China steel demand slump an ‘ominous' sign for ASX miners
A collapse in Chinese steel demand to its lowest levels in eight years is an 'ominous' sign for the ASX's mining giants that the worst may not be over for the already beaten down materials sector.
Steel rebar futures in China, a key indicator of construction activity slumped to the lowest since 2017 at the end of last week as the world's second-largest economy continues to grapple with a prolonged property sector crisis and waning industrial output.
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The Age
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- The Age
Virgin Australia gets $685m IPO ready for lift-off amid strong investor demand
Virgin Australia has kicked off its return to the Australian sharemarket after and absence of more than four years, with bankers offering shares in the airline to investors at $2.90 apiece for its much-anticipated listing on the ASX. Private equity owner Bain Capital will sell close to 30 per cent of Qantas Airways' biggest rival, expecting to raise $685 million via the initial public offering. The $2.90 price tag for the stock represents a multiple of seven times the airline's expected earnings this financial year, the firm said in its pitch to sharemarket investors. Market sources said the joint lead managers of the offering believed demand from domestic and global anchor investors was 'well in excess of the offer size prior to opening of the bookbuild'. It's unclear when the stock will start trading on the ASX. The IPO represents the culmination of years of waiting for the listing of the airline. Bain Capital bought the then struggling airline in 2020, taking it off the sharemarket after it had been placed in administration, facing soaring costs and the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown on travel.
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Virgin Australia gets $685m IPO ready for lift-off amid strong investor demand
Virgin Australia has kicked off its return to the Australian sharemarket after and absence of more than four years, with bankers offering shares in the airline to investors at $2.90 apiece for its much-anticipated listing on the ASX. Private equity owner Bain Capital will sell close to 30 per cent of Qantas Airways' biggest rival, expecting to raise $685 million via the initial public offering. The $2.90 price tag for the stock represents a multiple of seven times the airline's expected earnings this financial year, the firm said in its pitch to sharemarket investors. Market sources said the joint lead managers of the offering believed demand from domestic and global anchor investors was 'well in excess of the offer size prior to opening of the bookbuild'. It's unclear when the stock will start trading on the ASX. The IPO represents the culmination of years of waiting for the listing of the airline. Bain Capital bought the then struggling airline in 2020, taking it off the sharemarket after it had been placed in administration, facing soaring costs and the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown on travel.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
ASX tech May winners: Silicon surge sends Aussie tech sector skyward by 22pc
ASX tech rockets 22pc in May Earnings from tech's 'Magnificent 7' helped matters Elsight, Eroad, Etherstack and Yojee were notable gainers The ASX tech sector didn't just rally in May, it rocketed. Up more than 22%, it was one of the biggest monthly leaps in recent memory, outpacing every other sector on the index and riding a wave of global tailwinds that swept through Wall Street and into Martin Place. May performance by sector So what lit the rocket under Aussie tech? Well, a combo of softening US-China trade tensions, a rate cut by the RBA, and red-hot earnings from the global tech elite – all wrapped in a volatile month where every diplomatic handshake or tariff tweet sent markets bouncing. Wall Street turns silicon slick Over in the US, it was an AI-fuelled tech fest. The Nasdaq jumped 9.5% in May, its best showing since November last year. The S&P 500 had a solid 6.15% lift, and the Dow chipped in with a 4% gain. The key driver was de-escalation. Starting May 14, Washington slashed tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%. Beijing responded by trimming its own to 10%. Also, earnings from the 'Magnificent Seven' – Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla – blew past expectations. According to FactSet, their collective Q1 earnings grew 27.7%, smashing estimates and fuelling confidence in AI, cloud, and consumer spending. But the mood wasn't all champagne and confetti. Trump reignited tariff threats by month's end, accusing China of dragging its feet on export compliance, especially around rare earths. The backpedalling stirred new worries, but not enough to undo the market's momentum. Confidence is back, at least for now. And when global investors are feeling bold, ASX tech stocks often get caught in the updraft. ASX tech winners in May Code Name Price Month % Change Market Cap 4DS 4Ds Memory Limited 0.059 97% $118,137,090 ELS Elsight Ltd 0.770 71% $139,940,732 ERD Eroad Limited 1.390 65% $260,500,778 ESK Etherstack PLC 0.440 