It’s banking on China’s economic rebound to fuel commodity demand.

BHP shares were down 2.4 per cent on the news to $44.96.

Meanwhile, Equatorial Resources (EQR) shares soared 37 per cent on plans to acquire the Nimba Alliance iron ore project in Guinea in an all-scrip deal with Singaporean company Companhia Rio de Ferrois.

The project has one of the largest landholdings in the Nimamba iron ore corridor, and EQR said the project aligned with its focus on the large-scale exploration and development of iron ore assets.

Shares were trading at 20 cents.

Fellow resources stock Macro Metals (M4M) has found high-grade rock chips during a first trip to its new volcanic massive sulphide project in Western Australia.

Four samples returned up to 33 per cent copper and 948 grams per tonne silver.

An external geophysical contractor has been brought in to carry out surveys in a bid to find extensions to the mineralisation. 

Shares were trading flat at 0.5 cents.

PharmAust (PAA) has found its treatment can reduce the size of cancerous tumours in dogs.

While only two of 27 dogs in the phase II trial had tumours shrink by up to 30 per cent and eight remained stable, PharmAust reported it was in confidential discussions with potential licensing partners.

The trial is expected to be completed by mid-year.

Shares have gained nearly 10 per cent today.

And distiller and spirits marketing firm Top Shelf International (TSI) has appointed Trent Fraser as its new CEO.

Mr Fraser has more than two decades of experience in the wine and spirits space, including 13 years in New York as VP of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy’s luxury spirits portfolio.

He replaces TSI Managing Director and co-founder Drew Fairchild today.

Top Shelf shares rose 5.3 per cent to 50 cents.

The mining giant produced 59.8 million tonnes of iron ore from its WA division over the March quarter — down 11 per cent on the quarter before.

However, year-to-date production for the 2023 financial year remains at a record high, up one per cent compared to the same time period the year before.

For the nine months to March 31, BHP’s WA iron ore division produced 59.8 million tonnes of the steel-making material.

Iron ore production for the full year remains on track for BHP’s guidance of between 249 to 260 million tonnes.

Similarly, quarterly copper output for the period was down 4 per cent on the December quarter but up 12 per cent year-to-date.

While the company is banking on China’s economic rebound to fuel commodity demand, BHP CEO Mike Henry said the company was pursuing growth options in both copper and nickel globally and had eyes on a new copper prospect in Arizona.

“Recent engagements with customers in China and India have reaffirmed our positive outlook for commodity demand, with China’s economic rebound and solid momentum in India’s steelmaking growth helping to offset the impact of slowing growth in the US, Japan and Europe,” Mr Henry said.

The company acknowledged the death of Jody Byrne at its Port Hedland operations in a rail incident in February. Mr Henry said the company was deeply saddened by the incident but maintained that safety was paramount. He said an investigation into Mr Byrne’s death was underway and the findings would be shared widely.

BHP shares were down 2.4 per cent, trading at $44.96 at 1:45 pm AEST.

The US session slumped on more mixed earnings reports from big caps and further signs the economy may be slowing.

Tesla shares fell for a second straight day on concerns about how much profit it’s making on each of its electric vehicles.

Shares dipped 7.5 per cent after the EV giant reported its lowest quarterly gross margin in two years, falling short of analysts’ expectations and saying it would continue to cut prices.

US telco AT&T and American Expresses also sustained losses after both posted lower-than-expected profit results for the first quarter.

However, the majority of US companies have been exceeding profit forecasts — mainly because expectations were quite low going into the reporting season.

Asian markets were mixed. Data revealed Japan’s trade deficit narrowed last month as exports rose more than anticipated. But exports to China fell — a sign of a slower pandemic recovery.

The Aussie dollar is up, buying 67 US cents and 54 British pence.

The price of oil is struggling on poor US outlooks and concerns China’s households and businesses may not be as strong as some think.

Analysts suggest today is mostly a risk-aversion session, which doesn’t bode well for oil.

Meanwhile, gold is past US$2000 an ounce on the return of safe haven flows once again.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers released the independent review of the RBA on Thursday morning.

He announced in-principle agreement with the review panel’s 51 recommendations — including the creation of a separate interest rate-setting board of monetary policy experts. Such a move would likely involve changing the RBA’s operational legislation. 

Unlike most international central banks, Australia’s monetary policy is set by RBA’s board of non-monetary policy experts.

Meanwhile, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is standing in the way of Qantas’ (QAN) proposed acquisition of Alliance Aviation Services (AQZ).

