Sun Cable goes into Administration

Markets brushed off any concerns about high inflation with the ASX 200 Index finishing higher today, adding 64.30 points, or 0.90%, to finish at 7,195.3. The monthly Consumer Price Index indicator increased by 7.3% for the month of November while for the year ending 30 November, household spending increased by 11.4% compared to 2021.

Ten of the eleven sectors also finished higher today in an overall positive day for markets. The Real Estate sector had the best performance today, gaining by 1.93%, while the Utility sector had the worst performance, losing 0.49%.

Both Novonix Ltd. and IGO Ltd. saw their stock prices increase by 9.35% and 5.18% respectively, making them the best-performing stocks in this index.

AU Retail Sales

In November 2022, retail sales in Australia grew 1.4% month-over-month to AUD 35.92 billion, accelerating from the upwardly revised 0.4% growth in the prior month and above market expectations of a 0.6% increase.

Quick Singles

• Coinbase, the US-based cryptocurrency exchange company, announced that it would be laying off more than 1,000 staff owing to the sharp decline in the bitcoin market.

• The Australian inflation rate jumped 7.3% in the year to November, with housing costs driving the increase.

• Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) lost out on acquiring Norwest Energy NL after the market closed on Tuesday (ASX: NWE). Norwest's target statement states that directors unanimously recommend shareholders reject the offer

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Top Story

Sun Cable goes into Administration

Sun Cable, financed by Australian billionaires, has gone into voluntary administration. The $35 billion solar power export project to Singapore has been placed in administration due to a dispute between billionaires Andrew Forrest and Mike Cannon-Brookes. Three FTI Consulting executives appointed voluntary administrators for Sun Cable Pty are anticipated to quickly seek bids for the business, which may pit the two Rich Listers against each other for control of the huge Australia-Asia PowerLink project.

In a statement, creator and CEO David Griffin said the decision "followed the absence of congruence with the interests of all shareholders". "Despite financial proposals, consensus on the company's future direction and funding structure could not be obtained," He said. Atlassian co-founder and Sun Cable chairman Mr. Cannon-Brookes said he believed the project will provide low-carbon electricity and would continue to support it.

Movers and Shakers

✅Biggest Winners

Talga Group Ltd (ASX: TLG) share price was up 4.4% to $1.65. This comes on the heels of the unveiling of a non-binding letter of intent with Verkor, a French electric vehicle battery producer. The two parties are discussing offtake supply arrangements for Talga's flagship graphite anode product, Talnode-C, according to the announcement.

Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) share price was up 9.1% to $1.14. This gold miner issued an update on its second-quarter performance this morning. Westgold produced a record 110,606 tonnes at 3.47g/t Au. This is an increase over the previous quarter's record of 90,588t at 3.2g/t Au. In addition, the corporation announced "excellent" drilling findings.

❌ Biggest Losers 

European Lithium Ltd (ASX: EUR) share price was down about 0.6% to $0.08. This morning, this lithium explorer revealed that its Wolfsberg Lithium project in Austria has a net prevent value of US$1.5 billion based on 9.7 million tonnes of measured and indicated resource at 1% Li2O. However, the company withdrew its announcement today afternoon and advised investors to wait until the end of the current quarter for its official feasibility assessment.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price fell 3.3% to $69.29. Citi maintained its buy recommendation on the cloud accounting platform provider's stock last week but reduced its price target to $92.40. This comes on the heels of news that the United Kingdom has postponed its Making Tax Digital plan by two years, to April 2026. Making Tax Digital was supposed to boost subscriber growth in the critical UK market.

Small-Cap of the Day

Azure reaches into the United States

Azure Minerals Ltd (ASX: AZS) stock price surged 33.3% to $0.30 upon resumption of trading following a trading halt, as lithium miner Sociedad Qumica y Minera de Chile (SQM) agreed to purchase a 19.99% stake in the company.

According to the announcement, the $21 billion lithium titan listed on the New York Stock Exchange will make a significant cornerstone investment of up to $20 million at a price of 25.64 cents per share. This indicates a premium of 13.9% over the share price of Azure Minerals before to the trading stoppage.

Management feels SQM's major investment in Azure is a clear validation of the Andover Project's substantial lithium potential. This project in Western Australia is owned jointly by Azure (60%) and the Creasy Group (40%). SQM will enter into an offtake arrangement for 25 percent of all lithium products in which Azure has a stake. This contract is governed by impartial and commercially competitive conditions.

Econcomic Calender

Outlook

Trade and Retail data in Australia is the biggest news for this week while the world will be watching the US CPI read on Friday

12th January

• AU Trade Balance - est. AUD10900M

13th January

• US CPI YoY - est. 6.5%

• US Initial Jobless Claims - est. 220k

That's it from the team at ASX-News today. We hope you enjoyed our EOD wrap-up. Good night and happy investing!