S&P/ASX 200 flat at lunch as Victoria, US report record daily spike in COVID-19 cases

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) is trading flat at 6010 around lunch after Victoria reported a record daily high of 428 new COVID-19 cases and the US confirmed a new daily record of 70,272 new cases on Thursday. US top infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned that cases could soon top 100,000 a day if Americans do not come together to take steps necessary to halt the spread of the virus. Miners gain The materials sector is among the gainers on the ASX with a stronger than expected lift in China’s economy and industrial output boosting local shares. South32 Ltd (ASX:S32) gained 3.29% while Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX:EVN) is up 2.02% and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX:FMG) rose 1.33%. Top gainers Today’s top gainers on the ASX include Engage:BDR Ltd (ASX:EN1) (+40.00%), White Rock Minerals Ltd (ASX:WRM) (+10.00%), Fe Limited (ASX:FEL) (+16.67%), Canyon Resources Ltd (ASX:CAY) (+9.09%) and FAR Ltd (ASX:FAR) (+9.09%). Proactive news headlines: Australian Vanadium consolidates position with new mining licence to extend flagship project Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) has extended its footprint for the Australian Vanadium Project at Gabanintha in WA's Mid-West with a mining licence application covering southern mineral resource fault blocks. White Rock Minerals wastes no time in progressing extended Last Chance gold target White Rock Minerals Ltd (ASX:WRM) is making every effort possible to progress its Last Chance gold target at Red Mountain project in the prolific gold-rich Tintina region of Alaska. The company has staked an additional 375 mining claims covering 240 square kilometres surrounding the Last Chance gold stream sediment anomaly as it moves to secure a strategic regional tenement position. King River Resources will bring forward gold exploration after receiving commitments to raise $2 million King River Resources Ltd (ASX:KRR) has received firm commitments from professional and sophisticated investors for a placement of more than 66.666 million shares to raise $2 million. Bryah Resources succeeds with Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive scheme application Bryah Resources Ltd’s (ASX:BYH) Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive (JMEI) scheme application for the 2020-2021 income year has been accepted by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). For the current income year Bryah has received an allocation of up to $585,000 in tax credits. Euro Manganese Increases private placement to C$4 million Euro Manganese Inc (ASX:EMN) (CVE:EMN) has increased its private placement to 66,202,210 common shares for total gross proceeds of C$4.04 million (A$4.27 million). SenSen receives highest ever quarterly cash receipts as it moves towards being cashflow positive and profitable in FY21 SenSen Networks Ltd (ASX:SNS) recorded two of its best-ever cash flow quarters in the 2020 financial year and is robustly moving towards being cashflow positive and profitable in FY21 as it continues to see strong software sales despite COVID-19.