The consumer watchdog told Qantas the proposed deal would lessen competition in flight services for resource industry customers in WA and Queensland.

Qantas is seeking further clarity, holding firm its stance that the deal would allow it to better service the resources sector.

QAN shares were trading at $6.55

Iron ore giant Rio Tinto (RIO) has posted record first-quarter shipments of iron ore.

The mining giant shipped 82.5 million tonnes of iron ore from WA’s Pilbara region over the three months to March 31.

However, this was offset by a downgrade to copper production guidance due to challenges at Rio’s Kennecott and Escondida operations.

In other news, RIO shareholders will today receive a US$2.25 (A$3.36) per share dividend.

Rio shares dipped 2.5 per cent to $120.05.

Fellow materials stock Toubani Resources (TRE) is seeking to de-list from the TSX Venture Exchange.

The company believes it would benefit from a centralised focus on the ASX.

There was no share activity today, with Toubani last trading at 20 cents.

In the Energy sector, TMK Energy (TMK) tapped investors for $5.7 million to accelerate exploration at its Gurvantes operation in Mongolia.

The company spudded its first pilot production well, Lucky Fox-1, a few days ago — the first of three pilot production wells to be drilled in the coming weeks.

Shares were down 5.5 per cent at 1.7 cents.

And Origin Energy (ORG) will invest $600 million to construct a large-scale battery at the Eraring power station in New South Wales.

Work is due to start in the coming weeks in what company leaders say is an important milestone in its quest to lead the energy transition.

Shares rose 0.2 per cent to $8.29

And marketing and payments platform Rewardle (RXH) shares were up 5.5 per cent on its acquisition of YourGrocer for just $3000.

YourGrocer closed up shop late last year, but Rewardle says the eCommerce grocery retailer’s assets align with its growth strategy.

RXH shares were trading at 1.9 cents.

For the three months ending March 31, RIO shipped 82.5 million tonnes of the steel-making material, topping its prior 2018 first-quarter record of 80.3 million tonnes.

“Through the ongoing deployment of our Safe Production System, we expect to see a sustainable lift in operating performance across our global portfolio over time, in line with improvements already achieved,” Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said.

However, the surge in export volumes was marred by a downgrade to RIO’s copper production guidance due to challenges at its Kennecott and Escondida operations.

At Kennecott, mined production was down 36 per cent on the prior corresponding period, with operations impacted by record snowfall and a breakdown of a conveyor belt that links the mine to the concentrator.

RIO expects this operational failure to reduce output until quarter three and, as such, has lowered its mined copper guidance for 2023 to 590,000 to 640,000 tonnes, down from 650,000 to 710,000 thousand tonnes.

Similarly, the company’s bauxite production from its Weipa operations in Queensland was affected by higher-than-average rainfall as well as equipment downtime, which also disrupted its Gove operations.

This saw bauxite production down 11 per cent compared to 2022.

However, the company said it maintained its production guidance in this space and would implement plans to recover lost production.

Mr Stausholm said RIO was focused on “disciplined growth” in materials the world needed for the energy transition, as evidenced by the first production from its underground mine at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia and the progression of early works at the Rincon lithium project in Argentina.

In other news, RIO shareholders will receive their US$2.25 (A$3.36) per share dividend today. It equates to an $11.9 billion payout for the year.

RIO shares were down 2.6 per cent and trading at $119.99 at 1:46 pm AEST.

The estimate is pit-constrained and comprises 94 million tonnes at 3.1 per cent zinc and lead and 4.1 grams per tonne (g/t) silver.

It contains metal of 2.2 million tonnes of zinc, 600,000 tonnes of lead and 12.6 million ounces of silver.

According to Rumble Managing Director Shane Sikora, the resource estimate confirms the Earaheedy project as one of the largest zinc sulphide discoveries globally over the last decade.

“Achieving a maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate of this size and significance in 24 months post-discovery is a tremendous effort by the technical team and especially Brett Keillor,” Mr Sikora said.

“Myself and the team are really excited as we believe we have only scratched thesurface on the discovery front, and can’t wait to see the drill rigs turning again next month.”

The project deposits remain open in all directions, with less than 35 per cent of the 45-kilometre-long mineralised unconformity unit drilled to date and some thick underlying geologically fertile formations yet to be tested.

Rumble’s next drilling program is scheduled for May and will focus on resource extensions and new discoveries.

In parallel with the exploration campaign, the company plans to complete beneficiation and initial scoping studies.

