ASX 200 down 143 to 7369

• HIGH  7504 LOW 7344

ASX 200 crashes 143 points to 7370 as pent up selling and growth pessimism takes hold. All sectors were hit with the banks under serious pressure, the Big Bank Basket down to $182.06 with MQG falling 2.1%. Insurers too under pressure, QBE down 1.7% and IAG falling 2.4%. Healthcare sold off except RMD which was one of the few spots of green on screens up 1.8%. Industrials smacked, TLS down 1.5%, WES off 1.9%, WOW down 0.5% and SEK down 4.1%. Tech stocks under serious pressure with APT following the Square Dance down 3.1% and the All–Tech Index down 2.9%. Resources whacked too on iron ore falls, BHP off 1.7% and FMG down 0.6%, holding up quite well considering. Gold miners and oil and gas on the nose, WPL down 2.1% and STO off 2.6%. In corporate news, WBT rose 27.3% on its first commercial agreement with SkyWalker and NVA rose 3.9% on a confirmed gold discovery. On the economic front, payroll jobs fell by 0.7% in the fortnight to August 14. Total wages paid decreased by 1.0% according to the ABS.

MAJOR MOVERS:

Winners: BOE SM1 ALG SXY OPH MGH NVX AX1

Losers: LTR CTT VUK ASM LKE OPT SPL

• POSITIVE SECTORS: None.
• NEGATIVE SECTORS: Everything.
• BIG BANK BASKET: Hit hard down to $182.06
• ALL -TECH INDEX: Down 2.9% APT down 3.1%.
• GOLD: Eases modestly to AUD2432.
• BITCOIN: El Salvador takes its toll down to US$46200.
• AUD:  Eases to 73.58c. 10-YEAR YIELD: Slipping to 1.25%
• ASIAN MARKETS: Tokyo down 0.7% Hong Kong down 2.0%. China up 0.09%
• US FUTURES: Dow futures down 136 NASDAQ down 50.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

• WBT +27.30% first commercial agreement. Goes all Star Wars.
• NVA +3.85% gold discovery confirmed at RPM.
• RXM -14.29% commodity price triggers falls.
• BOE +6.82% the boss is back.
• SXY +2.17% gas deal with NCZ.
• ALG +2.48% reopening optimism.
• RMD +1.84% one of the few winners.
• PPK +1.50% BNNT still finding serious buyers.
• CTT -7.97% gives back gains from yesterday.
• EML -5.71% selling continues.
• VUK -7.93% maybe UK tax hikes.
• OBL -5.69% class action update.
• OSH -2.67% secures revolving credit facility.
• NCM -0.99% exploration update.
• AGE -5.26% snaps back.
• ICQ -7.69% DD extended by Carsome.
• POS – unchanged – Black Swan restart update.
• A8G +11.76% pump and dump groups target stock.
• RMD +1.84% defensive buying.
• Speculative Stock of the Day: Adherium (ADR) +53.33% USA FDA 510(k) clearance received for next-gen sensor. Hailie Sensor used to monitor asthma and COPD.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Macquarie Group (MQG) -2.12% Agrees to sell Dovel Technologies to Guidehouse, a portfolio company of Veritas Capital, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is expected to occur in the Q4 of 2021.
• Superloop (SLC) -2.90% Non-Executive Chairman Bevan Slattery to step down. Peter O’Connell named replacement. Slattery will remain a major shareholder in the business. O’Connell was most recently CEO of Amaysim, which he co-founded in 2010.
• Senex Energy (SXY) +2.17% Signs a new gas sales agreement with New Century Resources. Under the three-year agreement starting, Senex will provide ~7PJ of natural gas to support New Century’s processing operations at a fixed price, in line with current market levels.
• Gold Road Resources (GOR) –unchanged – First-half profit $19.1m vs year-ago $23.4m.Revenue $129.6m vs year-ago $135.1m. EBITDA $59.6m vs year-ago $61.0m. Interim Dividend $0.005, fully franked. Record date September 28. 2021 production guidance of 260-300Koz and attributable AISC between $1,325/oz to $1,475/oz. 3-year production outlook shows a +35% to +50% increase in annual production to a sustainable 350Koz p.a. by 2023 supported by renewable energy power upgrade. Progress continues towards an updated Gruyere Ore Reserve, expected in 2H21.
• Oil Search (OSH) -2.67% Secures US$565m revolving credit facility. The new corporate facility replaces the previous US$600m non-amortising revolving credit facility, which was due to expire in June 2022.
• Newcrest Mining (NCM) -0.99% Issues exploration update; Red Chris discovery supports the potential for resource growth. Red Chris new discovery adjacent to the East Zone continuing to return high-grade intercepts, supporting the potential for resource growth. At Havieron, growth drilling continues to outline high-grade mineralisation outside of the initial Inferred Mineral Resource estimate.
• Dacian Gold (DCN) –4.76% Reaffirms full-year production guidance of 100-110Koz gold at $1,550-1,700/oz.
• iCar Asia (ICQ) -7.69% Grants Carsome exclusivity period extension till September 30 to complete due diligence.

ECONOMIC NEWS/ BOND MARKETS

• Two ‘Telegram pump and dump’ groups target Australasian Gold (A8G) with encrypted messages telling members to buy.

ECONOMIC DATA

• Payroll jobs fell by 0.7% in the fortnight to 14 August 2021, compared to a fall of 1.8% in the previous fortnight.

CV19 NEWS

• Sydney lockdown to ease once we hit 70% double jabbed.
• At 81%, Singapore has the best vaccination rate in the world among countries of more than 1m.
• Japan is extending the virus emergency by two more weeks.
• Texas reported more than 25,000 new virus cases, the biggest one-day surge since late January.

ASIAN MARKETS

• Chinese producer prices rose 9.5% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said, faster than the 9% gain in July. The consumer price index rose 0.8% last month from a year earlier, following a 1% gain in the previous month. The big rise in PPI was largely due to rising prices of products such as coal, chemicals and steel.
• Pork prices, a key element in China’s CPI basket, declined sharply in the month, resulting in the biggest drop in the food price index since 2017.

• Chinese tech regulators piling on the pressure again with the Hang Seng Tech Index dropping sharply. Regulators are ‘de-emphasising’ profits. Minors are only allowed to play online on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights for an hour.
• Evergrande plunges to 2015 levels down 11%.

US AND EUROPEAN NEWS

• ECB meeting today. Tapering timeline in focus.
• Shell considers vaccines as compulsory and warns staff with action if they offer resistance.
• Opening arguments in the Theranos case against Elizabeth Holmes.

And finally…

Paid up front for a carpenter to make me a double bed. He’s only gone and done a bunk

Happy for readers to send me their jokes…henry@marcustoday.com.au

Clarence

XXX