The ASX 200 decided to take a little tumble today, closing down 46 points (-0.6%) to 7214, marking the third consecutive session down as market sentiment sours. Tech rally came to an end. All-Tech Index fell 0.9%. XRO hot streak finally cooled, off 1.5%, SQ2 and CPU found some support up 0.7% and 0.2%. Gold and Energy stocks were the winners today, riding the wave of stronger oil and bullion prices. NCM up 0.6%, PRU up 0.8%, STX rising 4.3%, and STO firmer 1.4%. Mining and Materials decided to dig themselves into a hole today, as prices for base metals took a downward slide. BHP -2.2%, RIO -2.1% and FMG down 4.1%. Lithium stocks are broadly down, MIN down 3.0%, PLS off 1.7%, while AKE in demand up 0.7%. Financials failed to hold onto yesterday’s gains, down 0.2%. CBA is the only major bank in positive territory, up 0.5%, NAB, ANZ, WBC and MQG all down. Healthcare stumbled, CSL down 1.2% and RHC down 0.8%. Insurers mixed, QBE -1.3%, MPL +0.9%, and SUN +0.5%. REITS off 0.9%, while bonds firm. In corporate news, UNI tanked 23.9%, after flagging subdued trading will persist into next fiscal year, despite on track to deliver record sales, QAN +1.9% on broker updates, and WEB rose 3.8% on positive results, revenue rose 164%. In economic news, Westpac Melbourne Institute Leading economic index came in flat at 97.27 in April, marginally down from 97.3 in March; the result suggests a continuation of an ongoing economic slowdown. Reserve Bank of New Zealand lifted rates by 25bps today to 5.5%, the highest rate since 2008. UK inflation rate significantly dropped to 8.7% in April from 10.1% in March. Core inflation still a problem. Asian markets are down, Japan down 0.4%, HK down 1.1% with China off 0.7%. Australia 10Y yield up to 3.66%. Dow Jones futures down 2 points, and Nasdaq futures down 7 points.

HEADLINES

• Winners: PMT, LLL, ABB, WAF, STX, WEB, KAR, DVP
• Losers: CTT, AX1, LOV, SLX, AGY, WBT, RPL
• Positive sectors: Oil and gas. Staples. Gold miners.
• Negative sectors: Iron ore. Lithium. Healthcare. REITs. Tech.
• High 7288 Low 7260
• Big Bank Basket: Falls to $171.73(0.2%)
• All-Tech index: Falls 0.9%
• Gold rallies to $2999
• Bitcoin: Drifts to US$26769
• Aussie Dollar: Slips to 65.95c
• 10-Year Yield: Pushing higher to 3.66%.
• Asian markets:Japan down 0.4%, HK down 1.1% with China off 0.7%.
• US Futures: Dow up 2 Nasdaq down 7.
• European markets expected  to open around 0.8% lower. UK inflation below 10%.

MAJOR MOVERS

• PMT +5.6% Canadian lithium projects still in demand.
• LLL +5.3% more good drilling results. Roaring ahead.
• PNV +2.1% stirring.
• WEB +3.8% good upgrade.
• CU6 +11.0% Theranostic prostate cancer trial advances.
• CTT -10.1% LVMH update perhaps.
• LOV -6.9% retail under pressure.
• AGY -6.1% lithium stocks slipping.
• APE -4.9% AGM presentation.
• ACW -10.3% AD trial amendment and clinical science form.
• UNI -23.91% trading update and guidance.
• 29M -19.1% Golden Grove update yesterday. Brokers downgrades today.
• Speculative Stock of the Day: Rubix Resources (RB6) +50% – Binding agreement to acquire 100% of Ceiling Lithium Project in James Bay Canada.

