S&P/ASX 200 drops 0.15% following global cues

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) is trading 0.15% lower at 5551 mid-day after three consecutive days of solid gains which saw the benchmark add 4.3%. US markets fell on Tuesday following reports that Moderna Inc’s (NASDAQ:MRNA) COVID-19 vaccine study didn't produce enough critical data to assess its success. Moderna shares fell 10%. Australian skilled job vacancies and preliminary retail trade data Over the year to April 2020, in three month moving average terms, skilled job advertisements dropped by 39.3% in Sydney and 38.7% in Melbourne due to COVID-19 related shutdowns. April retail sales fell by 17.9% following a surge of 8.5% in March when Australians went on a buying binge for toilet paper, hand sanitiser and tinned food. Top gainers Today’s top gainers on the ASX include Anson Resources Ltd (ASX:ASN) (+53.33%), Opyl Ltd (ASX:OPL) (+38.89%), Musgrave Minerals Ltd (ASX:MGV) (+15.38%), Talisman Mining Ltd (ASX:TLM) (+13.79%) and Cipherpoint Ltd (ASX:CPT) (+43.75%) Outperform rating for iron ore producers Macquarie reiterated its outperform rating for Australia's iron ore producers, with leading indicators of demand for the commodity adding to the outlook for earnings and cash generation. Macquarie noted both supply and demand-side factors are expected to continue to support sales prices for the miners. Improved conditions for gold mining Less than four months after Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX:NCM) warned its flagship Cadia mine may have to reduce production before Christmas because of water shortages, the company today said that the crisis had been abated. Cadia was the most lucrative gold mine in Australia in FY2019, having generated more than a billion dollars worth of earnings. Proactive news headlines: Anson Resources surges 70% after study indicates high economic viability for Paradox Brine Project in USA Anson Resources Ltd surged as much as 70% after an independent preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Paradox Brine Project in Utah, USA, indicated a high economic viability and strong return on investment. The company described the study as being ‘exceptional’ and attributed the results to the unique nature of the brine which flows to surface under a high concentration of world-class bromine grades. This PEA confirms the advantage of first extracting bromine to fast-track the project to cashflow, that can then fund the development of plants to extract lithium and other minerals, validating Ansons multi-mineral and multi-revenue strategy. Horizon Minerals receives high-grade results from Nanadie Well Copper-Gold Project Horizon Minerals Ltd (ASX:HRZ) has received high-grade supergene copper-gold results from its 100%-owned Nanadie Well project in the Murchison Mineral Field of Western Australia. This includes 6 metres at 1.48% copper and 4.11 g/t gold from 38 metres including 1-metre at 3.85% copper and 23.3 g/t gold from 43 metres, Castillo Copper identifies another large mineralised system with IOCG targets at Mt Oxide pillar Castillo Copper Ltd (ASX:CCZ) has identified another large mineralised system with iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) targets at the Mt Oxide pillar in northwest Queensland, enhancing the project's exploration upside and potential scale. Detailed work on IOCG target Flapjack has interpreted it to be part of a larger mineralised system that comprises the Crescent (IOCG) and Johnnies (shear-hosted copper/supergene ore) prospects. A closer review of Flapjack verifies that it is within a zone of structurally controlled east-northeast trending haematitic-quartz veins.