Lunch Wrap: ASX inches higher, Yari doubles after snapping up Queensland coal project

The ASX edged up as traders watched US-China talks, oil and iron ore climbed, and markets held their breath for the Fed’s big decision.

ASX edges up on China-US talks hopes. Picture via Getty Images

• ASX edges up on US-China talks hopes

• Oil and iron ore bounce back

• Fed decision looms, markets hold breath

The ASX opened with a bit more sparkle on Wednesday, with the benchmark ASX 200 climbing up 0.15% by lunch time, AEST.

All eyes are on that crucial meeting between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese officials in Switzerland.

The flicker of optimism on what the meeting could bring sent oil and iron ore prices ticking up this morning.

But with the Fed’s big decision looming (due to land Thursday morning AEST), some traders on Wall Street have gone into risk-off mode.

The S&P 500 was down by 0.8% last night as traders brace for whatever Jerome Powell might pull out of the hat.

Markets are mostly betting on the Fed to hold rates this time, despite Trump cranking up the pressure.

“If traders wish to believe that the Fed will come to the rescue of the world tomorrow, and assuage the recent rise in policy uncertainty and political uncertainty with a signal of overt ‘dovishness’, they should think again,” said Thierry Wizman at Macquarie.

Despite the Wall Street sell-off, the promise of a potential dead-lock with China kept a floor on stock prices.

Elsewhere, gold, that old faithful, took a bit of a breather as traders ditched the safe havens in favour of hopes for better US-China relations.

Oil is on the up again. WTI prices climbed 3%, pushing back above $US59 a barrel after six straight sessions in the red.

Back home on the ASX, energy was the best performer on the back of higher crude prices.

The big four banks shook off Tuesday’s stumble and found their feet again.

National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) led the charge, up 2% despite missing the mark on core earnings and revenue for the half.

The Healthcare sector was dragged down by CSL (ASX:CSL), which fell almost 2% on no specific news.

Source: Market Index

Source: Market Index

Still in large caps, JB HiFi (ASX:JBH) was clipped by 3% despite posting decent growth across all its business lines in Q3. Good numbers, but just not enough to get the market excited.

Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) shot up 10% after talking up its spot in the uranium market at the Macquarie Australia Conference. Triuranium octoxide prices are on the rise, and Boss says it’s right where it needs to be.

Meanwhile in China today, the People’s Bank of China trimmed its 7-day reverse repo rate to 1.4% from 1.5%.

It’s a small cut but good news for markets nevertheless, enough to remind everyone that Beijing’s not just watching from the sidelines.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for May 7 :

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
YAR	Yari Minerals Ltd	0.011	120%	48,008,478	$2,411,789
RFT	Rectifier Technolog	0.009	50%	2,124,107	$8,291,904
IS3	I Synergy Group Ltd	0.004	33%	126,261	$1,502,190
LCL	LCL Resources Ltd	0.008	33%	13,405,390	$7,168,876
NAE	New Age Exploration	0.004	33%	1,153,676	$7,978,197
MDR	Medadvisor Limited	0.130	30%	1,195,245	$59,771,564
CXU	Cauldron Energy Ltd	0.009	29%	240,955	$10,229,832
ASR	Asra Minerals Ltd	0.003	25%	1,922,945	$5,412,094
CAV	Carnavale Resources	0.005	25%	7,000	$16,360,874
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.003	25%	1,001,627	$2,356,635
M4M	Macro Metals Limited	0.011	22%	283,725	$35,796,758
BCB	Bowen Coal Limited	0.490	21%	398,778	$43,641,810
AUE	Aurumresources	0.435	21%	4,953,834	$83,590,986
FAU	First Au Ltd	0.003	20%	869,816	$5,179,983
ODE	Odessa Minerals Ltd	0.006	20%	2,479,811	$7,997,663
RDN	Raiden Resources Ltd	0.006	20%	731,006	$17,254,457
TMK	TMK Energy Limited	0.003	20%	7,388,848	$25,555,958
TMX	Terrain Minerals	0.003	20%	1,729,706	$5,563,058
1AD	Adalta Limited	0.005	19%	230,383	$2,701,536
1CG	One Click Group Ltd	0.007	17%	1,535,557	$7,067,279
DUN	Dundasminerals	0.028	17%	42,501	$2,573,240
GBE	Globe Metals &Mining	0.031	15%	155,492	$18,755,631
AHK	Ark Mines Limited	0.195	15%	22,803	$9,425,890
BSN	Basinenergylimited	0.016	14%	167,988	$1,719,610

Yari Minerals (ASX:YAR) will be snapping up the Rolleston South coal project in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, with a 78.9Mt JORC inferred resource already confirmed. It’s surrounded by Glencore and Peabody mines, so infrastructure is top-notch. Yari plans to start drilling soon, aiming for semi-soft metallurgical coal, and the deal includes a 19.9% shareholding and performance rights for a bigger resource. Yari’s CEO Anthony Italiano says it’s primed for growth with big exploration upside.

