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The ASX 200 opened the day strongly, gaining 47 points as of 11 AM AEST time before sliding to a negligible 3.2 point (0.04%) gain to 7,326.90.

While the index didnt make much progress today, it is on a good trajectory, having gained 1.10% in the last five days and sitting just 3.18% off its 52-week high.

The market was held up by modest gains in the Financials (+0.38%) and Info Tech (0.48%) sectors, with Materials and Industrials in the green but mostly flat, Health Care down a more significant -0.36% dip and the other sectors shedding between -0.14% and -0.29%.

Commodities weighed heavily on the market, down across the board but for a small 0.32% uptick in silver; palladium, platinum, aluminium and tin were all down more than 1%, while zinc, gold and copper were mostly flat.

A higher-than-expected employment rate took the wind out of the ASXs sails today, as Proactive explored in this article on the ABS data.

IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore is betting the job numbers will push the RBA closer toward another potential rate hike on concernsparked by a tight labour market and potentially sticky inflation.

Earlier this week, the RBA meeting minutes from July put the focus firmly on incoming data, including todays labour data and next Wednesdays inflation data, ahead of the RBAs August Board meeting, Sycamore wrote.

The hotter-than-expected jobs numbers, which has the unemployment rate edging back towards a 50-year low, despite 400 basis point (bp) or rate hikes from the RBA, leave no room whatsoever for an upside surprise in next Wednesday's Q2 CPI data.

More so given the RBAs stated concerns around wage growth and inflation.

The expectations ahead of Wednesdays inflation numbers are for headline inflation to fall to 6.2% year-on-year (YoY) from 7%.

The RBA's preferred measure of core inflation, the Trimmed Mean, is expected to fall to 6.2% YoY from 6.6% previously.

Presuming the inflation numbers come in as expected, it likely supports the idea of a follow-up pause in August.

However, if next weeks headline inflation comes in at 6.4% or higher, brace for another rate hike as the RBA is forced to respond to a tight labour market and sticky inflation.

The probability of a 25 bp rate hike from the RBA in August has risen to about 40%, with a full rate hike now priced by October.

The AUD/USD reacted quickly as it surged from .6800 cents to a high of .6833 cents.

The ASX200, which was testing three-month range highs prior to the data, has fallen 40 points from 7,383 to 7,339.

Auric Mining Ltd (ASX:AWJ) yesterday began the process of toll milling the first batch of ore from the Jefferys Find Gold Mine, with 30,000 tonnes of ore to be processed at the Greenfields Mill at Coolgardie, Western Australia. It marks a landmark moment for the company, with first gold pour expected within days, a milestone which would officially promote Auric to gold producer status.

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Cooper Metals Ltd (ASX:CPM) is shoring up some new copper-gold targets at the Ardmore tenement in northwest Queensland thanks to an independent prospectivity review over the Mt Isa East Project.

Eleven new prospects have cropped up at Ardmore, where the review highlighted the importance of strong structural control on precious and base metals mineralisation.

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Astral Resources NL (ASX:AAR) has achieved a 22% increase in total contained ounces and a 69% increase in indicated resources at its Mandilla Gold Project, 70 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie in WA.

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Lindian Resources Ltd (ASX:LIN) has successfully completed a $35 million placement, securing the necessary funding to help achieve its ambitions in the rare earths mining sector.

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Musgrave Minerals Ltd (ASX:MGV, OTC:MGVMF)s Cue Gold Project joint venture (JV) partner Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX:EVN) has defined a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the West Island prospect in Western Australias Murchison district, further unlocking the value of the project.

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Richmond Vanadium Technology Ltd (ASX:RVT) managing director Jon Price predicts a massive global shortage of vanadium supply on the horizon.

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OpenAI's ChatGPT is reportedly deteriorating in capability and researchers are yet to determine the cause, according to a recent study conducted by Stanford and UC Berkeley.

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FIVE at FIVE AU: ASX flat on the back of strong jobs data and falling ... - Proactive Investors Australia