finalised the acquisition of semiconductor IP business 2D Generation (2DG), with its founder and CEO, Arye Kohavi, set to join the board as non-executive director.

2DG’s technology is being hailed as a major advancement in semiconductors, positioning Adisyn to seize opportunities in the rapidly evolving market.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Adisyn is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article. 

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