logo
Lunch Wrap: ASX up as Wall Street breaks records

Lunch Wrap: ASX up as Wall Street breaks records

News.com.aua day ago
ASX lifts as Wall Street soars to new records
Tetratherix jumps in biotech IPO debut
Hardie, DroneShield rise; Execs exit LTR, Inghams
The ASX opened Monday a touch stronger, up 0.3 % by lunchtime in the east as healthcare and bank stocks led the charge.
On Friday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both clocked fresh record highs, with Nvidia edging ever closer to the US$4 trillion club.
The big driver was the sense that Trump's tariff tantrum might not go nuclear.
In an interview with Fox, Trump said he didn't reckon he'd need to extend the July 9 tariff deadline, implying that he believes countries are moving toward deals.
That has calmed nerves and helped boost market appetite for a bit more risk.
Asia picked up the vibe, too. This morning, the Nikkei jumped over 1.5%.
Elsewhere, oil lost steam, with Brent dipping to below US$67 a barrel. Traders are bracing for another potential OPEC+ supply hike, the fourth in a row, with 411,000 barrels a day possibly hitting the market come Sunday's meeting.
Over in the gold pits, the precious metal slipped again, on track for its first monthly fall this year. The easing Middle East fears have taken some shine off the haven play.
Back on the ASX, Tetratherix (ASX:TTX) made its ASX debut this morning with a 15% pop in the first few minutes of trading.
Backed by Xero founder Rod Drury, the biotech raised $25 million for its injectable "chewing gum', designed for tissue, bone and surgical work with FDA approval in its sights.
It's the first biotech IPO since ReNerve (ASX:RNV) last November and a decent litmus test for investor appetite in the space.
In the large caps space, James Hardie (ASX:JHX) jumped 7% after Azek shareholders greenlit its $14 billion takeover, paving the way for Hardie to shift its primary listing to the NYSE.
Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) saw its CFO and COO both announce their departures, with successors lined up to take the reins in July and August. LTR shares fell 3.5%.
And, Inghams (ASX:ING) officially waved goodbye to CEO Andrew Reeves on Friday, with Edward Alexander now steering the chook ship forward. Reeves will stick around until August to help with the handover.
ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for June 30 :
Security Description Last % Volume MktCap
TD1 Tali Digital Limited 0.002 100% 13,897,807 $4,095,156
WEL Winchester Energy 0.002 100% 165,600 $1,363,019
LSR Lodestar Minerals 0.009 50% 30,067,490 $1,910,543
ADD Adavale Resource Ltd 0.002 50% 8,325,802 $2,287,279
ADY Admiralty Resources. 0.006 50% 1,690,337 $10,517,918
EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.002 50% 854,101 $3,253,779
ALM Alma Metals Ltd 0.004 33% 387,947 $5,261,182
EMT Emetals Limited 0.004 33% 50,000 $2,550,000
FHS Freehill Mining Ltd. 0.004 33% 628,446 $10,241,561
GTR Gti Energy Ltd 0.004 33% 2,603,885 $8,996,849
LCL LCL Resources Ltd 0.008 33% 5,356,812 $7,195,543
M2R Miramar 0.004 33% 6,250,614 $2,990,470
MPR Mpower Group Limited 0.009 29% 4,162,897 $2,405,923
RPG Raptis Group Limited 0.066 27% 177,393 $18,235,612
RCM Rapid Critical 0.003 25% 500,000 $2,831,556
ROG Red Sky Energy. 0.005 25% 120,000 $21,688,909
VR1 Vection Technologies 0.036 24% 30,049,768 $51,255,235
GBZ GBM Rsources Ltd 0.016 23% 3,064,593 $18,406,194
LRK Lark Distilling Co. 0.840 23% 485,122 $72,333,777
PUA Peak Minerals Ltd 0.033 22% 42,337,208 $75,797,675
SDV Scidev Ltd 0.365 22% 112,163 $57,026,459
AS2 Askarimetalslimited 0.006 20% 3,057,649 $2,020,853
BNL Blue Star Helium Ltd 0.006 20% 187,807 $13,474,426
C7A Clara Resources 0.003 20% 513,147 $1,470,677
ICR Intelicare Holdings 0.006 20% 198,537 $2,430,941
