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The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price finished well in the red on Thursday. At the final bell, Rio Tinto shares were changing hands for $105.50 apiece, a fall of 2.47%.

In fact it’s been a difficult time for the Rio Tinto share price lately, having seen a number of headwinds from the commodity markets.

Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slipped 2.3% into the red over the last month, Rio shares have tanked 19%.

What’s up with the Rio Tinto share price today?

The decline in the price of Rio Tinto shares is correlated to a decrease in the spot price of iron ore per tonne.

The spot price of iron ore peaked in May at around US$228/tonne, and roughly held that level until July.

However, since August, Iron Ore spot has made a significant downward move. It has given away US$96 a tonne (T) and now trades at US$132.50/T. This marks the lowest price level since December 2020.

One major reason for the significant price decrease is supply curbs that have been imposed on steel production in China.

For instance, the Chinese city of Handan recently implemented restrictions on steel production after seven other provinces were “told to limit their production to 2020 volumes” by Chinese authorities. These restrictions are apart of China’s efforts to control carbonisation and reduce carbon emissions.

Rio Tinto is also considered a “price-taker”, given that it is an ASX resource share that produces commodities.

As such, its share price can fluctuate with the volatility in the broader commodities markets. This relationship generally has a lag, usually of a few days to a few weeks.

The iron ore spot price started to trade down on July 2020. We can see the Rio Tinto shares started to decrease from 4 August, roughly 2 weeks afterwards.

Rio’s shares haven’t made a recovery since, and are down a further 3% on the week. This coincides with the price of iron ore/T.

What’s next for Rio Tinto?

We can also gauge some insight into the expectations of the price of iron ore in the future, by going to the futures markets. These are contracts on assets, such as commodities, that investors use to protect against price movements, or speculate on them.

Looking at the futures contract on iron ore expiring in October on the CME futures exchange, one sees they currently trade at $130/T, indicating the market expects the price of iron ore to decrease further in the near future.

This may be a point that continues to weigh on the Rio Tinto share price moving forward.

Foolish takeway

Rio Tinto shares are sliding today in continuation with a longer-term trend. This trend is associated with the market price of iron ore, which has been decreasing since July.

Rio’s share price has a unique relationship with the price of iron ore in that it is a commodity producer, and therefore it is associated with price fluctuations in these markets.

The post Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price slides as iron ore value continues tumbling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price is in the red on Tuesday
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• ASX 200 midday update: BHP & Fortescue fall, Flight Centre storms higher
• Why BHP, Fortescue, & Rio Tinto shares could tumble today
• Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price stumbles on geopolitical instability

The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The small end of the Australian share market is home to a number of companies with the potential to grow materially in the future.

Two investors might want to get better acquainted with are listed below. Here’s why they are highly rated:

Universal Store Holdings Limited (ASX: UNI)

The first small cap ASX share to look at is Universal Store. It is a fashion retailer delivering an ever-changing and carefully curated selection of on-trend products.

Thanks to its strong market position and a favourable shift in consumer spending, Universal Store was a very strong performer in FY 2021.

For example, for the 12 months ended 30 June, the company reported a 36.1% increase in sales to $210.8 million. And thanks to a 210 basis point increase in its gross margin, its profits grew even quicker over the year. Universal Store reported an 87.7% jump in underlying net profit after tax to $30.4 million.

In response to its full year results, the team at Morgans retained their add rating and lifted their price target to $8.72. While it acknowledges that lockdowns will impact trading in the short-term, it notes that demand quickly recovers in this category (and for the company in particular) once restrictions ease.

Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)

Another small cap ASX share to look at is Volpara Health Technologies. It is a healthcare technology company with a focus on the early detection of breast cancer by improving quality of screening using artificial intelligence.

Volpara’s Oxford University-deveoped technology has been designed to provide objective data on breast tissue density. This is a key risk marker for breast cancer.

The company has been growing its market share in the United States at a strong rate and appears well-placed to continue this trend in the future. This is thanks to its quality, recent acquisitions, and the increasing awareness of the importance of breast tissue density.

Morgans is also very positive on Volpara. It currently has an add rating and $1.87 price target on the company’s shares.

The post 2 buy-rated small cap ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 growing small cap ASX shares named as buys
• 2 ASX shares that may be worth looking at this weekend
• 3 small cap ASX shares to put on your watchlist this week

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was dealt a decimating blow. The benchmark index sank 1.9% lower to 7,369.5 points. It was a sea of red across all of the ASX sectors. Although, tech and communications were a couple of the worst inflicted.

