S&P/ASX 200 in the red after Victoria joins Sydney in lockdown

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) dipped 1 point below the flatline to 7335 by about 12.50 pm as NSW recorded 97 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, while Victoria reported 10 cases. Exposure sites identified in Melbourne include the Wallabies game against France at AAMI Park and the Carlton-Geelong game at the MCG. In response to the infections, Victoria entered a snap five-day lockdown at midnight. Bank, tech stocks fall Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) was the weakest of the Big Four bangs, down 0.47%. Buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) companies including Afterpay (ASX:APT) (-1.71%) are continuing to suffer for the third day on news that Apple could be entering the BNPL market. Rio Tinto reports production slip Iron ore miner Rio Tinto fell 0.70% after flagging a quarterly production slip at its Pilbara operations. Iron ore production is down 9% to 75.9 million tonnes (vs Q2 2020), while iron ore shipments are down 12% to 76.3 million tonnes. New Zealand Consumer Price Index (June Quarter) gained 1.3% with annual inflation lifting to 3.3%, the fastest annual growth rate since 2011. Top gainers Today’s top gainers on the ASX include Brookside Energy Ltd (ASX:BRK) (+8.33%), Nexus Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXM) (+7.14%), Platina Resources Limited (ASX:PGM) (+7.14%), Roots Sustainable Agricultural Techn Ltd (ASX:ROO) (+8.33%) and Zelira Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:ZLD) (+6.52%). Proactive news headlines: Brookside Energy readies for production at Jewell Well, kicks off planning for Rangers Well Brookside Energy Ltd (ASX:BRK) continues to advance operations across its SWISH Area of Interest (AOI), a key oil and gas prospect within Oklahoma’s world-class Anadarko Basin. PNX Metals begins drilling to test for Glencoe gold extensions in NT PNX Metals Ltd (ASX:PNX) has begun a reverse circulation (RC) drilling program of up to 2,000 metres at Glencoe gold deposit within the Pine Creek region of the Northern Territory. Sipa Resources lands first two Warralong Project tenements paving the way for drill permitting Sipa Resources Ltd (ASX:SRI) (FRA:SPO) has been granted the first two Warralong Project tenements in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, marking a big step forward and paving the way for drill permitting to begin immediately. Kin Mining grows Cardinia Hill’s resource potential with more strong gold assays Kin Mining NL’s (ASX:KIN) Cardinia Hill deposit within the flagship Cardinia Gold Project (CGP) continues to grow, with further strong gold assays released ahead of a resource upgrade. Rooster Talk: The search for next Julimar begins - Venture Minerals Venture Minerals Ltd (ASX:VMS) (OTCMKTS:VTMLF) and Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) recently defined new EM anomalies at the ‘Julimar lookalike’ magnetic feature of the Thor target within Venture's South West Nickel-Copper-PGE Project south of Perth in Western Australia. Walkabout Resources bolsters board to help deliver development, production and growth Walkabout Resources Ltd (ASX:WKT) (FRA:N6D) has appointed two new non-executive directors to its board reflecting the completion of debt and companion equity funding for the construction of the Lindi Jumbo Graphite Mine in Tanzania. Mako Gold gains new substantial holder in Dundee Corporation with 6.05% stake Mako Gold Ltd (ASX:MKG) has received strong validation of its exploration strategy and project strength by gaining a new substantial holder in Canadian investor Dundee Corporation.