Weekly wrap: record highs followed by a slight slip

The Australian share market had another positive week, reaching fresh record highs twice before slipping back a little in Friday trade.

By the close on Friday the ASX 200 Index was down 0.1% or 8.1 points to 8436.2, as seven of the 11 sectors fell.

That followed on from Thursday’s fresh record high of 8444.3 points and meant the index still closed 0.5% higher for the week.

Two of the big heroes of Thursday’s rally – heavyweights Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) and blood products group CSL (ASX: CSL) set the scene by shedding some of their gains, with CSL’s 1% fall to $282.22 the most severe.

Property companies were among the hardest hit by the slide, down 0.7% overall with Scentre’s (ASX: SCG) 1.1% fall to $3.68 and Goodman Group’s (ASX: GMG) 0.8% fall to $37.91 some of the more notable.

The influential banking sector also fell, making it difficult for the ASX 200 to produce a positive result.

Also hitting the market was a lack of a lead from the US due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

It didn’t help matters for a swag of Australian bank economists to all move their predictions of the first interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia back to May from February, doing nothing to improve investor sentiment.

Select Harvests falls after turnaround

One individual share that reacted to news was almond producer Select Harvests (ASX: SHV), with shares falling 5.4% to $3.69.

That fall followed an earlier rally after the company revealed a net full year profit of $1.5 million, compared to last year’s net loss of $114.7 million.

It seems investors were expecting an even better profit turnaround that the one that Select revealed.

Star falls to record low

Another company under the pump was Star Entertainment (ASX: SGR) which saw its shares fall at one stage by 3% to 18c.

That set a new low water mark for the embattled Star, with analysts at Macquarie downgrading the stock to underperform as it continues to battle regulatory issues at its casinos and continues to shore up its finances after revealing it lost $27 million in the first four months of the new financial year.

Eventually Star shares recovered to close unchanged at 19.5c but this is one stock to keep a very close eye on.

Web Travel (ASX: WEB) shares rose 4.9% to $5.15, making up a 20% jump since Tuesday, after the Webjet (ASX: WJL) spin-off posted an underlying half-year net profit of $52.5 million in its first earnings report as a standalone entity.

Small cap stock action

The Small Ords index rose 1.88% for the week to close at 3199 points.

Small cap companies making headlines this week were:

Algorae Pharmaceuticals (ASX: 1AI)

Algorae Pharmaceuticals reported strong pre-clinical results for its cardiovascular drug candidate AI-168, which outperformed beta blockers in laboratory tests and restored cell viability under cardiac stress conditions.

These findings will inform the development of in vivo models, with the drug being assessed for conditions such as hypertension and heart failure, while the company has filed an international patent application to secure global protection.

Algorae is also advancing its therapeutic pipeline with 24 AI-generated oncology drug targets identified by its AlgoraeOS platform, addressing high-unmet-need conditions like breast cancer and glioblastoma.

Recently, Dr. Sarah Siggins joined the company’s scientific advisory board to guide strategic commercial partnerships and support its innovative drug development initiatives.

PhosCo (ASX: PHO)

PhosCo has received government approval for the Gassaat phosphate exploration permit in Tunisia, marking a significant milestone for the development of the northern phosphate basin, with a formal grant pending final clearance from the Ministry of National Defence.

The permit includes a 146Mt resource at 20.6% phosphorus pentoxide, and the company has signed an MoU with Tunisia’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy and the EBRD to collaborate on processing technology and regional development initiatives.

PhosCo plans to conduct a feasibility study and secure financing for the project, which aims to address global food security while supporting local communities and small enterprises.

This follows recent approval for PhosCo’s Sekarna project, the first phosphate permit in Tunisia granted 100% to a foreign investor, highlighting the company’s growing role in the global phosphate market, valued at $280 billion and projected to reach $340 billion by 2029.

BPH Global (ASX: BP8)

BPH Global has re-appointed Gaia Mariculture to manage its seaweed R&D programs at Singapore’s Marine Aquaculture Centre, focusing on developing germplasm seedbanks for pristine and polluted waters and advancing proprietary production technology.

Under a two-year agreement, Gaia will also integrate blockchain for traceability, develop sustainable farming methods, and explore blue carbon credits through carbon capture by seaweeds.

The scope includes a feasibility study on phycomining techniques to bioaccumulate metals in seaweed and recover valuable metals from biomass, alongside AI-driven advancements in seaweed breeding and mineral extraction.

BPH aims to leverage Gaia’s expertise to expand seaweed cultivation and explore joint venture opportunities in Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Green Critical Minerals (ASX: GCM)

Green Critical Minerals is on track to complete construction of its pilot plant for producing very high density (VHD) graphite blocks by the new year, supported by a recent $2.48 million capital raising.

The pilot plant will produce blocks for high-performance electronics and solar thermal energy storage, with small-scale production expected to commence by year-end and sample blocks provided to key customers for testing.

VHD technology offers a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels, supporting the transition to renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies in a market exceeding $700 billion.

The company is also advancing its topaz-tungsten project in Queensland, aiming to produce high-value single-crystal mullite fibres from topaz feedstock, which could sell for up to US$11,000 per kilogram.

The company, leveraging expertise from Professor Andrew Ruys and prior research collaborations, plans to develop this disruptive technology to meet growing demand from industries like aerospace and automotive, positioning itself in a global market projected to exceed US$2.29 billion by 2032.

The week ahead

In Australia, we are coming up for a big week of economic releases, with the major one being the National Accounts which are out on Wednesday.

The expectation is that the Australian economy will have grown by 0.4% in the September quarter, with that sluggish number likely to lead to an annual growth rate around 1.1%.

That is well below the average for the past decade and ignoring the low numbers at the start of Covid, one of the lowest growth rates since the December quarter in 1991.

Other releases to watch out for include home values, building approvals, inventories and operating profits, inflation, job advertisements and the international trade balance.

In the US, the economy is expected to add around 200,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in November, with the jobless rate expected to rise slightly to 4.2%.

There should be some local corporate news to watch for as well, with IGA operator Metcash (ASX: MTS) providing a trading update on Monday and KFC operator Collins Foods (ASX: CKF) set to release sales results on Tuesday.

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