S&P/ASX 200 gains 0.31% as Trump promises smooth transition of power to Biden

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) has gained 0.31% to 6732.6 points by about 2 pm, with the tech stocks and the major banks on the rise. This follows an overnight surge on Wall Street with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all setting new highs as US markets focused on the Democratic sweep of Washington and the extra stimulus on the way. Trump condemned the riot by his supporters at the US Capitol and said there will be a smooth transition of power to the Biden administration. Bitcoin set a new record overnight, breaking through US$40,000 for the first time. The cryptocurrency has surged eight-fold over the last 10 months from about US$5,000 in January 2020. Mutated strain in Australia Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Greater Brisbane, including Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands would be locked down from 6 pm Friday until at least Monday after a hotel quarantine worker was infected with the mutated strain of COVID-19. Palaszczuk said: “We know that this UK strain is highly infectious. “It is 70 per cent more infectious and we are going to go hard and we are going to go early to do everything we can to stop the spread of this virus.” Top gainers Today’s top gainers on the ASX include Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) (+20.00%), CV Check Ltd (ASX:CV1) (+11.76%), Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX:PLL) (+15.19%), Calima Energy Ltd (ASX:CE1) (+14.29%), Rimfire Pacific Mining N L (ASX:RIM) (+12.50%), Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX:COB) (+15.91%) and Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX:SOR) (+11.48%). Proactive news headlines: Creso Pharma well-placed to benefit from Democratic majority in US Senate and potential cannabis reform Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX:CPH) (OTCMKTS:COPHF) (FRA:1X8) has welcomed recent news of the US Democratic Party winning the balance of power in the US Senate – an outcome which increases the likelihood of the decriminalisation of cannabis and passing of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. Venture Minerals begins maiden Kulin drilling after trenching confirms large gold system Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS) has recently completed a trenching program that delivered substantial mineralised intervals of up to 31 metres at 1.0 g/t gold and 20 metres at 0.6 g/t at the 100% owned Kulin Gold Project in Western Australia. Auteco Minerals appoints new chief operating officer to bolster exploration strategy Auteco Minerals Ltd (ASX:AUT) (OTCMKTS:MNXMF) has appointed experienced mining executive Darren Cooke as its new chief operating officer to lead the campaign to grow the company’s 1-million-ounce resource at the Pickle Crow Gold Project in Canada. Tempus Resources continues North American management transition as managing director signals plan to leave Tempus Resources Ltd’s (ASX:TMR) (CVE:TMRR) (FRA:4W0) management transition is continuing as the company’s focus turns to the Americas, with managing director Brendan Borg notifying the board of his intention to resign. Torrens Mining debuts on ASX after raising $10 million Torrens Mining Limited (ASX:TRN) started trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on Thursday following the successful closure of its initial public offer to raise $10 million. CardieX on track to launch new products and digital solutions in 2021 Cardiex Ltd (ASX:CDX) is gearing up to expand its products and market access in 2021, after successfully completing a share purchase plan at $0.05 per share to raise $3.207 million. Auroch Minerals on the hunt for nickel in 2021 exploration programs Auroch Minerals Ltd (ASX:AOU) (FRA:T59) is fully funded headed into the new year after raising $2.9 million in late September last year to fund aggressive exploration plans across its high-grade nickel assets.