RTR shares have gained almost 24 per cent since the release of the resource on Wednesday, trading at 23 cents on Thursday morning.

Six of the S&P 500 industry sectors rose, led by utilities, while five fell after a slide in energy. The session was a reflection of mixed earnings reports from big US companies and signs that inflation remains high globally.

Tesla announced its fourth price cut in the US this year, with the electric-vehicle company lowering prices for its two top-selling models.

CEO Elon Musk said this was not the start of a price war, stating the company was lowering prices to enable affordability at scale.

It comes ahead of Tesla’s first-quarter earnings, which will shine a light on how previous cuts affected the company’s profit margins.

The news weighed heavily on Wall Street, and high-growth and tech stocks also contributed to pushing the market down following higher yields in the bond market. The yield rise was prompted by a report showing UK inflation stayed above 10 per cent for seven consecutive months.

Meanwhile, European markets were also mixed.

Oil prices dipped as the dollar rebounded, and a mixed oil inventory report raised demand concerns. WTI crude is back under the $80 level, with suggestions that it could continue to drop on strong dollar trade.

However, gold prices have risen back above US$2000 an ounce. It appears the precious metal is providing a safe haven during the next wave of earnings reports and as the debate over rate hikes continues.

In a statement to the ASX, CEO Jay Albany said in the company’s view, Dirty Clean Food was undervalued in the market, and management had decided to review strategic options to maximise its value.

“Dirty Clean Food has now grown for 15 consecutive quarters and successfully disrupted the food industry in Western Australia,” Mr Albany said.

“Dirty Clean Food is operating more efficiently as we scale, identifying cost savings opportunities, improving margins, and accelerating our push towards profitability with fiery determination.”

Mr Albany said the brand was in the process of expanding globally, beginning in Asia.

Simultaneously, WOA is focussed on growing the production of its Buntine Protein brand from kilograms and tonnes to large commercial scale, measured in thousands and tens of thousands of tonnes.

In line with this trajectory, the company has begun negotiations with a large production partner.

WOA believes its Buntine Protein should command the high end of the market range of between $9 to $13 a kilogram due to its “superior” functional, health and environmental benefits.

“A commercial plant of 10,000 tonnes at $10,000 per tonne, for example, creates a potential $100 million opportunity, versus the existing global soy market currently worth $10 billion,” Mr Albany said.

During the March quarter, Wide Open Agriculture secured $8 million in project-based funding for domestic oat milk production and a $4 million working capital facility.

The company said additional discussions had begun around financing for the remaining equipment needed for commercial production.

WOA’s Appendix 4C and Quarterly Report is expected by the end of this month, with a presentation call scheduled for May 1.

Shares in WOA closed 54.76 per cent higher on Wednesday afternoon.

The company said in a statement to the ASX that its current earning performance, from its Sydney and Gold Coast casinos in particular, was at an unprecedented low level due to regulator-imposed restrictions and low consumer spending behaviour.

Following the Bell Review, The Star’s Sydney casino licence was suspended and the company was hit with a $100 million fine.

The licences for its Queensland casinos were also suspended following the Gotterson Review, with an additional $100 million fine.

SGR said a “strong” performance for the first half of the 2023 financial year, driven by strong domestic revenues, had deteriorated over recent weeks.

“If these current conditions continue for the balance of the financial year and do not materially change, underlying FY23 EBITDA is expected to be in the order of $280 million to $310 million,” the statement to the ASX read.

This would be a significant downgrade to the company’s previous expectations of between $330 million to $360 million.

In addition to laying off 500 full-time employees, SGR also plans to cancel its short-term and other incentives for the 2023 financial year and introduce a salary freeze for its non-EBA employees.

These initiatives, in addition to $40 million worth of operational actions already announced, are anticipated to reduce group operating expenditure for the year by more than $100 million.

SGR shares closed 7.35 per cent lower at $1.26 on Wednesday afternoon.

The discovery comes from diamond and reverse circulation drilling that tested the extent of a 500-metre-long gold zone at Area 51 first confirmed in September.

The latest results show a 50-to-100-metre-wide zone of gold, taking the mineralisation at Area 51 to over 700 metres of strike.

Moreover, the drilling indicated a “significant” core with a 17-metre intersection grading 3.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.

Area 51 is around 3.5 kilometres northwest of Tunkilia’s 223 deposit and contains a 965,000-ounce gold mineral resource.

Barton Managing Director Alex Scanlon said indications of another gold system in this area underscored the potential for “significant” discoveries.