Typically, our end-of-day summary picks out the best performing 10 ASX 200 shares of the bunch. However, with the ASX taking a turn for the worst today, there are only 11 shares that finished in the green for us to look at. So, here are the 11 stocks that managed to hold on through a testing day on the market:

Top 10 11 ASX 200 shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Resmed Inc (ASX: RMD) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the medical device company held onto a 1.87% gain. Find out more about Resmed here.

The next best performing ASX share out of the top 200 today was Summerset Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SNZ). The retirement village operator’s shares eked out a gain of 0.76%, finishing at $14.65. Uncover the latest Summerset Group information here.

Today’s top 11 biggest gains were made in these ASX 200 shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Resmed Inc (ASX: RMD)	$40.31	1.87%
Summerset Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SNZ)	$14.65	0.76%
Infratil Ltd (ASX: IFT)	$7.18	0.70%
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)	$2.92	0.69%
Contact Energy Ltd (ASX: CEN)	$7.77	0.52%
Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC)	$1.00	0.50%
Amcor PLC (ASX: AMC)	$16.82	0.48%
WAM Capital Ltd (ASX: WAM)	$2.33	0.43%
Magellan Global Fund (ASX: MGOC)	$2.81	0.36%
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation (ASX: FPH)	$31.77	0.22%
Betashares Australian High Interest Cash ETF (ASX: AAA)	$50.08	0.02%

Our top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making the biggest moves on the day. Check-in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares on Thursday – yes there were some appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the ASX share market down today?
• Tech shares leading ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) losses on Thursday
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Tech shares fall, Fortescue upgraded
• Why Novonix, ResMed, Senex, & Weebit Nano shares are charging higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Amcor Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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It certainly has been a brutal day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and the wider share market.

The benchmark index has just closed the day down a sizeable 1.9% at 7,369.5 points.

In light of this, investors may be wondering why the ASX share market is down today.

Why is the ASX share market down today?

Investors have been selling shares indiscriminately, with every single ASX share market sector in the red on Thursday.

However, the declines have been heaviest among the communications, energy, financials, materials, and technology sectors. This has seen the likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG), Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE), and Virgin Money UK CDI (ASX: VUK) all record larger declines than most.

The latter two shares were the worst performers on the ASX 200 on Thursday. The Virgin Money UK share price fell 8% and the Orocobre share price lost 6% of its value.

The best performing area of the market was the consumer staples sector. Albeit with a decline of 0.75% for that day.

The catalyst for the ASX share market weakness appears to have been a combination of a poor night of trade on Wall Street, a pullback in commodity prices, and the expectation of another decline in the United States tonight.

In respect to the latter, according to CNBC, futures contracts are currently pointing to the Dow Jones opening the session 0.4% lower and the Nasdaq opening down 0.3%.

What else could be weighing on the market?

Also potentially weighing on the ASX share market has been profit taking.

For example, the two worst performing ASX 200 shares today are among the best performers in 2021.

In fact, even after today’s decline the Orocobre share price is up 88% this year and the Virgin Money UK share price is up 53%.

While today’s decline has been a bit of a mystery, one thing is for sure. That is that investors will no doubt be hoping for a big rebound on Friday.

The post Why is the ASX share market down today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Tech shares leading ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) losses on Thursday
• Which ASX 300 shares are making headlines on Thursday?
• Is the party only just getting started for ASX lithium shares?
• The Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price has gained 3 times that of CBA over 5 years
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Tech shares fall, Fortescue upgraded

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Orocobre Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Most weeks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia‘s (ASX: CBA) brokerage platform CommSec releases the most popular international shares (which are almost always US shares) that its Aussie users were trading over the previous week.

CommSec is one of the most popular brokers in the country. As such, this information gives us a useful insight into the US shares ASX investors are currently finding interesting.

So here are the top 10 US shares from CommSec last week. This week’s data covers 30 August to September 3.

Tesla back on top

1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 3.2% of total trades with a 57%/43% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) – representing 2.8% of total trades with an 84%/16% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 2.5% of total trades with a 71%/29 buy-to-sell ratio.
4. GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) – representing 2.2% of total trades with an 82%/18% buy-to-sell ratio.
5. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) – representing 1.4% of total trades with an 85%/15% buy-to-sell ratio.
6. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)
7. Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ: ZM)
8. Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: GOOG)
9. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)
10. Lucid Group Inc (NASDAQ: LCID)

What can we learn from these trades?

