Lunch Wrap: Energy stocks drag down ASX as crude crumbles; Mesoblast joins ASX200 club

The ASX has slipped so far on Thursday with energy stocks down. Amcor fell on restructure news, while Mesoblast landed ungainly on the ASX 200.

Mesoblast joins the ASX 200 club. Picture via Getty Images

• ASX drops with energy sector taking a hit

• Amcor drops on restructure news

• Mesoblast slips after ASX 200 inclusion

The ASX is lower by around 0.6% on Thursday at 1pm AEDT, with the energy sector in particular feeling the heat and dragging down sentiment.

Oil prices took a 4% hit overnight, trading now at US$66 a barrel. A few key things are weighing on prices.

First off, the uncertainty around US tariffs is throwing a massive shadow over energy demand. On top of that, OPEC+ decided to ramp up production again starting in April, adding 138,000 barrels per day back into world supply.

“Oil prices also continue to be undercut by the thaw in US-Russian relations, and possible peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine war...” said Rich Asplund at TradingView.

Silver, meanwhile, climbed to a one-week high as trade war fears sparked higher demand with investors turning to precious metals for safe haven. The weakening US dollar is also pushing gold prices and the Aussie dollar higher.

Over in Wall Street, there was a bit of a relief rally going on last night after Trump decided to delay some of the tariffs on cars and car parts coming from Mexico and Canada.

The S&P 500 closed the day 1% higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged by 1.46%, and Bitcoin rose by 4% in the last 24 hours to above US$90k.

Back to the ASX, energy stocks were the worst performers today, but real estate and miners helped cushion the losses.

Source: Market Index

Source: Market Index

In the large caps space, packaging giant Amcor (ASX:AMC) dropped by 1% after revealing a major restructure post-its $13 billion merger with Berry Global.

Amcor's CEO Peter Konieczny said that Amcor will now be split into two main divisions: Global Flexibles and Global Closures & Containers. The company also got big plans to reorganise and are on the hunt for new leadership, which always throws up a bit of uncertainty in the short term.

Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) fell by 6% after it was added to the S&P/ASX200 Index. While the inclusion should’ve been positive news, investors seemed unimpressed, possibly because the stock had already been priced in for this move, who knows?

In December, Mesoblast’s cell therapy Ryconcil received FDA approval to treat steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (SR-aGvHD) in kids. This life-threatening condition, affecting those who undergo bone marrow transplants, had no previous treatment options.

Elsewhere, Arcadium Lithium (ASX:LTM) shares will no longer be trading after today. This is because the Royal Court of Jersey has approved its acquisition by Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO). The $10.7 billion deal will see Arcadium absorbed into Rio, and with the deal now finalised, Arcadium is being removed from the ASX200 index.

And finally, Capricorn Metals (ASX:CMM) reported a 10% boost in profits for the half, hitting $90.7 million, thanks to higher gold prices and a 17% jump in gold sales. However, despite the good numbers, shares were down 2%, likely due to a rise in expenses, with its costs nearly doubling to $1.1 million.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for March 6 :

Code	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
RTG	RTG Mining Inc.	0.029	53%	31,063,429	$20,589,265
AXP	AXP Energy Ltd	0.002	50%	3,378,101	$6,574,681
CR9	Corellares	0.003	50%	333,480	$935,487
VPR	Voltgroupltd	0.002	50%	1,000,000	$10,716,208
DDB	Dynamic Group	0.285	43%	52,382	$28,632,356
M2R	Miramar	0.004	33%	250,000	$1,369,040
MEL	Metgasco Ltd	0.004	33%	37,999	$4,372,760
CTO	Citigold Corp Ltd	0.005	25%	400,000	$12,000,000
TG6	Tgmetalslimited	0.130	24%	554,710	$7,466,292
AUG	Augustus Minerals	0.040	21%	517,093	$3,933,317
LML	Lincoln Minerals	0.006	20%	100,000	$10,281,298
YAR	Yari Minerals Ltd	0.006	20%	1,230,930	$2,411,789
ABX	ABX Group Limited	0.043	19%	553,735	$9,010,564
FNR	Far Northern Res	0.140	17%	3,270	$4,351,899
ENV	Enova Mining Limited	0.007	17%	91,714	$7,383,862
WOA	Wide Open Agricultur	0.012	15%	631,575	$5,336,866
G50	G50Corp Ltd	0.155	15%	198,978	$21,680,684
PCL	Pancontinental Energ	0.016	14%	5,211,892	$113,912,202
PIL	Peppermint Inv Ltd	0.004	14%	2,750,000	$7,633,812
C29	C29Metalslimited	0.050	14%	121,587	$7,664,282
ORP	Orpheus Uranium Ltd	0.034	13%	234,432	$7,118,828
BEO	Beonic Ltd	0.215	13%	10,000	$13,463,592
SMP	Smartpay Holdings	0.580	13%	211,433	$124,600,884
SWP	Swoop Holdings Ltd	0.135	13%	143,885	$25,549,195
AYT	Austin Metals Ltd	0.005	13%	660,000	$5,296,765