“We have already confirmed depth extensions along 800 metres of the 223 deposit’s strike, a higher-grade core, and three new satellite gold zones,” Mr Scanlon said.

Moving forward, Mr Scanlon said the company was excited to keep working its way along the next 20 kilometres of untouched shear.

BGD shares were up 2.22 per cent and trading at 23 cents at 11:50 am AEST.

Minutes from the Reserve Bank’s last meeting revealed an April rates hike was very much on the cards before its decision to pause.

RBA board members said inflation remained too high and the labour market was “very tight”.

They agreed the April pause was appropriate to observe the economic impacts of the rate hikes to date before making further decisions.

Some analysts say the details of the meeting increase the likelihood of another rise.

Of the A11 SX sectors, only utilities and materials ended the day higher.

Core Lithium (CXO) made its way to the top of the leaderboard early following news it had increased the mineral resource at its Finniss lithium project in the Northern Territory by 62 per cent.

The update followed the company’s largest drilling campaign.

Core has put $25 million towards the next program, nearly double its 2022 drilling budget.

Shares rose 6.5 per cent and ended trade at 98.5 cents.

Fellow lithium stock and battery minerals producer Liontown Resources (LTR) shares reached a record high of $2.77.

Shares have continued to inch higher after soaring close to 70 per cent at the end of March on a rejected takeover bid from Albermarle.

Telix Pharmaceuticals (TLX) shares boosted to $8.89 — its highest price in a year — on the back of the company’s first-quarter results for FY23, released yesterday.

Telix delivered its first $100 million revenue quarter and its second consecutive quarter of positive operating cash flow.

Adelaide-based copper miner Oz Minerals (OZL) had its last day of trading on the ASX today after being acquired by BHP (BHP).

The Federal Court approved the takeover yesterday, and Oz Minerals has since lodged a copy of the court’s orders with ASIC.

BHP shares were down 0.1 per cent and ended trade at $46.58

Lithium explorer Lake Resources (LKE) reversed yesterday’s gains, ending today 9.17 per cent lower at 50 cents.

The company released a notice of JP Morgan ceasing to be a substantial shareholder as of April 13 after the investment banker sold shares received under lending agreements

Shares in top gold producers Newcrest Mining (NCM) and Northern Star Resources (NST) are on a downward trend so far this week as the price of gold dips below the US$2000 mark

Northern Star shares shed 0.07 per cent and closed at $14.03, while Newcrest (NCM) shares were down 0.17 per cent to $29.23.

Gold is down 0.21 per cent for the week but managed to rise 0.21 per cent today.

The review, carried out by international energy consultants Gaffney Cline & Associates and commissioned by ADX partner MCF Energy, confirmed ADX’s structural model as “reasonable” and “highly likely”.

Gaffney Cline’s review estimated a total minimum gas equivalent of 365 billion cubic feet and a maximum of 1128 billion cubic feet. This represents a 72 per cent increase in minimum total gas equivalent compared to ADX’s gross prospective resource estimates reported in June 2022 but a 31 per cent decrease on the estimated maximum total.

Despite the differences, ADX said the results of the review confirmed its geotechnical interpretation and were relatively in line with its prospective resource estimates.

“The board of ADX is very encouraged by the independent assessment of Welchau’s resource potential from a highly credible and respected international energy group such as GaffneyCline,” ADX Executive Chairman Ian Tchacos said.

The Welchau prospect is operationally drill ready in terms of geological and engineering work, as well as the procurement of long lead materials and services such as casing, well heads and drilling services.

However, Mr Tchacos said there had been some delays in finalising the Welchau-1 drilling program due to the need to engage an in-house permitting team.

The company aims to begin drilling in September.

ADX shares were up 8.3 per cent and trading at 0.7 cents at 1:23 pm AEST.

The total resource now comprises 30.6 million tonnes at 1.31 per cent lithium oxide.

Of this, the measured and indicated mineral resources make up 19.4 million tonnes at 1.37 per cent lithium oxide — an increase of 46 per cent from the previous resource.

The update follows the company’s largest drilling program to date: a 39,600-metre reverse circulation and diamond drilling campaign completed in 2022.

The program was conducted at both known deposits and new prospects within the Bynoe pegmatite field, which lies 15 kilometres south of Darwin and extends up to 70 kilometres in length and 15 kilometres in width.

Core said the new results highlighted the “significant potential” for mine life extensions at Finniss, and the company will now work to complete an updated ore reserve estimate.

