Just when you expect the ASX to fall, it changes its name to Phoenix and rises again.
Falls in IT, Consumer Discretionary, Health Care, Real Estate and Consumer Staples sectors were outweighed by gains in the big resources and financials companies with CBA and NAB higher.
The S&P/ASX200 has so far gained 38.60 points or 0.52% to 7,477.50, crossing above its 125-day moving average.
Over the last five days, the index has gained 1.62% and is currently 2.03% off its 52-week high.
The top-performing stocks so far in this index are Crown Resorts Ltd up 8.08% and Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) up 7.06%.
As we reported this morning, Blackstone has upped its bid for Crown and any binding offer will now be endorsed by the board.
Crown shareholders have welcomed the increased bid.
"Crown remains a high-quality and valuable asset and is worth more to private equity than it is ever going to be worth listed on the ASX," Forager Funds Management's chief investment officer Steve Johnson said.
Forrager is a Crown shareholder.
"They can use more leverage and financial engineering and they don't have an ESG discount applied.
"It is likely that a deal will get done, the increase in offer price is a welcome step in the right direction and we are supportive of the board continuing a push for an appropriate firm offer for shareholders."
BHP and Rio have also had good days so far.
BHP is 3.3% higher, RIO rose 2.3%, Pilbara Minerals is 5.9% higher Fortescue gained 1.7%, OZ Minerals gained 2.9% and South32 rose 3.4% after commodities jumped and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said the big, diversified miners were undervalued.
Volatility expected in gas market in 2022
Wood Mackenzie has released its gas and LNG outlook and it’s not great news.
The company’s vice president Massimo Do Odoardo says that while the market will stay resilient in the short term, high prices will pressure demand and the rationale for China to switch from coal to gas will diminish.
However, he did say we will see an increase in renewables investment.
“Meanwhile, investment in renewables and batteries will increase, limiting the headroom for gas demand to grow,” he said.
“And in Europe, where the move towards renewables is already underway, policymakers will look to accelerate the shift away from natural gas, as the recent EU proposal to support biomethane and hydrogen suggests.”
On the small cap front
Amplia Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ATX) is 12.50% higher after doubling the batch scale of anti-cancer drug candidate AMP945 during its latest manufacturing run.
Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX:PDI) is up 6.30%. PDI has returned wide high-grade diamond drilling results at depth from the Bankan Gold Project in Guinea, including 33 metres at 4.5 g/t.
Moho Resources Ltd (ASX:MOH) is 3.33% higher. MOH’s research and development (R&D) collaboration with CSIRO and other external consultants is paying dividends, netting the company a $621,000 tax offset for eligible R&D expenditure conducted across its projects.
Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:PAR) is 1.68% higher after randomising and dosing the first subjects in its PARA_OA_002 clinical trial.