Last week, we discussed the emergence of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba into the top spot on this list. Well, this week, Alibaba is still popular, but it’s the Elon Musk-headed electric battery and vehicle manufacturer Tesla that takes out the top spot. Although saying that, investors appear pretty divided on what to do with their Tesla shares, seeing as the buy/sell ratio was at 57%/43%.

Tesla has been climbing in recent weeks, going from around US$665 on 17 August to US$753.87 as of last night (up 13.2%). Perhaps some investors are taking some profits off the table here.

But Alibaba is still in the number 2 spot this week and has a far more enthusiastic buy/sell ratio at 84%/16%. The Alibaba share price has continued to fall in recent weeks after a disappointing year in 2021 so far. The company hit a new 52-week low around a fortnight ago, so this might have tempted some bargain hunters to come out of the woodwork.

In other news, we still see sustained demand for the big US tech blue chips like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet.

Zoom is an interesting addition though. This company has also taken a hit in recent weeks and is down more than 15% since last Monday (30 August). Clearly, we also see some bargain hunting going on here, judging by Zoom’s 72%/28% buy/sell ratio.

And finally, we still see an appetite for the ‘meme stocks’ like GameStop and Lucid Group. Some 82% of trades were buys with GameStop, so there must still be some appetite for the kind of ‘pops’ this company has now become known for.

The post Here were the most popular US shares for ASX investors last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Is the party only just getting started for ASX lithium shares?
• Leading broker unmasks 4 top traded international shares
• Leading broker reveals why these 10 big-name shares have been firing up its clients
• Self-driving cars are here and the leaders may surprise you
• How to invest in Microsoft for less than the cost of “NBA 2K22”

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Alphabet (A shares), Tesla, and Zoom Video Communications. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, and Zoom Video Communications. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $1,920 calls on Amazon, long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple, short January 2022 $1,940 calls on Amazon, and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, and Zoom Video Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) share price hit a new all-time high today. The record comes after the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported the company was considering spinning off its copper-based subsidiary onto the ASX.

At the time of writing, shares in the investment house are down 1.05% trading at $37.83 after hitting an intraday and all-time high of $38.84.

Today’s milestone for the Soul Patts share price comes amid a disappointing day on the market overall. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently down a mammoth 1.97%.

Let’s take a closer look at the news.

Soul Patts copper spin-off

According to the AFR report, which came after markets closed yesterday, Soul Patts is “advancing plans” for an initial public offering (IPO) of its wholly-owned subsidiary Round Oak Metals.

Round Oak is a predominately copper focused company with operating mines in Queensland and Western Australia, as well as non-operating growth projects in Victoria and Queensland.

Apparently, Soul Patts is planning to hold onto a large number of shares in the company, just like it does in Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) and New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC).

This comes amid a surging copper price – up 20.4% in 2021 so far. As of writing, the red metal is trading for US $4.24 per pound on the open market.

The website Trading Economics says constrained supply and increasing demand has seen the price of copper rise in recent months. One reason for rising copper demand is surging production in green technology. Copper is essential in the manufacture of such products.

In its half-year results, Soul Patts reported that Round Oak contributed about $12.8 million to the group’s profits. In the prior corresponding period (pcp), the business lost $37.3 million.

The company advised that revenue was up 95% to $145.9 million, largely driven by higher sales volumes, strengthened commodity prices and improved zinc smelter treatment changes. The AFR says the company should make around $64 million for the full-year.

Soul Patts share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Soul Patts share price has increased an astonishing 81.7%. That’s 56 percentage points greater than the ASX 200. Year-to-date, Soul Patts’ value has appreciated 25.1% – 15 percentage points better than the benchmark index.

Washington Soul Pattinson has a market capitalisation of approximately $9.2 billion.

The post Soul Patts (ASX:SOL) share price hits record high amid copper spin-off rumours appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Which ASX shares are making a move on the ASX 300?
• Fortescue’s big fall, job ad numbers disappoint and rates in focus. Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News
• 2 ASX dividend shares that could provide growing income in retirement
• ASX 200 edges higher, Soul Patts (ASX:SOL) falls, Hansen (ASX:HSN) declines

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) share price is slipping during late afternoon trade after a market release earlier today.