Lodestar Minerals (ASX:LSR) is raising $2.2 million in a two-tranche placement. The raise includes loyalty options for existing shareholders and is backed by Oakley Capital, which also comes on board as lead manager. The first $475k is locked in, with the rest subject to shareholder approval. The cash will fund new drilling and fieldwork at its Darwin and Three Saints copper-gold projects in Chile and bankroll a hunt for more ground there.
Adavale Resources (ASX:ADD) has locked in approval for a 10-hole, 2,200m RC drilling program at its London Victoria gold project in NSW, aiming to boost its current JORC resource of 107koz at 1.06g/t. It's the first proper drill campaign at the site in over 30 years, and it's targeting shallow mineralisation extensions and potential high-grade veins like those found at the nearby Koh-I-Nor mine. Drilling is set to kick off shortly.
GTI Energy (ASX:GTR) has raised $4.5 million from a placement to back its next round of drilling at the Lo Herma uranium project. The raise was done at 0.0035 a share, a 16.7% premium to its last close, with strategic investor Snow Lake Energy leading the charge and set to take a 9.9% stake in GTI, plus a board seat if all goes through. The cash will go toward resource expansion, infill drilling, and fieldwork.
ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for June 30 :
Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap
GMN Gold Mountain Ltd 0.001 -50% 1,560,215 $11,239,518
IS3 I Synergy Group Ltd 0.002 -50% 3,892,995 $2,002,920
VEN Vintage Energy 0.003 -40% 343,075 $10,434,568
L1M Lightning Minerals 0.040 -33% 1,076,495 $6,199,699
CCO The Calmer Co Int 0.002 -33% 142,635 $9,034,060
TKL Traka Resources 0.001 -33% 135,263 $3,188,685
TMK TMK Energy Limited 0.002 -33% 35,626,606 $30,667,149
FIN FIN Resources Ltd 0.003 -25% 557,800 $2,779,554
HLX Helix Resources 0.002 -25% 248,732 $6,728,387
SFG Seafarms Group Ltd 0.002 -25% 72,209 $9,673,198
SRN Surefire Rescs NL 0.002 -25% 190,144 $4,972,891
T3D 333D Limited 0.007 -22% 195 $1,585,651
SRL Sunrise 0.775 -22% 490,344 $109,125,223
UCM Uscom Limited 0.015 -21% 80,000 $4,759,063
AUK Aumake Limited 0.002 -20% 326,886 $7,558,397
PPG Pro-Pac Packaging 0.016 -20% 77,661 $3,633,754
SKK Stakk Limited 0.004 -20% 1,165,197 $10,375,398
SRJ SRJ Technologies 0.004 -20% 528,849 $3,027,890
EM2 Eagle Mountain 0.005 -17% 156,132 $6,810,224
MKL Mighty Kingdom Ltd 0.017 -15% 480,524 $10,326,928
OVT Ovanti Limited 0.006 -14% 21,838,756 $21,038,605
PLG Pearlgullironlimited 0.006 -14% 705,981 $1,431,793
SSH Sshgroupltd 0.120 -14% 30,823 $10,407,640
YAR Yari Minerals Ltd 0.013 -13% 2,283,074 $8,320,672
EQS Equitystorygroupltd 0.020 -13% 61,331 $3,836,869
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Star Minerals (ASX:SMS) is attempting to grow its Tumblegum South project resource with the goal of bringing the project into production.
Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) is shooting for gold with attractive DFS for Menzies and Laverton.
LAST ORDERS
Finder Energy (ASX:FDR) has opened a new office in Dili, Timor-Leste, to support operations at the KTJ project's Kuda Tasi and Jahal oil fields. Management says the office will be a strategic hub for planning, stakeholder engagement and day-to-day operations management as FDR pursues first oil at KTJ.
West Wits Mining (ASX:WWI) has locked in a loan facility for US$50m to develop the Qala Shallows gold project in South Africa, covering 55% of project funding. The remaining capital expenditure will be supported by equity contributions and early operational revenue.
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Finder Energy and West Wits Mining are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Construction times for houses have grown by 50 per cent in the last decade, building costs 53 per cent more expensive, IPA finds
Construction times for houses have grown by 50 per cent in the last decade, building costs 53 per cent more expensive, IPA finds

