Lunch Wrap: ASX marches on despite war jitters; Nufarm and Mayne plummet

The ASX has climbed on Wednesday on the back of the RBA rate cut, but investors have one eye on oil as strike fears out of Israel rattle nerves.

ASX lifts, but oil jitters grow after Israel strike fears. Picture via Getty Images

• ASX lifts, but oil jitters grow after Israel strike fears

• Nufarm tanks, Hardie stumbles on US outlook

• Mayne Pharma drops like a stone on takeover tussle

The ASX was humming along nicely at lunch on Wednesday, with the ASX 200 up 0.7% and investors still riding the sugar high from Tuesday’s RBA rate cut.

But while the market was basking in the green, there was a bit of unease hanging in the air this morning.

Oil prices jumped after a CNN report suggested that Israel might be preparing to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.

Brent crude popped above US$66 a barrel, and traditional safe havens like the yen and Swiss franc got a short-lived rally.

No official confirmation yet, but Middle East flare-ups tend to have a long reach when a third of the world’s oil is on the line.

“If you remove a million barrels a day from Iran, this could represent an upside of about $8 a barrel to the crude oil price,” Samantha Dart of Goldman told Bloomberg.

Meanwhile on Wall Street overnight, US stocks took a breather.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, snapping a six-day win streak as investors took profits following a run that had pushed the index into bull market territory.

Back to the ASX, rate-sensitive stocks found their groove this morning, with 10 out of 11 sectors flashing green.

Utilities, health and gold stocks led.

Bank stocks also helped keep the index buoyant. Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) touched another record high, up over 2%.

Source: Market Index

In large caps news, James Hardie (ASX:JHX) slumped 7% after warning that the US renovations market, key to its Azek acquisition, is softer than expected. Investors weren’t thrilled by the idea of pushing on with a $14 billion buy in this kind of market.

Wellness firm Nufarm (ASX:NUF) also took a beating, down 27% after slashing its full-year earnings outlook. Profit for the half cratered due to weak fish oil prices and rising costs.

Still in large caps, sports tech firm Catapult Group (ASX:CAT) looks to be turning a corner. The company’s shares leapt 11% after reporting full-year revenue up 19% to US$116.5 million, which helped narrow its losses.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for May 21 :

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
AOA	Ausmon Resorces	0.002	100%	2,645,457	$1,311,213
BP8	Bph Global Ltd	0.003	50%	3,299	$2,101,969
OCN	Oceanalithiumlimited	0.046	39%	2,898,634	$4,537,381
GTR	Gti Energy Ltd	0.004	33%	126,357	$8,996,849
SFG	Seafarms Group Ltd	0.002	33%	954,907	$7,254,899
TMK	TMK Energy Limited	0.004	33%	82,628,691	$30,667,149
RLT	Renergen Limited	0.790	31%	209,828	$18,347,215
RPG	Raptis Group Limited	0.018	29%	55,555	$2,454,794
BYH	Bryah Resources Ltd	0.005	25%	25,620,045	$3,479,814
ERA	Energy Resources	0.003	25%	81,009	$810,792,482
ADT	Adriatic Metals	4.680	24%	1,538,221	$1,142,706,131
SPD	Southernpalladium	0.280	24%	445,658	$20,463,750
FLC	Fluence Corporation	0.043	23%	1,621,130	$37,833,824
FBR	FBR Ltd	0.006	20%	11,751,347	$28,447,261
JAV	Javelin Minerals Ltd	0.003	20%	1,903,349	$15,115,373
RDN	Raiden Resources Ltd	0.006	20%	979,718	$17,254,457
PUA	Peak Minerals Ltd	0.019	19%	41,202,108	$44,917,141
BLU	Blue Energy Limited	0.007	17%	2,526,057	$11,105,842
EE1	Earths Energy Ltd	0.007	17%	1,853,926	$3,179,785
FAU	First Au Ltd	0.004	17%	2,500,000	$6,215,980
PSL	Paterson Resources	0.014	17%	35,867	$5,472,455
W2V	Way2Vatltd	0.007	17%	4,481,370	$8,477,149
TNC	True North Copper	0.275	15%	171,062	$30,201,364

Renergen (ASX:RLT) received a takeover offer from US-listed ASPI, which wants to snap up all its shares in an all-stock deal. If approved, Renergen holders will swap their shares for ASPI stock as part of a push to build a global critical materials giant with operations from Pretoria to the US. ASPI’s already making advanced isotopes for semiconductors, medicine and clean energy, and it’s eyeing uranium enrichment next.

