As expected, the two-day rise of the ASX this week has come to a halt after Wall St markets plunged on Tuesday.
The S&P/ASX200 dropped 52.20 points or 0.77% to 6,711.40. Over the last five days, the index has gained 3.12% but is down 9.85% for the last year to date.
The bottom-performing stocks in the ASX 200 today were Tyro Payments Ltd down 16.67% and carsales.com Ltd down 12.16%.
What’s in the news
Under fire 1
Energy stocks and banks were those that bucked the trend today, with Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX:WDS, LSE:WDS, OTC:WOPEF) gaining 1.1% and National Australia Bank Ltd and Westpac Banking Corp up 0.9% and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX:ANZ) Ltd 0.9% higher.
While Energy was up, London-listed Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) was getting beaten down by the unions.
The Australian Workers Union and the Maritime Union of Australia accused the fuel giant of “choking” off global supply.
Shell has cancelled gas shipments from its floating Prelude facility.
The unions and Shell are in an ongoing battle over offshore working allowances, with unions asking for a 30% increase for those workers amounting to $117,000 per year. The unions are also calling for better working conditions and bans on contract workers.
That’s a lot to ask, but what has really got their goat is the cancellation of shipments of gas from Prelude until at least “mid July”.
"At this point the union has confirmed management has ordered the plant, which usually runs at 94% of maximum design capacity, to be reduced to 35% design capacity," The Offshore Alliance says in a statement.
AWU National Secretary Daniel Walton called Shell's action baffling.
"I honestly don't know if we are witnessing the work of unhinged industrial extremists or cover-up artists. Either way it is damaging, it is irresponsible and it should stop today," Walton said.
"Shell is, in effect, helping Vladimir Putin advance his goal of choking off the global gas supply purely so it can play hardball with a few hundred Australian workers who want nothing more than standard industry conditions."
Under fire 2
Digital regulators have set their sights on tech giants.
The ACCC, ACMA, eSafety and OAIC, which make up Australia’s digital platform regulators, will increase focus on mysterious algorithms and push for transparency in relation to the activities of big global tech companies.
“The ACCC considers that the work of the Digital Platform Regulators Forum is key for our own work on digital platforms, particularly as we are currently reviewing whether there is a need for competition and consumer reform as part of our ongoing digital platforms inquiry,” ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb says.
“Personal information is central to data-driven businesses and its protection critical to prevent online harms," Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk says.
"We will continue to work closely with other regulators through the forum to advance online privacy protections for Australians, protect individuals from harm in the online environment and ensure the best outcomes are achieved in the public interest."
Here’s a look at five of today's top small-cap stories.
Chimeric Therapeutics licenses viral vector technology from University of Pennsylvania for CDH17 CAR T program
Chimeric Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:CHM) (Chimeric Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:CHM)) has expanded its licensing agreement with the University of Pennsylvania to include non-exclusive access to its lentiviral vector plasmid system, a viral vector technology critical for the manufacture of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells.
Apollo Minerals higher on fielding further broad zinc-lead results, Dikaki East high-grade zone footprint doubled
“The excellent results from our ongoing drilling campaign add to our confidence that Kroussou is province-scale and highlights the significant future exploration potential of the project,” says Apollo Minerals Ltd (ASX:AON) MD Neil Inwood.
Sunstone Metals delivers strong assays that confirm higher-grade copper and gold zones at El Palmar in Ecuador
“The combination of the scale and the grades we are generating at El Palmar shows that this is clearly becoming a very valuable project in a world which desperately needs more large discoveries," says Sunstone Metals Ltd (ASX:STM) MD Malcolm Norris.
Latin Resources fields exceptionally bright kaolin from Cloud Nine infill program
Even ahead of a planned resource update, Latin Resources Ltd's Cloud Nine remains one of Australia’s largest underdeveloped kaolin-halloysite deposits.
Tietto Minerals extends Abujar’s gold footprint a further 4.6 kilometres with results up to 47.35 g/t
Tietto Minerals Ltd (ASX:TIE) has materially expanded the gold footprint of the Abujar Shear.
On your six
Here’s a good one from our colleagues in the UK, looking at the many recent hydrogen deals around the world.
Why are so many hydrogen deals being announced around the world - an explainer
As ever more hydrogen projects are announced we look at why this almost ubiquitous chemical is in demand, as well as how to tell the truly green cleantech from the less environmentally beneficial.
The one for good luck
Musgrave digs up more high-grade gold at Cue
Musgrave Minerals Ltd (ASX:MGV, OTC:MGVMF)'s Rob Waugh updates viewers on the latest batch of high-grade gold mineralisation at the cornerstone Cue project in WA.