LCL Resources (ASX:LCL) has reworked its deal with Tiger Gold Corp to sell its Andes gold project and Quinchia gold project in Colombia for a total of $14 million. The new terms include a bigger payout on the first gold pour, bumped up from $2.5 million to $6.5 million, and the 'Stay Private' option has been scrapped. Payments will be staggered: $1 million upfront, $2 million after 8 months, $4.5 million after 12 months, and $6.5 million once gold starts flowing. LCL is seeking shareholder approval at its upcoming AGM.

Telehealth company MedAdvisor (ASX:MDR) has received a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) from a major multinational software company to buy its ANZ business division for cash. The offer is confidential for now, but MedAdvisor reckons it's well above its current share price. The deal is part of MedAdvisor's strategy to close the gap between its market value and what it thinks it's really worth. MedAdvisor’s ANZ business pulled in a record $2.9 million in April.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for May 7 :

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
88E	88 Energy Ltd	0.001	-50%	65,125,322	$57,867,624
HCF	Hghighconviction	0.020	-33%	521,879	$582,194
FRX	Flexiroam Limited	0.004	-33%	131,772	$9,104,392
MOM	Moab Minerals Ltd	0.001	-33%	234,888	$2,600,499
TSL	Titanium Sands Ltd	0.004	-33%	1,367,786	$14,020,483
VML	Vital Metals Limited	0.002	-33%	212,036	$17,685,201
HIQ	Hitiq Limited	0.021	-30%	3,261,873	$11,026,874
EEL	Enrg Elements Ltd	0.002	-25%	2,537,936	$6,507,557
MTB	Mount Burgess Mining	0.003	-25%	11,855,544	$1,406,811
OVT	Ovanti Limited	0.003	-25%	3,655,295	$10,806,191
NPM	Newpeak Metals	0.012	-20%	134,485	$4,831,076
CR9	Corellares	0.002	-20%	200,000	$2,342,915
IMI	Infinitymining	0.008	-20%	10,000	$4,230,158
MIO	Macarthur Minerals	0.022	-19%	567,628	$5,390,969
CHM	Chimeric Therapeutic	0.005	-17%	425,648	$10,904,117
PIL	Peppermint Inv Ltd	0.003	-17%	2,000,000	$6,712,918
ROG	Red Sky Energy.	0.005	-17%	32,235	$32,533,363
HTM	High-Tech Metals Ltd	0.155	-16%	15,488	$8,542,068
IRD	Iron Road Ltd	0.031	-16%	154,926	$30,661,633
SVY	Stavely Minerals Ltd	0.011	-15%	1,202,517	$7,072,547
PFT	Pure Foods Tas Ltd	0.017	-15%	28,730	$2,708,512
IFG	Infocusgroup Hldltd	0.006	-14%	460,350	$1,836,988
TEG	Triangle Energy Ltd	0.003	-14%	1,330,004	$7,312,319
SNS	Sensen Networks Ltd	0.025	-14%	475,709	$22,998,087

The train wreck this morning was at Nuix (ASX:NXL). The software firm nosedived a brutal 16% after pulling its full-year guidance on revenue growth and cash flow, citing "uncertainty in the geopolitical landscape". Seems like clients are dragging their heels on new IT contracts, and investors didn’t take that well.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Future Metals (ASX:FME) has kicked off a 1-for-3 non-renounceable offer to raise up to $2.64m before costs, partially underwritten by CPS Capital Group Pty Ltd.

The company intends to use the funds to advance the Eileen Bore copper-nickel-platinum group metal project, which has generated results up to 120m at 0.73% copper, 0.29% nickel and 0.86 g/t platinum group metals from surface.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Future Metals is a Stockhead advertiser, 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 Lunch Wrap: ASX inches higher, Yari doubles after snapping up Queensland coal project