RTG Mining (ASX:RTG) said Mt. Labo Development Corp has teamed up with global giant Glencore to finance Stage 1 of the high-grade Mabilo copper-gold project, securing up to US$30m in a three-part financing deal. The project will mine about 100,000 tonnes of copper-gold material.

RTG said it expects to receive about 50% of the total cash flow from Stage 1 of the project, based on current commodity prices. This includes the early repayment of around US$26m that Mt. Labo owes to RTG, a 2% royalty on the project's gross revenue, and 40% of the net profits.

TG Metals (ASX:TG6) has snapped up 80% of the Van Uden gold project in WA for $2.5 million in cash and shares. The project has four mining leases and past production from two open pits, with plenty of room for growth by expanding the mineralisation down dip. TG Metals said it was eyeing near-term cash flow from stockpiles, and is close to processing plants for quick toll treatment. The deal will be funded from its cash reserves, with no shareholder approval needed.

Augustus Minerals (ASX:AUG) has extended high-grade gold mineralisation at its Music Well project near Leonora, WA. Recent rock chip samples from Clifton East and St Patrick’s Well showed impressive gold grades, including up to 50.3g/t. The gold trend now spans 700m at Clifton East and 300m at St Patrick’s Well, with further exploration underway. Augustus is planning more drilling and mapping to explore these targets.

ABx Group (ASX:ABX) said it has the largest gibbsite-type metallurgical bauxite assets in eastern Australia, and is looking to capitalise on a surge in global bauxite prices. With global supply disruptions pushing prices up 60% in just a few months, ABx is actively exploring ways to monetise its resources, including potential production starting in 2025. The company has key projects in Queensland and New South Wales, and is in talks with various parties about offtake, investment, and asset sales.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for March 6 :

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
ADD	Adavale Resource Ltd	0.002	-33%	56,426	$6,819,838
ICU	Investor Centre Ltd	0.002	-33%	4,796	$913,534
HLX	Helix Resources	0.002	-20%	900,000	$8,410,484
NAE	New Age Exploration	0.004	-20%	1,773,827	$10,781,995
TAS	Tasman Resources Ltd	0.004	-20%	1,050,338	$4,026,248
TMX	Terrain Minerals	0.004	-20%	997,010	$10,017,783
PFT	Pure Foods Tas Ltd	0.029	-17%	696,879	$4,739,897
CTN	Catalina Resources	0.003	-17%	49,086	$3,948,786
OSL	Oncosil Medical	0.005	-17%	221,819	$27,639,481
IFG	Infocusgroup Hldltd	0.016	-16%	8,275,863	$3,539,159
FG1	Flynngold	0.023	-15%	261,852	$7,055,545
ARI	Arika Resources	0.031	-14%	4,746,823	$22,806,311
BKT	Black Rock Mining	0.026	-13%	874,482	$37,561,458
ACU	Acumentis Group Ltd	0.083	-13%	600,301	$21,038,229
ANX	Anax Metals Ltd	0.007	-13%	206,028	$7,062,461
EMT	Emetals Limited	0.004	-13%	209,999	$3,400,000
GBZ	GBM Rsources Ltd	0.007	-13%	32,555	$9,368,560
MOH	Moho Resources	0.004	-13%	100,000	$2,865,898
OLI	Oliver'S Real Food	0.007	-13%	500	$4,325,855
WEC	White Energy	0.028	-13%	166	$6,367,497
EXT	Excite Technology	0.015	-12%	200,169	$30,904,522
HE8	Helios Energy Ltd	0.015	-12%	1,070,991	$44,268,841
RGT	Argent Biopharma Ltd	0.160	-11%	30,359	$10,669,008
AQX	Alice Queen Ltd	0.008	-11%	10,001	$10,322,011

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