By and large, the big story this week that captured HotCopper users’ attention, and that of local market punters everywhere, was the astonishing comeback of Invictus Energy.
Invictus has spent years in the doldrums, driven largely by shareholder impatience in the stock, which it feels like has been waiting in purgatory forever as it continues to await key regulatory milestone checks from the government of Zimbabwe.
Well, this week, a long-awaited catalyst hit the market in a very good way. But it had nothing to do with any real development on-site its project, but instead, a strong show of support from a wholly unexpected ally. That ally?: the Qatari Royal Family.
Truly, we live in an interesting world. But it’s not that unusual for the O&G sector. The dynasty running a wealthy Middle Eastern nation state is on the hunt for the next big African gasfield, and as part of a widely-publicised spending and investment push in the region, Invictus has found itself greeting the Qatari Royal Family, in the cold hard light of day, by the nature of being in Zimbabwe.
But don’t tell that to the stock’s most loyal shareholders, who possess a strange infatuation for the company’s CEO. That individual enjoys a Muskian cult of personality most probably the intense jealousy of just about every other exploration chief on the bourse.
Anyway. All of this excitement around Invictus and you might have missed a more sombre story from the ASX. We can’t get it back up: this week, at least. Not long after hitting the 9,000pts mark; it appears we can’t return to that level, spending most of the week in the high 8,000’s – more or less.
And while the CPI data had a negligible effect on the XJO, it remains true the ABS’s latest CPI data wasn’t too hot. Or, rather, it was, and that was the problem. Because inflation’s back at 2.8% – albeit due to MoM readings, but also on the back of higher electricity prices.
And for those prices to cool down they’ll either need to decrease overall, or, the government will need to keep propping up households with assistance payments. Both outcomes seem unlikely. The other big reason that we’re not climbing up above 9,000 – or at least, staying above it – is because Wall Street hasn’t been necessarily going crazy this week.
Still hitting records and what not, but it feels to me at least like there’s a bit of “what next?” starting to hit overall sentiment. Especially after yet another hiccup in NVIDIA momentum, as its Data Centre revenue came in lower than what some would have liked. I recently wrote (in last week’s wrap) if the old rules around September and October being seller-friendly months would still apply in 2025.
That remains to be seen, but at the end of this week, it’s looking like we might be heading into a familiar pattern. Then again, 2025 isn’t necessarily a good example of a normal world by anyone’s measure.
Of course, if you’re playing in the junior end of the market, it would be hard to convince you that there’s anything to worry about at all. Until next week!
Australian Equities
Invictus Energy steals the show as Qatari Royal Family buy $40M, 19% stake
Electro Optic Systems wins Oz DoD CUAS contract over Droneshield
Domino’s Pizza hit by pain once again as numbers fail to impress
Australian Economy
ABS shows headline inflation comes in higher than expected; MoM TMI nears 3%
Latest private sector expenditure points to weak GDP according to some analysts
Geopolitics
Defence Minister Richard Marles travelled to US to meet American Def. Min. Hegseth
Xi Jinping tours India, leaving border clashes in the rearview, presumably
Australia kicks out Iranian Ambassador over reports of organised synagogue attacks
Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on HotCopper, Australia’s largest stock forum, and be part of the conversations that move the markets.