At the time of writing, the energy giant’s shares are trading 2.40% lower to $3.66 apiece. This means that over the past month, its shares have dropped close to 8% following declining oil prices due to Hurricane Ida in the United States.

What did Oil Search announce?

According to today’s release, Oil Search advised it has signed documentation for a new US$565 million non-amortising revolving credit facility.

The company refinanced through a banking group made up of banks from Papua New Guinea, Australia, Asia, and the United States. The credit facility has an expiry date of 31 December 2026.

This will replace the previous $600 million line of credit that was set to expire in June 2022.

Oil Search vice president of treasury Chelsea McGregor commented:

We are pleased to see support from both existing and new relationship banks, which signals their recognition that Papua New Guinea continues to be an attractive country to invest in.

The new facility extends the Group’s weighted average debt maturity profile, maintains liquidity above US$1 billion and is a key component of Oil Search’s capital management strategy for the next five years.

Recently, Oil Search provided an update in regards to the proposed merger with Santos Ltd (ASX: STO). The company extended the due diligence period for another week until 13 September.

The offer put forward consists of Oil Search shareholders receiving 0.6275 new Santos shares for each Oil Search share held.

If the deal goes ahead, Santos and Oil Search will become the largest oil and gas company on the ASX.

Oil Search share price summary

Since this time last year, Oil Search shares have gained more than 20%, but are relatively flat year-to-date. The company’s share price has moved sideways for most of 2021, amid uncertainty in the global economic recovery.

Based on today’s price, Oil Search commands a market capitalisation of roughly $7.6 billion, and has 2 billion shares outstanding.

The post Oil Search (ASX: OSH) share price falters after market update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Here are the 3 heaviest trading ASX 200 shares today
• Santos (ASX:STO) share price slides despite latest clean energy spruik
• Afterpay’s done, so here’s the BNPL player we’re backing: expert
• ASX 200 energy shares fell today – here’s why

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has tumbled 1.68% in late afternoon trade to a 1-month low of 7,383.

The tech sector is taking the brunt of today’s selloff, with the S&P/ASX Information Technology (INDEXASX: XIJ) index down 2.61%.

Thursday’s largest tech losers

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) is leading today’s selloff, down 4.36% to $16.50.

Not far behind include ASX 200 tech heavyweights Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), Seek Limited (ASX: SEK) and Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR) sliding 4%, 3.90% and 3.50% respectively.

The BNPL sector is also crating under today’s selling pressure with Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) and Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) down a respective 2.32%, 2.33% and 0.91%.

What’s driving the ASX 200 lower?

The ASX 200 has taken off after Wall Street following more signs of a slowing US economy.

According to CNBC, the US Federal Reserve reported that growth overall had “downshifted slightly to a moderate pace”.

The report said that “The deceleration in economic activity was largely attributable to a pullback in dining out, travel, and tourism in most districts, reflecting safety concerns due to the rise of the delta variant, and, in a few cases, international travel restrictions.”

In addition, CNBC flagged that the Federal Reserve has indicated that it is likely to begin withdrawing some of its stimulus policies before year-end.

Back at home, the commentary from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is relatively consistent.

In the RBA’s September monetary policy media release, it said that:

The recovery in the Australian economy has, however, been interrupted by the Delta outbreak and the associated restrictions on activity. GDP is expected to decline materially in the September quarter and the unemployment rate will move higher over coming months.

However, unlike the Fed, the RBA plans to keep “very accommodative financial conditions” in place to support the recovery of the Australian economy.

The Board’s decision to extend the bond purchases at $4 billion a week until at least February 2022 reflects the delay in the economic recovery and the increased uncertainty associated with the Delta outbreak.

The post Tech shares leading ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) losses on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Tech shares fall, Fortescue upgraded
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 falls, Macquarie jumps, Aussie Broadband climbs
• Here are the 3 heaviest trading ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, MEGAPORT FPO, Xero, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO, SEEK Limited, and carsales.com Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The past 30 days have been fantastic for the Renascor Resources Ltd (ASX: RNU) share price, following news of an offtake agreement and successful trials.

This time last month, the Renascor share price was 9.2 cents. Right now, it is 13 cents, 4.1% higher than its previous close and 41.3% higher than it was 30 days ago.

Let’s take a closer look at what the graphite, copper, gold, and uranium explorer has been up to of late.