COMPANY NEWS

• Webjet (WEB) – Revenue up 164% to $364.4m in FY23, accompanied by a rise in bookings by 115% to $7.36m and an EBITDA of $134.8m.
• Universal Store (UNI) – Raised its guidance for group sales in FY23 to a range of $258m to $261m, surpassing the previous year’s sales of $208m. UNI also anticipates an underlying EBIT in the range of $39m to $41m, compared to $32.6m in FY22. Outlook subdued though.
• Plenti Group (PLT) – Revenue up 62%, reaching $143m for the full year. NPAT of $4.5m, up $4m from the previous year.
• BrainChip Holdings Ltd (BRN) – Granted a new US patent for its “Spiking Neural Network”, further strengthening its patent portfolio, which now consists of 16 issued patents.
• Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure (DBI) – Held its AGM today, announcing a successful FY22, achieving a 5.3% increase in Terminal Infrastructure Charge and securing a 10-year pricing agreement with all customers. DBI reported a 41% growth in adjusted EBITDA.
• Leo Lithium (LLL) – Reported positive assay results from drilling at the Goulamina Lithium Project, with thick high-grade mineralization discovered outside the current resource area.
• Immutep Ltd (IMM) – Announced promising clinical data from the INSIGHT-003 trial. Results indicate the potential of the triple combination therapy to benefit a significant portion of the non-small cell lung cancer patient population.
• Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd (KCN) announced the successful sale of the third shipment of doré bars from the Chatree Gold Mine, yielding over $4m from the sale of 1,074 ounces of gold and 9,067 ounces of silver.
• Moneyme Ltd (MME) – Announced it would launch SSP.
• Carbon Revolution Ltd (CBR) – Established a new US$60m debt program arranged by PIUS Ltd, which is to provide net new funding of up to US$37m, ensuring funding through and beyond the proposed merger with Twin Ridge Capital Acquisition Corp later in the year.
• Clarity Pharmaceuticals Ltd (CU6) – Completed cohort 1 of its SECuRE trial, advancing to cohort 2, with no dose-limiting toxicities reported, and additional therapy cycles requested by clinicians under the FDA Expanded Access Program, showing positive effects on lesions and reduction in PSA levels.
• Gascoyne Resources Ltd (GCY) – Drilling results at the ‘Never Never’ Gold Deposit have shown a significant discovery of high-grade gold mineralization located 110 meters below the existing resource estimate, providing valuable insights into the deposit’s extensive gold potential.
• BUB – CFO resigns for ‘domestic reasons’.

ECONOMIC & OTHER HEADLINES

• RBNZ raised rates by another 25bps. The RBNZ monetary policy committee voted by a majority of five votes to two to raise the cash rate by 25 basis points to 5.5%, meeting minutes showed.
• The committee agreed that the level of interest rates is constraining spending and inflation pressure. The OCR will need to remain at a restrictive level for the foreseeable future, to ensure that consumer price inflation returns to the 1% to 3% annual target range, while supporting maximum sustainable employment.
• Retail sales in New Zealand fell 1.4% QoQ to March, falling from the previous quarter.

ASIAN MARKETS

• Aisin-Gioro Puyi, the last Qing Dynasty monarch in China, held onto his watch for years. The watch is one of only eight known 96 Quantieme Lune models. It features a moon-phase and triple-date calendar. Yesterday it sold at Phillips in HK for was sold for HK$48.85m (US$6.2m). The most expensive watch ever sold at auction was a super-complicated Patek Philippe “Grandmaster Chime,” which never had a previous owner. It sold for US$31m in 2019.

US AND EUROPEAN HEADLINES

• Fed researchers have developed a new measure of credit and financial market sentiment from Twitter. According to the research, the Twitter Financial Sentiment Index uses natural language processing on the social media platform and can help estimate next-day stock-market returns. Looks like they have tried every other economic tool.
• House Republicans raised questions about comments by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen setting a June 1 deadline to avoid a potential U.S. debt default. Maybe more rubbery as a deadline?
• UK CPI Core 6.8%Y/Y v 6.2% in March 1.3% M/M v 0.9% in March.
• Oil prices rise after Saudi Arabia warns short sellers.
• Rick DeSantis is using the Twitter platform to launch his tilt at the White House.

• Robert Zimmerman’s birthday today. 82 years young. Not knockin’ on heaven’s door just yet.

And finally….

I’ll never forget that time at school when, after forgetting my kit, I had to do PE in my underpants. It nearly ended my teaching career.

I think my mrs is putting glue on my antique weapons collection.
She denies it, but I’m sticking to my guns!

If anyone feels like sending me some new material, please feel free to do so…..henryjennings@mac.com

Clarence

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