The company has allocated $25 million to its 2023 drilling campaign — nearly double the budget allocated for 2022 — to deliver further increases to the project’s MRE.

CXO shares were up 7.03 per cent and trading at 99 cents at 11:54 am AEST.

According to the company, the intercepts, from infill and extensional drilling at the Main and South Zone, align with pegmatite projections and modelling completed as part of the Mavis Lake mineral resource estimate (MRE) process, which is nearing completion.

Standout intercepts included 10.65 metres of spodumene mineralisation from three metres downhole and 11.3 metres of spodumene mineralisation from 13.3 metres downhole.

Critical Resources Managing Director Alex Cheeseman said the confirmation of near-surface intercepts was “very pleasing” and boosted the company’s confidence in the project.

“Confirmation of near-surface intercepts is very pleasing for several reasons; firstly, near-surface mineralisation supports the mining component of our ongoing studies into development pathways for Mavis Lake,” Mr Cheeseman said.

“Secondly, the intercepts reinforce and validate modelling work completed as part of the MRE process.”

The Mavis Lake MRE is due for release in the coming weeks. However, due to timing, the current drilling results will not be included in the maiden MRE but will form part of any potential future resource upgrades.

Critical Resources is awaiting assays from samples collected from over 38 individual drill holes and is also continuing multiple studies and other key tasks to support the progression of the Mavis Lake lithium project.

CRR shares were up 5.26 per cent and trading at 4 cents at 10:08 am AEST.

This hasn’t stopped emerging lithium miner Sayona Mining (SYA), though — the company’s share price was up 10.2 per cent to 21.5 cents after posting an upgrade to the mineral resource estimate for its 60-per-cent-owned Moblan project in Canada.

Following 37,700 metres of drilling since acquiring the project in 2021, with partner SOQUEM, Sayona said the resource was one of the largest in North America.

Fellow lithium explorer Critical Resources (CRR) released its activities report for the March quarter. It’s also exploring in Canada and said it spent the period advancing its Mavis Lake project.

The company has recorded high grades of lithium at the project, with further assay results pending.

Shares were unchanged today at 3.9 cents

Over in Argentina, Lake Resources (LKE) — together with its lithium extraction technology partner Lilac Solutions — has produced 2500 kilograms of lithium carbonate equivalent from its Kachi project.

Shares leapt 20.1 per cent on the news to trade at 55.2 cents

Meanwhile, gold explorer Iceni Gold (ICL) found new gold structures within its 14 Mile Well project in the Laverton Greenstone Belt of Western Australia.

The discoveries were unveiled during an integrated geophysics campaign, and the structures correlate with a previous diamond drill hole that revealed anomalous gold along 900 metres.

Iceni shares were steady at 6.8 cents

In the healthcare space, Little Green Pharma (LGP) shares were up slightly after the first shipment of its high-THC medical cannabis flower from Denmark to Ilios Sante in Germany.

The delivery is part of a two-year deal with the subsidiary of European medicinal cannabis healthcare conglomerate, The Bloomwell Group.

It follows the company’s shipment to Demecan, also in Germany, earlier this year.

EML Payments’ (EML) Managing Director and CEO Emma Shand has resigned after nine months in the top job, with Kevin Murphy stepping in as interim CEO.

The company’s share price has risen close to 16 per cent.

Over the past year, EML shares have sunk more than 80 per cent.

The company said appointing Mr Murphy marked an important first step towards solving the challenges impacting EML.

EML shares were trading at 65 cents.

The company now estimates a total measured, indicated and inferred resource of 70.9 million tonnes at 1.15 per cent lithium oxide for the project.

The estimate is the culmination of 37,700 metres of diamond core drilling undertaken since SYA acquired the project in October 2021 in partnership with SOQUEM.

Sayona has planned a further 60,000 metres of drilling through which it hopes to enhance the size and grade of the resource.

The company’s Managing Director, Brett Lynch, said the resource upgrade justified the company’s decision to fast‐track its major drilling program.

“Sayona already has the leading advanced lithium resource base in North America, and this latest expansion further entrenches our competitive advantage, particularly given our projects’ favourable access to infrastructure, market proximity and availability of low-cost, sustainable hydropower,” Mr Lynch said.

Additionally, Mr Lynch said that as the company progressed its projects in Canada from spodumene concentrate production to downstream processing, it believed the significance of the assets would only increase with market demand.

SYA shares were up 11.54 per cent and trading at 22 cents at 1:40 pm AEDT.

US stocks retreated off the back of economic data and Federal Reserve commentary.

