S&P/ASX 200 recovers after Peter Navarro clarifies US-China trade deal is intact

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) started strong but plummeted to be down by 1% lower after top White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the China deal ‘is over’. Those comments helped wipe nearly $28 billion from the ASX in half an hour before Navarro clarified that his comments have been taken “wildly out of context”. The index reclaimed its losses at lunch and was up 11 points or 0.19% at 5956 by 2.28 pm. Oil and gold gain The price of oil increased by 1.8%, lifting for a third day and hitting a three-month high in the process in overnight trade. A major US broker has increased its forecasts for oil prices in 2020 due to a faster recovery in demand and OPEC supply cuts. Gold prices have edged higher by 0.8% and is near its seven and a half year high. Goldman Sachs upgraded its gold forecasts late last week to $US2,000 per ounce in 12 months, up from its earlier forecasts of $US1,800 per ounce. Top gainers Today’s top gainers on the ASX include Volt Resources Ltd (ASX:VRC) (+10.53%), Platina Resources Limited (ASX:PGM) (+11.11%), Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX:SOR) (+23.64%), Nelson Resources Ltd (ASX:NES) (+11.63%), Eclipse Metals Ltd (ASX:EPM) (+14.29%), PNX Metals Ltd (ASX:PNX) (+12.50%) and Venus Metals Corporation Limited (ASX:VMC) (+14.29%). Proactive news headlines: Blackstone Minerals intersects 15.4-metre-wide zone of nickel sulphides at Ta Khoa Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX:BSX) (FRA:B9S) has intersected a 15.4-metre-wide zone of nickel sulphide mineralisation at Ban Chang prospect of its Ta Khoa Nickel-PGE project in Vietnam. The maiden four drill holes at Ban Chang have all intersected massive sulphide nickel over a 1.2-kilometre strike within a 1.2-kilometre-long massive sulphide target zone defined by high-priority electromagnetic (EM) plates. Horizon Minerals on-track for first gold from Boorara next month Horizon Minerals Ltd (ASX:HRZ) is ahead of schedule with mining and haulage for the first stage of Boorara Gold Mine in the Goldfields of Western Australia and is on track for first gold production in July. Mining began on May 6, 2020, and the first ore parcel of 25,000 tonnes has been hauled from Regal East to the Lakewood Mill. Piedmont Lithium appoints Primero Group as preferred EPC contractor for spodumene concentrator Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX:PLL) (NASDAQ:PLL) has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Primero Group Ltd (ASX: PGX) for the delivery of a spodumene concentrator on an Engineer, Procure, and Construct (EPC) basis at the Piedmont Lithium Project in North Carolina. Venus Metals higher on shallow bonanza-grade gold results from Youanmi JV project Venus Metals Corporation Ltd (ASX:VMC) is encouraged by shallow bonanza-grade infill drilling results returned by joint venture partner Rox Resources (ASX:RXL) from the Youanmi Gold Project in Western Australia. The best result was 4 metres at 88.81 g/t from 27 metres, including 2 metres at 176.03 g/t at Grace prospect while other bonanza-grade results include 3 metres at 61.27 g/t from 10 metres and 2 metres at 33.53 g/t from 11 metres. King River Resources launches SPP for shareholders to purchase up to $30,000 in shares King River Resources Ltd (ASX:KRR) has launched a Security Purchase Plan (SPP) for existing shareholders to be able to purchase up to $30,000 worth of additional shares. There are currently has more than 4,600 shareholders and the maximum allowable issue is 374,591,566 shares, which would equate to more than $12 million. Wiluna Mining high-grade gold results continue to underpin stage-1 sulphide strategy Wiluna Mining Corporation Ltd (ASX:WMX) has received more high-grade results of up to 8 metres at 15.2 g/t from 248 metres, including 5 metres at 23 g/t from resource development and infill drilling at the Wiluna Mining Centre in WA. The further strong drilling results, particularly at Essex continue, to deliver shallow sulphides into the company's stage 1 sulphide strategy at Wiluna. FYI Resources to deliver HPA samples to potential customers following high demand FYI Resources Ltd (ASX:FYI) has fielded requests for larger quantities of high purity alumina (HPA) material for additional product qualification following its delivery of low deleterious HPA samples to customers in February. Production of this additional sample material to meet the specific requirements of each interested party for second stage qualification trials is underway and FYI expects to deliver these larger samples in July 2020. Strategic Elements files multiple patents on autonomous robotics technology Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX:SOR) has made multiple patent filings over the autonomous robotics technology being developed by its subsidiary Stealth Technologies. Strategic use of 3D printing technologies by Stealth is enabling the rapid advancement of Intellectual Property and prototyping.