S&P/ASX 200 dips into red but still up more than 5% this week

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) slipped 0.11% to 6,095.1 at lunch, its first decline in five days, with the market still up more than 5.2% this week. Overnight in Wall Street, The S&P 500 rose by 0.8% with hopes of further stimulus continuing to help the American markets. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in a call with Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday, said Donald Trump was now interested in coming back to the table on a comprehensive agreement. The latest development marks the completion of a head-spinning 48 hours after Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to call off the stimulus talks entirely, sending markets into a dive. Energy stocks rise Gains from gold miners, energy and technology stocks are helping to minimise the ASX’s losses. Energy stocks surged after a 3.1% increase in West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price as Hurricane Delta approaches the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in the closure of some US facilities. New home loans surge Housing finance approvals came in well above expectations in August, with the value of new loans surging 12.6% to be up over 30% in three months. Aust Aug housing finance +12.5%mom/+18%yoy, almost back to 2016 highs & this before removing responsible lending Owner occupiers +13.6%, investors +9.3% FHBs +18.3% to 23.6% of total, highest since 2009. Surging lending points to higher prices altho immigration goes the other way pic.twitter.com/pvFjVsSe8m — Shane Oliver (@ShaneOliverAMP) October 9, 2020 Top gainers Today’s top gainers on the ASX include Engage:BDR Ltd (ASX:EN1) (+20.00%), Cardiex Ltd (ASX:CDX) (+10.00%), Kingwest Resources Ltd (ASX:KWR) (+10.34%), Carnavale Resources Limited (ASX:CAV) (+16.67%), Calima Energy Ltd (ASX:CE1) (+14.29%), Nexus Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXM) (+17.39%), PNX Metals Ltd (ASX:PNX) (+10.00%) and Red River Resources Limited (ASX:RVR) (+15.63%). Proactive news headlines: Core Lithium finds visible gold at Pickled Parrot Prospect in Northern Territory Core Lithium Ltd’s (ASX:CXO) early reconnaissance exploration work has discovered visible gold at surface at the new Pickled Parrot Prospect (PPP) within Bynoe Gold Project in the Northern Territory. Ora Banda Mining lifts Davyhurst gold resource to 2.17 million ounces with maiden Riverina South estimate Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM) has boosted overall Davyhurst Gold Project resources to 2.17 million ounces following a maiden resource estimate of 43,000 ounces at Riverina South project. Boadicea Resources shines on news of special dividend for shareholders Boadicea Resources Ltd (ASX:BOA) investors have responded strongly to news of the payment of an 8-cent unfranked dividend with shares hitting a new five-year high. Creso Pharma's second NSLC retail purchase order highlights strong Canadian demand Creso Pharma Ltd’s (ASX:CPH) (FRA:1X8) wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary Mernova Medicinal Inc has received and delivered a second purchase order valued at C$138,960 from the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC). Castillo Copper finalises drilling logistics ahead of upcoming Mt Oxide campaign Castillo Copper Ltd (ASX:CCZ) has finalised drilling logistics for a campaign at Mt Oxide Project in the Mt Isa copper-belt in northwest Queensland, which is set to begin in mid-October. Infinity Lithium's San José Project remains on-track to fulfil critical role in EU battery supply chain Infinity Lithium Corporation Ltd’s (ASX:INF) flagship San José Lithium Project in Spain remains well-positioned to fulfil a critical role in the EU’s lithium-ion battery supply chain against a backdrop centred on the EU Green Deal, a net-zero carbon footprint by 2050 and an economy reliant on renewable energies. PolarX grows Zackly East with 69-metre near-surface intercept hosting 11.2 metres at 2.5 g/t gold and 1.1% copper PolarX Ltd (ASX:PXX) continues to grow the Zackly East prospect within its Alaska Range Project in the US state of Alaska with drilling returning more wide, locally high-grade intersections of gold and copper. Corazon Mining confirms porphyry potential at Mt Gilmore Project Corazon Mining Ltd’s (ASX:CZN) latest exploration results at Mt Gilmore Copper-Cobalt-Gold Project in northern New South Wales have confirmed the project’s porphyry potential. Oakdale Resources data reprocessing reveals similar geological setting to adjacent Julimar discovery Oakdale Resources Ltd’s (ASX:OAR) (FRA:F1S) reprocessed magnetic data reveals that the Crown Nickel-Copper-PGE Project has a similar geological setting to the adjacent Julimar Complex discovery of Chalice Gold Mines (ASX:CHN).