Market Open: Backwards step to start a new week

There’s expected to be a more lacklustre session on the ASX200, after last week’s record-breaking performances.

Futures tips the market will be down around about a half a per cent.

US markets lost their steam on Friday and that saw tech majors pulling back – Nvidia, for example, shed five per cent.

After such an extended advance, market strategists are increasingly surmising that a significant market pullback could lie  on the horizon.

In small cap companies to watch this morning:

Dimerix (ASX:DXB) – a company with a drug candidate for treating kidney disease – has announced its ACTION3 drug has passed interim analysis in its Phase 3 trial against  placebos; and, power pole and overhead asset management platform provider ikeGPS Group (ASX:IKE) has secured a five year subscription with the largest electricity utility in the US.

Capricorn Metals (ASX: CMM) reports that heavy rainfall – 150 millimetres in recent days – has interrupted its open pit mining at its Karlawinda Gold Project. While processing operations have continued, restricted mining has meant treating lower grade stockpiles. Despite losing eight mining days this quarter so far to wet weather, the company claims it can still achieve gold production at the lower end of its FY24guidance.

One Australian dollar is buying US66 cents.

Crude oil has been back at US$78 a barrel, brent crude has also pulled back about a per cent.

Gold has added another 0.9 per cent to be trading around US$2178 an ounce.

Iron Ore has been at US$118.50 a tonne and natural gas is down about half a per cent to US$1.80 per one million British thermal units.