Bryah Resources (ASX:BYH) has pegged a high-grade gold project in Canada, locking in a two-month option to buy Golden Pike from Globex Mining. The site’s got a historical (non-JORC) resource of 66,000oz at nearly 10g/t, plus rock chips grading as high as 244g/t. If due diligence checks out, Bryah will pay in cash and shares over three years, and with gold at record highs, said it was keen to get drills running soon.

Adriatic Metals (ASX:ADT) surged after confirming it’s in early-stage takeover talks with Canada’s Dundee Precious Metals. The silver miner granted due diligence, backing media reports that a deal north of $1.5 billion might be in the works.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for May 21 :

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
BMO	Bastion Minerals	0.002	-50%	7,805,352	$2,710,883
1AD	Adalta Limited	0.002	-33%	104,563	$1,929,668
AM5	Antares Metals	0.008	-33%	16,503,056	$6,178,235
BIT	Biotron Limited	0.002	-33%	463,172	$3,981,738
CRB	Carbine Resources	0.004	-33%	1,943,097	$3,310,427
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.002	-33%	216,000	$8,461,275
MYX	Mayne Pharma Ltd	4.480	-31%	2,882,786	$526,472,959
NUF	Nufarm Limited	2.910	-28%	5,530,436	$1,539,592,014
EEL	Enrg Elements Ltd	0.002	-25%	3,200,094	$6,507,557
OVT	Ovanti Limited	0.003	-25%	3,053,871	$11,174,060
E79	E79Goldmineslimited	0.019	-24%	6,339,207	$3,960,316
AVE	Avecho Biotech Ltd	0.004	-20%	431,155	$15,867,318
IPB	IPB Petroleum Ltd	0.004	-20%	22,795	$3,532,015
RGL	Riversgold	0.004	-20%	235,020	$8,418,563
ROG	Red Sky Energy.	0.004	-20%	31,155	$27,111,136
ZNO	Zoono Group Ltd	0.053	-18%	2,201,705	$23,103,198
QEM	QEM Limited	0.045	-18%	10,000	$10,495,853
ERW	Errawarra Resources	0.050	-18%	1,003,094	$7,548,462
YRL	Yandal Resources	0.140	-18%	360,116	$52,569,947
CP8	Canphosphateltd	0.020	-17%	10,000	$7,362,253
KPO	Kalina Power Limited	0.005	-17%	3,542,641	$17,597,818
1CG	One Click Group Ltd	0.006	-14%	1,000,000	$8,245,159
ANR	Anatara Ls Ltd	0.006	-14%	1,000,000	$1,493,686
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.003	-14%	25,000	$10,581,756

Mayne Pharma (ASX:MYX) dropped like a stone, down 30% after takeover partner Cosette accused the company of a “material adverse change” and kicked off a 10-day consultation period that could end in the merger deal being scrapped. Mayne hit back, saying the claim didn’t stack up, but markets weren’t convinced. The court-approved scheme is still technically alive, but trust between the two seems shaky at best.

Resimac (ASX:RMC) dipped after ASIC launched civil proceedings, alleging the mortgage lender mishandled customer hardship cases, leaving vulnerable borrowers worse off. The regulator says Resimac ailed to assess cases properly. The company says it’s cooperating and working on a refund plan for affected customers.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Lanthanein Resources (ASX:LNR) has tapped Peter Pawlowitsch as chair and non-executive director of the company, effective immediately. Pawlowitsch specialises in sourcing and evaluating businesses, ideas and projects, and developing solutions to enable growth. David Frances will remain on the board as a non-executive director while Anees Sabet has resigned from the company with the board’s thanks for his efforts.

Blue Star Helium (ASX:BNL) has finished spudding the State 9 SWSE 3054 development well at its Galactica helium project in Las Animas County, Colorado. The shallow conductor section has been set, and after casing the base of the intermediate section, BNL will target the Lyons Formation, targeted a total depth within the upper Lyons gas reservoir.

Koba Resources (ASX:KOB) is raising up to $1.7m to pursue a phase 2 drilling program at the Yarramba uranium project in South Australia. This will consist of a $600,000 placement to sophisticated and professional investors and non-renounceable rights issue for up to $1.1m to all eligible shareholders. The company will use the funding to follow-up on three new uranium prospects (Everest, Berber, and Chivas) which have produced grades of up to 1.6m at 1026 parts per million uranium.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Lanthanein Resources, Blue Star Helium and Koba Resources 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 Lunch Wrap: ASX marches on despite war jitters; Nufarm and Mayne plummet