News.com.au

time3 hours ago

  • News.com.au

Construction times for houses have grown by 50 per cent in the last decade, building costs 53 per cent more expensive, IPA finds

Construction time for an average home has increased by a whopping 50 per cent in the past year, with Australia's ambitious 1.2 million homes target already 55,300 homes behind just one year in. While a house took about 8.5 months to build from approval to completion in 2014, it took an average of 12.7 months in 2024, data compiled by the Institute of Public Affairs has revealed. Costs for building materials had also increased by 53 per cent in the same period. Construction times increased across the board in 2021 as a result of supply-chain issues during the Covid pandemic. The lacklustre figures come as Australia marks one year into the five-year National Housing Accords, in which states and territories must build a combined 1.2 million well-located homes by June 30, 2029. The Commonwealth government has also encouraged states and territories with a $3.5bn funding pot as a carrot for reaching the goal. Using building activity data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the IPA found Western Australia was leading the construction lag, with an unenviable increase of 85 per cent to 17.8 months. Building costs have also increased by 45 per cent. South Australia had the next slowest builds of 15.8 months, a hike of 74 per cent, with cost going up by 51 per cent. Over 10 years, the cost of materials had increased by 58 per cent in both NSW and Queensland, where it now respectively takes 12.7 months and 10.2 months to build a detached home. It takes 11.3 months to build a home in Victoria, and 12.6 months to complete a home in Tasmania, with material prices increasing by 56 per cent and 55 per cent. IPA research director Morgan Begg said it was 'little wonder' that Australia was in a housing crisis, with the 'unprecedented demand' for housing being exacerbated by increased construction time and costs. 'The federal government's National Housing Accord will mark its first-year anniversary being tens of thousands of homes behind schedule, as red tape strangles new home builds, with construction times ballooning by 50 per cent,' he said. 'Home ownership is fundamental to the Australian way of life. It gives people a stake in our country and provides long-term financial security for families.' Mr Begg said 'all levels of government must do their part to fix this crisis,' highlighting action points like reducing migration, urging state and local governments to open up more land and cut red tape to boost construction. 'Over the past decade Australia has seen demand-driven cost increases to construction material and labour caused by large, inefficient government projects, creating the perfect storm of rising prices and rents, particularly in the post-pandemic period,' he said. 'Across the board, the latest figures reinforce the depth of Australia's housing crisis, brought about by out-of-control migration intakes, a construction sector burdened by red tape, and competition for resources from large, expensive, and inefficient taxpayer-funded projects.' Coalition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg said the housing targets were a 'dead duck,' adding that completed dwellings had dropped by 1 per cent over the last 12 months, according to the ABS. 'A year since Labor's Housing Accord 'officially began', building approvals and activity have gone backwards,' he said. 'Labor is more interested in announcing targets and building bureaucracies than actually erecting any homes. 'Labor's actions show they don't support private developers and builders. They think they know better. No wonder the construction industry has consistently led the nation in insolvencies.' Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has previously said reducing the 'thicket of regulation' around building homes will be a key priority in Labor's next term of government. As of June, the Hotham MP will also oversee planning policy after she inherited it from the the treasurer's portfolio. A spokesman for Ms O'Neil said on Tuesday Labor had been 'very frank' that building homes both costed too much and took too long. He said Labor was focused on 'working closely with all levels of government and builders to try and fix that,' while also 'increasing productivity, encouraging the building sector to look at more modern methods of building and improving planning pathways and removing red tape'. 'The Liberals can run their mouths, but the reality is they haven't put forward a single legitimate proposition that would increase the number of homes being built in Australia – in fact, their solution was to rip billions of dollars from funding for tens of thousands of social and affordable homes,' he said. 'Talk to anyone who knows the residential building sector and they will tell you that structural reform takes time, and building homes takes time, and the Commonwealth is doing that work. In contrast, the Liberal Party didn't touch that work in their last decade in office.'

Advocates warn urge Labor, energy retailers to slash energy debts amid July 1 energy bill hikes
Advocates warn urge Labor, energy retailers to slash energy debts amid July 1 energy bill hikes

Daily Telegraph

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Telegraph

Advocates warn urge Labor, energy retailers to slash energy debts amid July 1 energy bill hikes