The Bank’s Governor Christopher Waller said inflation was “far above target”, and odds of a May rates hike have risen above 70 per cent.

Meanwhile, multinational financial services company JPMorgan posted strong first-quarter revenue, with profits up 52 per cent on record revenues of more than $38 billion. 

Similarly, Citigroup boasted one of its best fixed-income trading hauls in a decade.

Market analysts expect Wall Street will closely watch banks for deterioration in asset qualities and deposit stability.

In Europe, the FTSE rose 0.3 per cent, boosted by pharmaceuticals and consumer staples.

The Aussie dollar remains flat at 67 US cents.

Bitcoin has recaptured its $30,000 level.

But gold lost some of its shine. Iron ore is also lower today, as is Brent crude, down 0.2 per cent.

The contracts are expected to bring in $312 million in revenue for GNG over a two year period.

GNG will provide engineering design, drafting, project management and commissioning. This comes alongside structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation construction works.

Its wholly owned subsidiary, Mipac, will also step in to provide specialist electrical and instrumentation services.

Having previously worked with Oz Minerals, GNG’s Managing Director Tony Patrizi said the new contracts were a “strong endorsement” of the company’s proven delivery capabilities.

“We are pleased to have been engaged by OZ Minerals to play a key role in the delivery of the world-class West Musgrave project.

“We look forward to continue working collaboratively to deliver a safe and successful outcome,” Mr Patrizi said.

The proposed project is 1300 kilometres northeast of Perth, near the border with South Australia and Northern Territory.

Oz Minerals said it is set to be one of the “largest, lowest cost, lowest emissions copper nickel projects.”

GNG shares were up 3.27 per cent at $1.90, while OZL shares were down 0.04 per cent at $28.16 at 3:55 pm AEST.

The operations were shut in at the end of March due to the loss of containment incident associated with the high pressure flare on a floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO).

While repair work was carried out, higher than expected flow rates from wells in the Patola field put pressure on the processing system. As such, the company decided to extend its shutdown to complete a full inspection and testing of its systems.

This work was expected to wrap up by mid-April. However, the company said work would now be extended into May as it’s now committed to “essential and proactive works,” which will be completed with FPSO operator Altera&Ocyan.

“These activities include the acceleration of some of the planned July shutdown work scope to ensure the future reliability of the FPSO,” Karoon’s statement to the ASX read.

If all goes well, by early May KAR expects production for the 2023 financial year to be at the low end of its current guidance range of between 7.5 and 9 million barrels of oil.

The impact on unit production costs for the 2023 financial year were still being assessed, but the company said were likely to be towards the upper end of the current guidance range of between US$13 to $17 a barrel.

KAR shares were down 5.2 per cent, trading at $2.27 at 3:45 pm AEDT.

The index slipped after the Bureau of Statistics revealed the unemployment rate was unchanged in March at 3.5 per cent — leading some traders to believe more interest rate hikes from the Reserve Bank are in store.

Following the release of the jobs data, the Aussie dollar soared above 67 US cents.

Asian markets were mixed. The Nikkei rose slightly, while both the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng dipped into the red.

Only three of the 11 ASX sectors ended today in the green: Energy, IT and Real Estate.

Corporate Travel Management (CTD) shares rose to a six-month high after winning a contract from the UK Home Office worth an estimated $3 billion.

Omega Oil and Gas (OMA) shares were up by nearly 50 per cent today after intersecting 293 metres of gas shows within its Canyon-2 well in Queensland.

Shares ended the day up 35.9 per cent at 26 cents.

TMK Energy (TMK) shares rose 12.5 per cent after the company announced it had spud the Lucky Fox pilot production well within its Mongolian operations.

The consumer staples sector bore the brunt of today’s losses.

Coles Group (COL) shed 2.5 per cent after Australian retailer Wesfarmers sold its remaining stake in the supermarket chain.

While the details have not been disclosed, it’s believed to equate to around $688 million — or $18.50 per share. 

Block Inc (SQ2) shares slumped 5.8 per cent, slightly more than its US counterpart’s overnight dip of 5.5 per cent.

The buy now, pay later player was targeted by short seller Hindenburg Research last month and denied allegations it overstated its Cash App user numbers and understated customer acquisition costs.

Block issued a statement on March 23 saying it would explore legal action against Hindenburg for its “factually inaccurate and misleading” report.

Block wasn’t the only buy now, pay later stock in the red: Sezzle (SZL) and Zip Co (ZIP) also sustained losses.