S&P/ASX 200 dips as new COVID-19 cases in NSW continues to grow

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) slipped 0.11% to 7,300 points by about 12.55 pm as NSW recorded 18 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8 pm last night, bringing the total number of infections in the Bondi cluster to 130.  Premier Gladys Berejiklian said while the drop from Sunday’s 30 new cases was encouraging, people should be prepared for cases to rise in the coming days. Berejiklian added: “While the numbers today are less than the numbers yesterday, we have to be prepared for the numbers to bounce around and we have to be prepared for the numbers to go up considerably.” IT, travel stocks down The IT sector on the S&P/ASX 200 was by far the worst-performing sector with a 3.16% decline while property, industrials and financials were also in the red. Buy now, pay later firm Afterpay (ASX:APT) was one of the leading decliners individually with a 7% fall. Travel stocks were also lower following the weekend decision to put greater Sydney and surrounding areas into a two-week lockdown. Qantas (ASX:QAN) slipped 4.3% while Webjet (ASX:WEB) dropped 3.5%. Top gainers Today’s top gainers on the ASX include Calima Energy Ltd (ASX:CE1) (+12.50%), Cipherpoint Ltd (ASX:CPT) (+18.52%), Cauldron Energy Ltd (ASX:CXU) (+11.43%), Platina Resources Limited (ASX:PGM) (+10.13%) and Theta Gold Mines Ltd (ASX:TGM) (+7.69%). Proactive news headlines: Caspin Resources identifies potential large porphyry copper-style system at Duchess prospect of Mount Squires Project Caspin Resources Ltd (ASX:CPN) has identified a potential porphyry copper-style geochemical signature at the new Duchess prospect within the Mount Squires Project in Western Australia. PVW Resources has drill spinning at Brilliant Well in Leonora region PVW Resources NL (ASX:PVW) continues its exploration drilling campaign in the Leonora region of Western Australia with drilling now underway at the Brilliant Well Project. Ora Banda Mining's strong initial Iguana gold results confirm resource potential Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM) (FRA:M6N) has unveiled the first suite of assays from infill drilling at Iguana gold deposit in Western Australia with potential to provide additional feed for the nearby Davyhurst processing plant. Calima Energy progresses Sunburst drilling in Canada with aim to achieve year-end production guidance of 4,500 boep/d Calima Energy Ltd (ASX:CE1) (OTCMKTS:RLTOF) (FRA:R1Y) is successfully progressing drilling at Gemini 1,2, 3 and 4 wells targeting the Sunburst formation in Alberta, Canada, ahead of its goal to achieve year-end production guidance of 4,500 boep/d. Anson Resources begins trading on US-based OTC Markets platform Anson Resources Ltd (ASX:ASN) (OTCMKTS:ANSNF) (FRA:9MY) is trading on the US-based OTCQB Market under the code of ANSNF after its application to join the market was accepted. Infinity Lithium inks offtake MoU with LG Energy Solution for San José lithium hydroxide Infinity Lithium Corporation Ltd (ASX:INF) (FRA:3PM) has inked a key non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) relating to a potential offtake agreement with major South Korean lithium-ion battery producer LG Energy Solution (LGES).