Don't miss out on the headlines from Costs. Followed categories will be added to My News. A welfare advocate has warned Australians struggling with soaring energy costs are giving up food and medication, with increases to minimum wage and a $150 extension to the energy rebate doing little to soothe rising bill shock. Adelaide public housing resident Mel Fisher, 43, said she's been forced to stay in bed as a way to keep warm during bitter winter days so she can avoid using heating in her draughty, concrete, two-bedroom house. 'It's absolutely freezing. I live in public housing, so it has no insulation at all and the interior and exterior are concrete walls, so once they get cold, they stay cold,' she told NewsWire. The Elizabeth Vale woman recently received notice from her energy provider Engie that her yearly bill will increase by $634 from Wednesday. When asked about Labor's $150 six-month energy rebate, which kicks in from July 1, she grimly responds: 'Albanese's subsidy isn't fixing this'. When asked about the extension to the federal government energy rebate, Ms Fisher responded: 'Albanese's subsidy isn't fixing this'. Ms Fisher currently pays about $120 a fortnight on electricity bills, nearly 15 per cent of her fortnightly JobSeeker payment, and is struggling with an energy debt - money owing to energy providers - of $6000. Because she needs to run airconditioning during the summer to keep cool due to a health condition, she uses the winters to bring down her debt. 'I tried to change electricity companies, because this one has consistently been very high, but I still have to pay them off while paying the new electricity company ... I just can't do that,' Ms Fisher said. Antipoverty Centre co-ordinator Jay Coonan said Ms Fisher is one of more than 330,775 Australian households facing electricity bill debt, with the total amount of arrears totalling over $300m. South Australian public housing resident Mel Fischer, 43, is struggling to keep up with her bills, leaving her to seek warmth in bed instead of using her heating during winter. Picture: NewsWire/ Roy VanDerVegt Under the Default Market Offer set by the Australian Energy Regulator, customers on standing offer contracts are set to have their bills increase by 7.9 per cent to 9.7 per cent in NSW, while residents in southeast Queensland will see hikes of 3.7 per cent, and 3.2 per cent in South Australia. Calculated by the state Essential Services Commission, Victorians will have to weather a 1 per cent spike. Alongside Anglicare and ACOSS, Mr Coonan is one of many advocacy groups calling on energy retailers and the government to absorb electricity bill debt and give households a chance to catch up. Ms Fischer was recently hit with a notice that her power bills would be increasing by $635 over the next financial year. Picture: Supplied Mr Coonan said bill stress was having a 'compounding effect' on cash-poor Australians, who were giving up medication and food to get by. 'It's compounding into a crisis and if you can't afford energy you're going to be suffering more and more and living with less and less,' he said. 'I'm talking about people who are on the JobSeeker payment, and pensioners. These are the people who are in debt, who have no ability to be able to pay their bills because energy prices are high.' Recent Anglicare research also found low-income earners were most affected by electricity bill debt, and despite the minimum wage going up by $32.06 a week from July 1, a worker on a full-time wage would have just $33 left over after paying for rent, food and transport. A single-parent on would have just $1 remaining even if they received the full Family Tax Benefit and were on the highest rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance. Anglicare Australia Executive Director Kasy Chambers said too many households were 'falling behind and staying behind'. 'People are forced into payment plans they can't sustain. They carry energy debt from one bill to the next with no chance of catching up, even though energy retailers are making record profits,' she said. 'That's why we're calling for energy debt relief for people in hardship, and better regulation to stop the gauging of energy costs and helps people to start afresh.' Energy Minister Chris Bowen acknowledged energy bills were too high. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman While Energy Minister Chris Bowen didn't comment directly on calls to scrap the bill debt for households, he acknowledged energy was too expensive. 'It's clear energy bills for many Australians remain higher than they should be – that's why we're providing help for people doing it tough as we deliver longer term reform, including making the energy retail market fairer,' he said. He pointed to recent rule changes that restrict price increases to once every 12 months, prohibit retail fees for vulnerable customers, and remove 'unreasonably high penalties' for customers who aren't able to pay their bill one time. Coalition energy spokesman Dan Tehan said Labor 'must honour' its 2022 election commitment to reducing energy bills by $275 – a policy the party didn't rehash in the 2025 election. 'Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen said Australia was going to become an energy super power under their ideologically-driven renewable-only approach, yet the sad reality is that more and more Australians are being driven into energy poverty,' he said. His words come as the Coalition reviews its commitment to net-zero. Mr Tehan went as far as to say that Mr Bowen should quit as minister if energy bills don't come down. '(He) should resign because his incompetence is sadly causing untold hardship to more and more people,' Mr Tehan said. Originally published as Advocates warn urge Labor, energy retailers to slash energy debts amid July 1 energy bill hikes

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store