Top 10 at 11: ASX wobbles as profit taking threatens; VR training stock welcomes government backing
With the market opening at 10am sharp eastern time, the data is taken at 10.15am in the east, once trading kicks off in earnest.
In brief, this is what the market has been up to this morning.
Bulls and bears standoff
After hitting a new all-time high and closing high yesterday, it wouldn't be surprising to see a sweep of profit taking slide the ASX lower today.
That hasn't happened just yet – the bourse is down just 4 points or 0.04% in the first hour of trade, zigzagging in a narrow band just below neutral as the bears and bulls play tug of war.
Industrials, financials, telecom and healthcare are all moving lower, while real estate pulls far out in front (+0.67%) and the gold index continues its climb (+1.35%).
Oil fell 1% to an eight-week low at US$U66.89 a barrel of Brent before staging a small recovery to US$67.12 a barrel today after US President Trump slapped India with a 50% tariff (up from 25%) for continuing to purchase Russian oil.
That's done little for the energy sector this morning, which is pretty much dead flat as of about 10:30 am AEST.
SMALL CAP WINNERS
Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap
XRG Xreality Group Ltd 0.046 48% 6945412 $23,049,973
MQR Marquee Resource Ltd 0.014 27% 7118463 $6,453,911
MOH Moho Resources 0.005 25% 600982 $2,981,656
PPY Papyrus Australia 0.011 22% 65684 $5,154,136
PL3 Patagonia Lithium 0.041 21% 26267 $4,059,952
EPX EPX Limited 0.03 20% 822637 $16,491,928
TMX Terrain Minerals 0.003 20% 3333333 $6,329,536
RAU Resouro Strategic 0.21 17% 102654 $8,619,070
AN1 Anagenics Limited 0.007 17% 81674 $2,977,922
TSL Titanium Sands Ltd 0.007 17% 28571 $14,068,483
In the news...
Augmented reality training provider XReality Group (ASX:XRG) has locked in two new government contracts for its Operator XR AI training solution with a total value of $7.81m.
The first contract comes in the form of a merit-based grant with the Australian Government's Industry Growth Program, offering $2.1m over 24 months, to be used for accelerating XRG's virtual reality training offering.
The second is the largest order for Operator XR's OP-2 systems to date, inked with the Texas Department of Public Safety for a five-year period. The initial order is valued at $4.3m, with a $1.4m option for additional support services down the track.
Marquee Resources (ASX:MQR) has further expanded Australia's largest undeveloped antimony deposit with a new round of drilling, striking up to 8m at 1.05% antimony from 137m of depth with mineralisation in all seven holes.
The drilling program both confirmed the presence of previously identified mineralisation and highlighted the presence of a new sub-cropping structure with potential to increase the scale of the antimony system.
Building efficiency provider EPX (ASX:EPX) has lifted its annual recurring revenue by 14% in the 2025 financial year, now $15.5m. The company also expanded its annual contract value (an indication of potential future revenue) by 10% to $17.6m.
The growth was based on a 35% expansion in site numbers, lifting from 547 in June 2024 to 740 sites this year following a strategic restructure of EPX's sales sector.
SMALL CAP LAGGARDS
Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap
SRN Surefire Rescs NL 0.001 -50% 578000 $6,457,219
MTL Mantle Minerals Ltd 0.001 -33% 22040000 $9,671,169
FHS Freehill Mining Ltd. 0.003 -25% 1890451 $13,655,414
M2R Miramar Resources 0.003 -25% 96322 $3,987,293
WBE Whitebark Energy 0.004 -20% 28334 $3,502,788
SHP South Harz Potash 0.0025 -17% 106843 $4,415,170
SKK Stakk Limited 0.005 -17% 756718 $12,450,478
SRJ SRJ Technologies 0.005 -17% 10484 $4,168,480
TOU Tlou Energy Ltd 0.022 -15% 209335 $33,763,192
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