Join our distribution list for direct access to exclusive corporate opportunities
* Indicates a required field
25 February 2019 07:18 AM
Overseas Market Report
Current Level
Previous
Change
Daily % Change
Monthly % Change
Dow Jones Industrial Average
25,851
25,954
-104.00
-0.40
5.93
S&P 500
2,775
2,785
-10.00
-0.35
5.39
NASDAQ
7,460
7,489
-29.00
-0.39
6.26
FTSE 100 Index
7,184
7,167
17.00
0.23
4.10
DAX 30
11,455
11,423
31.00
0.27
3.29
CAC 40 Index
5,209
5,196
13.00
0.25
7.46
Nikkei 225 (Japan)
21,426
21,464
-39.00
-0.18
3.89
HKSE
28,816
28,630
186.00
0.65
6.71
SSE Composite Index
2,804
2,752
52.00
1.91
8.70
S&P/TSX Composite Index
16,001
16,031
-30.00
-0.19
5.04
NZ 50
9,309
9,301
8.00
0.09
2.13
US Volatility (Vix)
14
Overseas Market Report
US sharemarkets rose to three-month highs on continued optimism about China-US trade talks. The Dow Jones index was up by 181 points or 0.7%. The S&P500 index was higher by 0.6%. And the Nasdaq index was up by 68 points or 0.9%. Over the week the Dow and S&P 500 rose by 0.6% and the Nasdaq rose by 0.7%. The Dow has risen for nine straight weeks, the longest winning streak since 1995.
Global oil prices rose modestly on Friday. The number of oil rigs in operation in the US fell by four in the latest week, the first fall in four weeks. Data from market intelligence provider Genscape showed that crude inventories in West Texas dropped this week to the lowest in four months. Brent crude rose by just 5cents to US$67.12 a barrel and the US Nymex price rose by US30cents or 0.5% to US$57.26 a barrel.
Base metal prices rose by up to 1.9% on Friday with copper up the most although lead and aluminium both rose by just 0.3%. Over the week all but one of the metals rose by between 2.0-5.3% with copper up the most. Lead was the exception, down 0.1%.
The gold futures price rose by US$5.00 an ounce or 0.4% to$1,332.80 an ounce. The spot gold price was near US$1,328 an ounce in late US trade. Over the week gold rose by US$10.70 or 0.8%. Iron ore was unchanged at US$86.70 a tonne. Over the week iron fell by US65 cents or 0.7%.
Commodities
Current Level
Previous
Change
Daily % Change
Monthly % Change
Oil Brent
67.25
67.07
0.18
0.27
9.35
Oil - West Texas crude
57.16
56.96
0.20
0.35
8.73
Gold Spot $/OZ
1,324.00
1,324.00
0.60
0.04
3.03
Silver Spot $/OZ
15.90
15.80
0.10
0.49
3.55
Iron Ore
85.20
84.80
0.50
0.54
17.14
Thermal Coal Newcastle
95.20
95.20
0.00
0.00
-4.18
Coking Coal FOB ECP AUS
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
Aluminium ($US/t)
1,885
1,849
36.00
1.96
2.04
Copper Mar-18 ($US/lb)
2.95
2.90
4.90
1.67
10.75
Lead ($US/t)
2,058
2,027
31.00
1.52
2.53
Nickel ($US/t)
12,776
12,828
-52.00
-0.41
8.86
Zinc ($US/t)
2,704
2,724
-21.00
-0.77
4.12
Tin ($US/t)
21,508
21,299
209.00
0.98
3.48
Uranium ($US/lb)
29.00
29.00
0.00
0.00
-0.52
Australian Market Report
Current Level
Previous
Change
Daily % Change
Monthly % Change
ASX All Ords
6,242
6,215
27.00
0.44
5.36
S&P/ASX 200
6,167
6,139
28.00
0.46
5.27
ASX 24 Futures
6,136
Australian Market Report
Friday 22 February - close. Australian shares have finished higher despite a drag from the energy sector weakened by coal exports to China. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished up 28.1 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 6,167.3 points at 1615 AEDT on Friday, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 27.3 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 6,241.9.
Ashanti Headlines
Base Resources (BSE.ASX, 27.5cps, m.cap A$326m with 1.16b SOI, Cash US$49.1m, Mineral Sands Producer)
BSE has reported a strong set of 1H FY19 results driven by improved prices for mineral sands products and consistent production.
Operational highlights for H1 FY19
66% increase in mined ore at Kwale Operations offsets lower ore grade;
Steady production – 49,630 tonnes of rutile, 226,730 tonnes of ilmenite and 17,935 tonnes of zircon;
Continued strengthening of rutile and zircon prices;
136km2 Vanga prospecting licence issued, extending south west from the Company’s existing Kwale Operation;
Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate of zero – no lost time due to injury since 2014; and
US$2.0m invested in community and environmental programs including scholarships and livelihood enhancement.
Financial Highlights for H1 FY19
Revenue increased 13% to US$102.2m;
EBITDA increased 7% to US$57.5m;
NPAT increased 4% to US$17.4m;
Net debt free at 31 December 2018 – a reduction of US$34.2m during the period; and
Revenue to cost of sales ratio of 2.7:1
MD of BSE Tim Carstens commented “Kwale Operations have continued to perform strongly as we head towards completion of mining on the Central Dune. The mine optimisation strategy we implemented in the first half of 2018 to address the decline in ore grades delivered as expected. We are now focused on transitioning mining operations to the South Dune deposit in June this year and continuing to pursue additional mine life through extensional exploration at Kwale, including the newly issued Vanga licence. The Toliara Project is progressing well with a number of activities advanced in the period, including plant test work and flowsheet design, infrastructure design, distribution of marketing samples and land acquisition processes. We look forward to releasing the outcomes of our PFS shortly. December saw Base Resources reach a significant milestone in becoming net cash positive, putting the Company in a strong financial position as we progress towards development of the Toliara Project.”
Please contact the desk or your adviser on +61 8 6169 2668
Investor and shareholder call: Base Resources’ Managing Director, Tim Carstens, and CFO, Kevin Balloch, will host two investor and shareholder conference calls to discuss Base Resources’ H1 FY19 results.
Asia Pacific conference call
Date: Monday 25 February 2019
Time: 08:00am AWST / 11.00am AEDT Conference ID: 152722
Ashanti Capital Pty Ltd, ABN 61 614 939 981, the holder of an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) number 493204. Any advice included in this document is general advice only, based solely on consideration of the investment or trading merits of the financial product/s alone, without taking into account the investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs (i.e. financial circumstances) of any particular person. Before making an investment or trading decision based on the advice, the recipient should consider carefully the appropriateness of the advice in light of his or her financial circumstances and obtain a copy of and consider the Product Disclosure Statement for that product before making any decision.
While this communication is for informational purposes only and based on the information from sources which are considered reliable. It is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument or as an official confirmation of any transaction. Ashanti Capital, its directors, employees and consultants do not represent, warrant or guarantee, expressly or impliedly, that the information contained in this document is complete or accurate. Nor does Ashanti Capital accept any responsibility to inform you of any changes.
This document is a private communication to clients and is not intended for public circulation or for the use of any third party, without the prior approval of Ashanti Capital.
Ashanti Capital and/or entities and persons connected with it may have an interest in the securities, the subject of the recommendations set out in this report. In addition, Ashanti Capital and/or its associates will receive commissions on any transaction involving the relevant securities.