Renascor share price soars 41% in a month

Here’s why the Renascor share price has gained 41% since this time last month:

Over the past 30 days, Renascor has released 2 announcements on its plan to become a supplier of Australian-made and low-cost purified spherical graphite for lithium-ion battery anodes.

The first announcement declared Renascor had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with South Korean conglomerate, POSCO. Under the agreement, POSCO will purchase 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes of Renasor’s purified spherical graphite each year.

The graphite is expected to come from Renascor’s South Australian battery anode material operation.

Included in its agreement with POSCO, Resascor has signed MOUs to supply up to 60,000 tonnes of purified spherical graphite each year.

Its proposed Stage 1 production capacity is around 30,000 tonnes per annum. To fill its remaining requirements, Renascor is undertaking feasibility work to increase its stage 1 production capacity. It is also looking to expand into stage 2. The Renascor share price gained a massive 30% on the back of the news.

Then, days later, the company announced it had successfully completed large scale pilot flotation trials.

The trials were testing the upstream component of Renascor’s planned graphite mine and battery anode material manufacturing operation. Over the course of the trials, 77.8 tonnes of ore from the Siviour deposit were processed into high purity graphite concentrates. Renascor plans to use it as feedstock to produce its purified spherical graphite.

The trials resulted in higher purity graphite concentrates than previous trials had achieved. That suggests there’s potential to improve the purity of the feedstock.

Renascor’s trials also offered strong validation of the flowsheet parameters adopted in its previous locked cycle flotation tests.

The Renascor share price gained 7.6% after the company announced the successful trials.

The post The Renascor Resources (ASX:RNU) share price is up 41% in 30 days appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Oil Search (ASX: OSH) share price falters after market update
• Tech shares leading ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) losses on Thursday
• Australasian Gold (ASX:A8G) share price explodes 80% higher before being halted, then resumed
• Thomson Resources (ASX:TMZ) share price jumps 10% on US initiatives
• A closer look at how ASX hydrogen shares are faring in 2021?

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Australasian Gold Ltd (ASX: A8G) share price has certainly had a day to remember this Thursday. This small-cap gold miner has seen its share price rocket an incredible 80% at one point this morning. That was before the ASX stepped in and halted the company’s shares from trading. A few hours later, trading has now resumed.

But let’s backtrack a little. Australasian Gold is a tiny ASX company by normal standards. It currently has a market capitalisation of just $9.77 million.

This company is in the exploration phase, and has purchase agreements over 274.3sq km of tenements. These include the May Queen and Mt Clermont gold projects in Queensland, and the Fairview gold project in Western Australia.

So what happened to Australasian Gold shares today?

Australasian Gold share price targeted for ‘pump and dump’

Well, Australasian Gold’s shares rocketed on open… on no major news or announcements out of the company. Soon after open, Australasian Gold shares hit a high of 47 cents a share, which represents a rise of roughly 80% from yesterday’s close.

Soon after this, the company’s shares were placed in a trading halt following a ‘speeding ticket’ from the ASX. The ASX sent the company a ‘please explain’ regarding the unusual trading happening this morning. Australasian Gold told investors it wasn’t aware of anything that might have caused this activity.

However, a report from the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today places the blame on an online investor group. Here’s what the report alleges happened:

Members of two organised ASX pump and dump groups using encrypted messaging app Telegram named it [Australasian Gold] as a target… Messages to the group chats in the days prior to the pump signal flagged the morning of September 9 as the target date for an organised pump of a penny stock, which preferably had a price sensitive announcement to evade a quick trading halt from suspicious regulators.

Well, it seems to have worked, at least for a time. although it is worth noting that the group’s apparent aim of evading the ASX regulators didn’t entirely go to plan, given the rather swift trading halt.

But perhaps the group’s potential reasons for targeting Australasian Gold are now more clear. This afternoon, the company has released an investor presentation, albeit not one designated as ‘price sensitive’ by the ASX.

This presentation outlined some results from initial drilling at the company’s three gold projects. Probably nothing that might normally result in the kinds of share price moves we saw this morning though.

At the time of writing, the Australasian Gold share price has resumed trading today, and is currently sitting at 30 cents a share. That’s still up 17.65% for the day, but well below the 47 cents a share peak we saw this morning.

The post Australasian Gold (ASX:A8G) share price explodes 80% higher before being halted, then resumed appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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