If you hadn’t seen, the Korean market is getting absolutely barbecued (pardon the pun)
The KOSPI was down 12% yesterday, posting the biggest drop in its 46 year history. Fears that Iran war could cripple the South Korean economy has also sent the won to a 17 year low.
So far this year the KOSPI was up 45–50% making it one of the best-performing major equity indices globally in 2026 before this week’s sell off. The market had been driven higher by a rally in semiconductor giants and AI inked hardware demand from chipmakers such as Samsung and SK Hynix
The sell off is being attributed to South Korea’s heavy energy import dependency, FX weakness, and leveraged margin calls amplifying the sell off. Samsung and SK Hynix had double digit losses, triggering a cascade of forced selling and algorithmic trades across the market.
Market Highlights
ASX 200 futures are pointing up 95 points or 1.1 per cent to 8953.
- AUD +0.6% to US70.79¢
- Bitcoin +7.7% to $US73,191
- On Wall St: Dow +0.5% S&P +0.8% Nasdaq +1.3%
- VIX -2.30 to 21.27
- Gold +1% to $US5140.50 an ounce
- Brent oil +0.7% to $US81.96 a barrel
- Iron ore -0.4% to $US98.65 a tonne
- 10-year yield: US 4.10% Australia 4.74%
Across Markets…
Australian futures are pointing to a higher open, tracking gains in New York where tech shares powered a rebound in the Nasdaq Composite after two reports pointed to a strong US economy and volatility eased.
Private US payrolls increased the most in seven months in February, according to ADP’s national employment report. In addition, the ISM’s services index jumped to its highest level since July 2022.
ASX 200 futures were up 95 points or 1.1 per cent to 8953 at 8am AEDT. The Nasdaq leapt 1.3 per cent. Amazon and Tesla, each up at least 3.4 per cent, paced five of the magnificent seven megacap techs higher. Alphabet and Apple slipped.
The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF was 1.5 per cent higher.
Broadcom – a key computer chip making partner with Alphabet – was 1.2 per cent higher before the release of its quarterly results after the closing bell. The results, and outlook, are set to be the latest test of the artificial intelligence trade.
Source: AFR
This feels like 2022 again as rare earths, lithium, coal lead gains
- Rare earths prices rose to their highest levels since early 2022, recording a second 20%+ gain in February to start the year
- Coal and lithium were also in favour as war brought new and old energy assets back to the fore
- Iron ore and uranium have mixed months, while gold closes above US$5000/oz for the first time
To read the full story from Stockhead, click here!
Company: Fin Resources Ltd (ASX:FIN)
Sector: Gold/Mining
Deal Type: Placement
Latest Entry Price: $0.0065
Performance Since Entry: +100%
Company: Eden Innovations (ASX:EDE)
Sector: Construction/Clean Energy
Deal Type: Shortfall
Latest Entry Price: $0.035 with 1:2 option, strike $0.07
Price Performance Since Entry: +357%
Company: Tasman Resources Ltd (ASX:TAS)
Sector: Gold/Silver/Mining
Deal Type: Placement
Latest Entry Price: $0.0125 with 1:2 option, strike $0.02
Price Performance Since Entry: +380%
Company: Locksley Resources Ltd (ASX:LKY)
Sector: REE & Antimony/Mining
Deal Type: Placement
Latest Entry Price: $0.04
Price Performance Since Entry: +300%
Company: CuFe Ltd (ASX:CUF)
Sector: Copper/Mining
Deal Type: Placement
Latest Entry Price: $0.016 with 1:2 option, strike $0.025
Price Performance Since Entry: +163%
Company: Tambourah Metals Ltd (ASX:TMB)
Sector: Gold/Mining
Deal Type: Placement
Latest Entry Price: $0.04
Price Performance Since Entry: +43%
Company: Biotron Ltd (ASX:BIT)
Sector: Biotech
Deal Type: Placement
Latest Entry Price: $0.003 with 1:2 option, strike $0.02
Price Performance Since Entry: 0%
Company: Eclipse Metals Ltd (ASX:EPM)
Sector: REE
Deal Type: Placement
Latest Entry Price: $0.015
Price Performance Since Entry: +40%
Company: Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:NEU)
Sector: Biotech
Deal Type: On-market purchase
Latest Entry Price: $1.20 – $1.50
Price Performance Since Entry: +1,080%
Company: Dimerix Ltd (ASX:DXB)
Sector: Biotech
Deal Type: Rights Issue
Raise Amount: $800,000
Latest Entry Price: $0.08 with 1:1 option, strike $0.126
Price Performance Since Entry: $0.505 +394%
Company: Noviqtech Ltd (ASX:NVQ)
Sector: Blockchain
Deal Type: Placement
Raise Amount: $1M
Latest Entry Price: $0.02 with 1:1 option $0.08 strike
Price Performance Since Entry: +30%
Company: Critica Limited (ASX:CRI)
Sector: REE
Deal Type: Placement
Raise Amount: $1M
Latest Entry Price: $0.0075 with a 1:1 CRIO
Price Performance Since Entry: +233%
Company: Patagonia Lithium (ASX:PL3)
Sector: Lithium
Deal Type: IPO
Raise Amount: $8.6M
Latest Entry Price: $0.09 with 1:2 PL3O
Price Performance Since Entry: +11%
Company: Kalgoorlie Gold Mining Limited. (ASX:KAL)
Sector: Gold/Mining
Deal Type: Placement
Raise Amount: $2.3M
Latest Entry Price: $0.026 with 1:2 option $0.032 strike
Price Performance Since Entry: +62%
If you would like more information on future Peak deals, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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