ASX 200 tumbles below 7,000; Novonix, Chalice Mining lead losses

Continuing with the week’s trend, the Australian share market slid at the open on Tuesday, taking cues from a deep cut in global equities as concerns over rate hike continue to dent investors’ sentiment. Oil prices also took a hit over diminished demand outlook.

 The benchmark ASX 200 index tanked 2% or 142.1 points to 6,978.6 in the first 15 minutes of trading, while the ASX All Ordinaries index was down 2.22% to 7,194.4. The A-VIX shot up by 11.61% to 21.66 and is up over 103.77% this year so far.

Major equities market around the world closed sharply lower on Monday and the US dollar reversed course after hitting the highest level in over two decades.

US stocks continued to witness heavy liquidation on Monday, led by selling in mega-cap growth stocks after the 10-year US Treasury yield hit fresh 3-1/2 year highs. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.99% to 32,245.71, while the S&P 500 tumbled 3.2% to end at 3,991.23 points. The NASDAQ Composite ended the session 4.29% lower at 12,187.72.

Market action

Data Source: ASX (as of 10 May 2022, 10:30 AM AEST)

Image Description: Top 5 ASX gainers and losers

Image Source: © 2022 Kalkine Media®

Coming to the top ASX 200 laggards, Novonix Limited (ASX:NVX) and Chalice Mining Limited (ASX:CHN) were the top losers, falling 9.85% and 6.74%, respectively. On the flip side, IPH Limited (ASX:IPH) and Metcash Limited (ASX:MTS) were among the stocks trying to keep the market from falling and were up 2.41% and 1.05%, respectively.

On the sectoral front, the market seems to be in a bear grip today as 10 out of the 11 sectors were falling in early trade. The materials sector was the biggest loser, tumbling 2.06%, followed by a 1.56% hit in the utilities space. The healthcare sector is standing firm with a 0.28% gain.      

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Newsmakers

1. Pendal Group Limited (ASX:PDL)

• The group reported a positive shift in revenue mix for 1H FY22, with stable base management fee margins of 48bps.
• The fee revenue jumped 31% to AU$362.6 million in the reported period, compared to AU$277 million in 1H FY21.
• Underlying profit after tax increased 59% to AU$131.4 million, while statutory NPAT was AU$96.7 million, up 8% from AU$89.9 million over the pcp (previous corresponding period).

2. Kaiser Reef Limited (ASX:KAU)

• The company has entered into preliminary discussions to potentially divest its NSW Stuart Town group of tenements.
• Kaiser has made the decision to focus on near mine and near production opportunities in its wholly owned Victorian production and exploration assets.
• It is proposed that Kaiser will retain exposure to the Stuart Town Project with a 10% free carried interest until a Feasibility Study is completed.

3. Incannex Healthcare Limited (ASX:IHL)

• The company’s IHL-216A was observed to have a strong neuroprotective effect in a widely known model of sports concussion.
• The study compared IHL-216A to its component drugs, cannabidiol and isoflurane, in a model developed in collaboration with the US National Football League.
• Incannex now targets a pre-IND meeting with the US FDA in Q3 2022 to discuss an expedited clinical trial program.

4. Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited (ASX:EOS)

• The company announced the successful qualification of its directed energy (DE) drone defence system.
• EOS’ DE system uses a powerful laser as the directed energy source and has been able to successfully disable Group 1 drones at an effective rate of 20 drones/minute.
• However, these kinetic weapons are not effective against drones attacking or operating directly overhead.

5. Atturra Limited (ASX:ATA)

• Atturra, through its subsidiary Anatas Pty Ltd, is to acquire Hayes Information Systems and Communications Pty Ltd, which provides information management consultancy, digital transformation services, etc.
• Upfront consideration for the acquisition is AU$8.50 million in cash, with earn-out/post-completion consideration of up to AU$7.89 million in cash, which is subject to Hayes achieving performance hurdles.

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