The ASX 200 drops 56 points to 7404 (0.8%) as iron ore falls below US$100 on Dalian Futures and brokers move to downgrade miners after the falls. Iron ore miners stumbled yet again with FMG down 11.5% on huge volume. BHP off 3.7% and RIO down 4.7%. Second tier miners also in trouble, GRR down 5.6% and MGX off 10.5%. Gold miners too on the nose following bullion falls NCM down 3.1% and NST falling 2.8%. Base metals eased and uranium and lithium stocks lost their lustre as profit-taking set in. Quadruple witching tonight in the US has made investors skittish. Couple that with the Evergrande issue in China and liquidity added by the PBoC, resources are under pressure. The banks suffered with the Big Bank Basket down to $184.35. Insurers eased but MQG held relatively firm, up 0.2%. Tech better after APT followed Square higher by 3.9% and the All-Tech Index rose 1.7%. Healthcare mixed, CSL up 0.3% but SHL fell 0.8%. Industrials eased but no real standouts. In corporate news, another PE bid has fallen over with EQT pulling the pin on the IRE deal. The stock dropped 10.7%. The AFR warning agriculture suppliers to China are at risk following Australia’s nuclear sub deal. ELD down 0.6%.

MAJOR MOVERS:

• Winners: CTT, INR, IMU, NVX, AEF, RBL, PBH.
• Losers: FMG, IRE, MGX, MYS, ILU, MIN, MMM, WHC.
• Positive sectors: Tech. Healthcare.
• Negative sectors: Miners. Energy stocks. Banks. Consumer staples.
• Hi 7447 Lo 7376.
• Dalian Iron Ore below US$100 equivalent.
• Big Bank Basket: Slips slightly to $184.35.
• All-Tech index: Up 1.7% APT up 3.5%.
• Gold: Hit hard to AUD2411.
• Bitcoin: Rises to US$48025.
• Aussie Dollar: Becalmed at 73.03c despite iron ore falls.
• 10-YEAR YIELD: Firms to 1.30%.
• Asian Markets: Tokyo up 0.48%, Hong Kong up 0.19%, China up 0.5%. PBoC injects liquidity.
• US Futures: Dow futures up 33, NASDAQ up 19. Quadruple witching tonight in the US

FUTURES AND HIGHS AND LOWS

• CTT +13.79% volatility continues.
• INR +10.00% JV deal draws buyers.
• PBH +6.21% some book squaring.
• BTH +5.30% change of director’s interest.
• NVX +7.14% battery tech stocks in focus.
• IMU +9.41% presentation at ESMO Congress.
• AXE +17.07% kicks higher in PM. I can see no reason. Because there are….
• AMA +9.38% retail offer booklet.
• GGG +12.00% submits White Paper.
• ONE +8.97% legal mediation.
• 4DS +15.38% kicks higher late.
• GEM +4.48% big volume move.
• RZI +5.81% board and leadership changes.
• FMG -11.48% iron ore collapse and broker downgrades. Huge volume.
• IRE -10.72% EQT walks.
• MGX -10.53% iron ore casualty.
• MIN -8.53% broker downgrades.
• MMM -8.15% continues the decline.
• VMS -28.57% Riley Mine update.
• BCI -8.05% iron ore falls.
• TOE -8.16% BOE +1.47% VMY +1.92% uranium sector mixed.
• YAL -5.30% WHC -6.77% coal stocks whacked on price falls.
• IPO of the Day: Way2VAT (W2V) +57.50% AI platform to manage VAT reclaims for SMEs in 40 countries.
• Speculative Stock of the Day: Australasian Gold (A8G) +48.08% solid volume after an update on gold and lithium projects. Surface rock chips of 2.86g/t Au and 3.43% Cu.

IN THE NEWS

• Syrah Resources – Looks like supply chain issues have hit SYR and its Balama shipments with 12kt of product delayed by one shipping provider. It will now take place in October. Natural graphite sales in the September 2021 quarter, which were already constrained by shipping availability, were expected to be approximately 29kt prior to the scheduling delay and are now expected to be approximately 17kt.
• IRESS (IRE) and EQT haven’t been able to make a deal, terminating the exclusivity agreement. Iress has reaffirmed its guidance for segment profit, in constant currency, to be between $164-168m, for FY21. There will be a one-off non-operating cost related to the transaction of ~$4-5m pre-tax.
• Qantas (QAN) aims to return to its target net debt range by end of the financial year.
• Nearmap (NEA) – Morgan Stanley has an OVERWEIGHT recommendation and a 320c target price which is 67% above the current share price.
• CIM – Wins contract for Western Sydney Airport worth around $265m.
• AGL – Have now fallen 61% in 12 months.
• DCG – wins $88.7m contract for Barwon Heads project.

ECONOMIC NEWS/ BOND MARKETS

• Euro Zone CPI core August final.
• Iron ore slips below US$100 equivalent on Dalian Futures Exchange.

CV19 NEWS

• First Moderna vaccine jabs arrive tomorrow. Will need to home quarantine.
• NSW will trial home quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers. 510 cases in Victoria. 4697 active cases. 1284 new cases in NSW.

• Japan has decided to offer a third vaccine booster shot to the population.

• Singapore sees 1000 new cases a day. Hong Kong won’t consider changing its zero-tolerance strategy to “living with the virus” until the vaccination rate is 80% to 90%.
• Vaccine Tracker: 5.85bn in 184 countries. In Australia, 271,567 doses with another 2 months until 75%.

ASIAN MARKETS

• China is injecting money into the system to boost short term liquidity. US$13.9bn on a net basis via seven-day and 14-day reverse repurchase agreements today.

• Wynn Resorts gets a US$1.5bn credit line for Macau.
• China submitted the formal application letter to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership or CPTPP.

• Thailand will offer 10-year visas for wealthy’ global citizens’.
• Pre-departure checks in the UK will be abandoned for travellers.

US AND EUROPEAN NEWS

• European markets opening slightly higher London the best of the bunch.
• Renault plans to cut 2,000 jobs in France.
• UK is set to roll out new rules to limit government borrowing.
• Maersk has raised its guidance yet again on shipping costs going through the roof. On target for record profits.
• London Fashion Week kicks off this weekend. Physical event as well as digital.
• France pulls the plug on a Gala dinner in US. No subs, no dinner.

And finally….

XXX

Vax and Relax