The ASX has been led down by tech stocks in morning trading.
The S&P/ASX200 has so far dropped 7.80 points or 0.10% to 7,445.50, despite crossing above its 125-day moving average.
Over the last five days, the index is virtually unchanged but is currently 2.45% below its 52-week high.
The bottom-performing stocks in this index at time of writing were Life360 Inc down 4.55% and Reliance Worldwide Corporation (ASX:RWC) Ltd down 4.49%.
It hasn’t been a good morning for tech with NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) down 3.1% to $11.30, WiseTech Global Ltd falling 2.9% to $54.32 and Tyro Payments Ltd down 2.7% to $2.56.
Others to fall include Premier Investments Ltd losing 2.8% to $27.41 and ResMed Ltd down 2.8% to $32.95.
On the flipside, AGL Energy (ASX:AGK) Ltd was 6.1% higher at $6.66 a share and Novonix up 3.9% to $9.71 after its intention to dual list on the Nasdaq.
Credit Suisse upgraded to AGL to Outperform with an $8.50 target on Friday, while investors may also be betting on a turnaround after a 70% fall last year.
Dwelling approvals rise
Dwelling approvals for November were released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Figures show dwelling approvals rose by 3.6% in November, led by an increase in private sector dwellings. It follows a 13.6% fall, in seasonally adjusted terms, in October.
“The rise in the total number of dwellings approved in November was driven by an increase in approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses, which rose 9.7%,” Daniel Rossi, ABS director of construction statistics, said.
“Private sector houses continue to level off, up 1.4% in November, following a 3.5% rise in October. The series has been at historically elevated levels over the past year, largely driven by Government stimulus and record low interest rates.
“While private house approvals are no longer at record highs, the November result remains 25.8% higher than the pre-pandemic level in November 2019, indicating ongoing strength in the detached housing market.”
CHOICE wants no choice in CFD trading
Consumer Group Choice has called for a ban on retail investors trading Contracts for Difference (CFDs).
The move would follow a similar ban in the US and Hong Kong.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) already has regulations in place (implemented in 2020) to protect consumers: the Federal government will shortly decide whether to extend these restrictions until 2031.
ASIC believes the current restrictions have already been effective in reducing consumer losses.
CFDs are traded in over the counter (OTC markets) and enable traders to speculate on the change in value of an asset without taking a position in that asset.
They are considered highly risky investments.
CHOICE sent ASIC a letter saying CFDs “are precisely the kind of financial product that should be subject to market-wide product interventions.
“We anticipate that significant consumer harm would eventuate if the temporary order expires in May 2022. If the order is not renewed, consumers would risk potentially losing billions of dollars in CFD losses as seen in 2020.
“Given the widespread harm identified by ASIC, CHOICE recommends that the sale of CFDs to retail clients be banned.”
ASX Ltd (ASX:ASX) sell rating
A Citi analyst has reiterated his sell rating for ASX Ltd.
Nigel Pittaway says the ASX looks too expensive, despite Citi boosting its target price 12% to $82.30.
"Some, particularly longer-term, investors are clearly attracted by ASX’s market positioning and earnings reliability," Pittaway notes.
"This seems to lead to further support from periods of relatively low liquidity … however, the stock looks expensive on most valuation methodologies and relative to most global peers."
On the small cap front
Kingfisher Mining Ltd (ASX:KFM) is 16.67% higher. KFM has confirmed the prospectivity of its wholly-owned projects in the Gascoyne Mineral Field in Western Australia with a high-grade rare earth intercept of 12 metres at 1.12% total rare earth oxides (TREO) from the Mick Wells prospect.
Zelira Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ZLD, OTCQB:ZLDAF) is up 9.68%. ZLD has received US$250,000 of its upfront non-refundable, non-contingent licensing fee of US$1 million from DRCN Holdings LLC, with the remaining US$750,000 expected to be received in the first quarter of 2022.
CV Check Ltd (ASX:CV1) is 6.90% higher. CV1 ended 2021 strongly being cash flow positive from operations during the first half of FY2022 and notching up record quarterly and half-year revenue.
Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX:PDI) has gained 4.00%. PDI continues to make headway amid discussions with the Government of Guinea surrounding its Bankan gold camp.
Pantoro Ltd (ASX:PNR) is up 2.90%. PNR has highlighted the exploration upside of its Halls Creek project in Western Australia with ‘strong’ platinum group elements (PGE) assays.
FYI Resources Ltd (ASX:FYI) is 2.50% higher after it and Alcoa (NYSE:AA) of Australia delivered further results described as "outstanding" from the second week of their high purity alumina (HPA) pilot plant trial.
Meeka Gold Ltd (ASX:MEK) is up 2.33% after kicking off its 2022 drill program targeting promising results intercepted late last year.
Aldoro Resources Ltd (ASX:ARN) is up 1.33%. ARN has set up the reverse circulation (RC) drill rig on-site at the Niobe Project and is all set to start a planned 3,730-metre drilling campaign.
KGL Resources Ltd (ASX:KGL) is 0.83% higher. KGL has bolstered the mineral resource estimate (MRE) at the Jervois Copper Project’s high-grade Reward deposit ahead of a feasibility study slated for mid-2022.