There’s no surprises on market today, the ASX200 has been down around half a per cent – on par with the morning’s predictions.
The Energy and Materials sectors have been showing resilience, energy’s up about 0.4% and mining stocks by about 0.3%, while IT’s faring the worst, losing well over 1.5%.
With the Middle East conflict intensifying, there’s more pressure on inflation and oil prices have been rising.
To company news: The Star Entertainment Group (ASX:SGR) is down 5.45% as current and former executives begin to appear before a NSW Inquiry into its Sydney casino operations.
It has been trading at 47.8 cents.
Industrial services company, Coventry Group (ASX:CYG), will acquire Auckland-based fasteners supplier, Steelmasters Group, in a $42.1 million deal. To help to fund it, Coventry’s announced a fully-underwritten $25 million Institutional Placement and $2 million Share Purchase Plan. Coventry has 86 sites in Australia and New Zealand, Steelmakers has 12 in the same jurisdictions.
Coventry’s been in trading halt today, but last traded at $1.47.
US-based Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL) has been up nearly 40% after receiving approval for a mining permit for construction, operation and reclamation of its Carolina Lithium project in the US.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (NCDEQ) Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR) granted this go ahead, however the project still needs rezoning approvals and financing.
Piedmont intends it’ll not only mine spodumene, but also produce concentrate and lithium hydroxide.
PLL has been trading at 28.5 cents.
Cancer immunotherapy company Imugene (ASX: IMU) is up about 0.5% after confirming it’ll enrol 10 patients with bile duct cancer, expanding its trial for the use of drug candidate VAXINIA.
The development comes after the company completed a fifth high dose cohort with no safety signals flared.
IMU has been trading at 9.3 cents.
And rapid diagnostic test supplier Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) is up more than 3% after receiving purchase orders for HIV self-test kits from Viatris Healthcare valued around $570,000.
The tests will be manufactured by Atomo under the brand name Mylan and supplied to several low and middle-income countries.
The orders are scheduled for production in the coming months.
AT1 has been trading at 3.2 cents.
Before we go, gold explorer Barton Gold Holdings (ASX:BGD) reports strong demand for its Share Purchase Plan – which opened last Tuesday with 24-cent shares.
The SPP, for which it is aiming to raise $1 million, is open until the 26th.
The money is to support Barton’s work on the Tunkillia and the Tarcoola gold projects.
BGD has been trading around 28 cents.