54% $58,155,681 YOJ Yojee Limited 0.270 54% $86,413,050 360 Life360 Inc. 33.330 52% $5,806,753,611 EOS Electro Optic Sys. 1.845 51% $355,996,623 CAT Catapult Grp Int Ltd 5.850 43% $1,427,690,903 XPN Xpon Technologies 0.010 43% $4,142,532 SPX Spenda Limited 0.007 40% $32,306,508 VNL Vinyl Group Ltd 0.130 38% $163,717,420 TNE Technology One 41.060 37% $13,346,815,417 RCL Readcloud 0.135 35% $20,738,668 DCC Digitalx Limited 0.070 35% $84,253,672 W2V Way2Vatltd 0.008 33% $11,302,865 VIG Victor Group Hldgs 0.082 32% $53,482,587 GTI Gratifii 0.099 32% $33,540,151 JCS Jcurve Solutions 0.033 32% $10,901,333 AI1 Adisyn Ltd 0.066 32% $47,726,289 AD8 Audinate Group Ltd 7.950 29% $658,524,993 IKE Ikegps Group Ltd 0.920 29% $148,177,677 CGO CPT Global Limited 0.063 26% $2,639,534 SMP Smartpay Holdings 0.945 25% $227,426,856 NVU Nanoveu Limited 0.048 23% $38,578,586 OCL Objective Corp 19.230 23% $1,838,200,431 VR1 Vection Technologies 0.022 22% $38,878,882 ASV Assetvisonco 0.039 22% $28,835,101 BCC Beam Communications 0.120 21% $10,370,631 WTC Wisetech Global Ltd 107.150 21% $36,396,942,187 FL1 First Lithium Ltd 0.078 20% $6,212,981 OAK Oakridge 0.072 20% $1,943,849 MP1 Megaport Limited 13.520 18% $2,242,455,288 SP3 Specturltd 0.013 18% $4,005,952 EOL Energy One Limited 14.750 18% $462,123,149 XF1 Xref Limited 0.135 17% $29,712,118 EVS Envirosuite Ltd 0.084 17% $121,691,110 SLX Silex Systems 3.600 17% $802,416,290 BVS Bravura Solution Ltd 2.550 16% $1,143,302,705 EML EML Payments Ltd 1.130 16% $431,773,255 CDA Codan Limited 18.000 14% $3,237,408,113 DTI DTI Group Ltd 0.007 14% $3,139,860 RDY Readytech Holdings 2.380 13% $290,693,379 OLL Openlearning 0.017 13% $8,205,469 AXE Archer Materials 0.300 13% $76,454,104 ID8 Identitii Limited 0.009 13% $7,002,122 XRO Xero Ltd 184.290 12% $28,534,797,978 RUL Rpmglobal Hldgs Ltd 3.070 12% $686,816,448 HCL Highcom Ltd 0.200 11% $20,536,534 BEO Beonic Ltd 0.200 11% $14,172,202 NXT Nextdc Limited 13.110 11% $8,415,067,423 SNS Sensen Networks Ltd 0.031 11% $24,584,162 SMN Structural Monitor. 0.430 10% $66,394,171 RKT Rocketdna Ltd. 0.011 10% $10,070,756 ZMM Zimi Ltd 0.011 10% $4,702,982 TYR Tyro Payments 0.885 10% $467,587,600 AR9 Archtis Limited 0.070 9% $20,157,701 DUG DUG Tech 1.120 9% $150,816,513 IRE IRESS Limited 8.660 9% $1,608,257,371 ROC Rocketboots 0.088 9% $12,815,075 KYP Kinatico Ltd 0.195 8% $84,257,937 SEN Senetas Corporation 0.020 8% $33,120,382 5GN 5G Networks Limited 0.140 8% $41,697,847 COS Cosol Limited 0.785 8% $142,861,205 ODA Orcoda Limited 0.079 7% $14,813,623 IRI Integrated Research 0.440 6% $78,035,192 FCL Fineos Corp Hold PLC 2.320 6% $785,319,223 DXN DXN Limited 0.036 6% $10,753,331 VGL Vista Group Int Ltd 3.470 6% $828,755,302 GTK Gentrack Group Ltd 11.390 5% $1,170,937,010 QOR Qoria Limited 0.415 5% $542,232,890 FLX Felix Group 0.210 5% $42,944,940 XYZ Block Inc 96.510 5% $5,298,308,114 UBN Ltd 0.840 4% $66,058,362 LVE Love Group Global 0.125 4% $5,066,771 ASB Austal Limited 5.520 4% $2,274,372,238 PHX Pharmx Technologies 0.080 4% $47,880,543 PPK PPK Group Limited 0.315 3% $28,605,937 WBT Weebit Nano Ltd 1.820 3% $419,949,381 OEC Orbital Corp Limited 0.092 2% $14,994,954 RKN Reckon Limited 0.490 2% $55,514,468 DTL Data#3 Limited 7.430 2% $1,158,714,331 NXL Nuix Limited 2.480 2% $813,603,994 DSE Dropsuite Ltd 5.880 1% $418,227,407 PRO Prophecy Internation 0.430 1% $31,712,042 Making news for the right reasons or just hitting milestones, here were some of the month's notable gainers… Elsight (ASX:ELS) Elsight's share price ripped higher in May after it secured a second major contract from a European defence drone maker, worth US$5.35m on top of an earlier US$4.28m deal announced in April. That brings the customer's total commitment to US$9.63m, with all units set for delivery this year. Elsight's Halo tech is being embedded into defence drone programs, and more than US$1m of the April order has already been delivered and booked as revenue. On top of that, Elsight was selected by Northrop Grumman for a prestigious US defence accelerator, just 8 companies chosen from over 225 applicants. That program gives it direct access to Northrop's tech and procurement teams, and a fast-track to potential US DoD contracts. Eroad (ASX:ERD) Transport tech firm Eroad surged after delivering a strong FY25 result and setting upbeat guidance for the year ahead. It flipped to a profit, pulled in NZ$16m in free cash flow (a huge jump from NZ$1.3m last year), and saw revenue climb to NZ$194.4m, up nearly 7%. Annual recurring revenue (ARR) also rose to NZ$175.1m. But it was the outlook that really got investors paying attention. Eroad is guiding to FY26 revenue of at least NZ$205m, and ARR of at least NZ$188m, with free cash flow yield of 8–10%. It's also targeting medium-term ARR growth of 11–13%. Etherstack (ASX:ESK) Radio tech firm Etherstack popped in May after locking in a record US$7m in cash receipts for the first half of FY25, its strongest half-year since listing. Most of that came from project revenue already delivered, and it reckons H1 revenue alone could beat all of last year's full result. It's also flagged more big deals likely coming soon from long-term clients, and its recurring revenue from support and 'comms-as-a-service' is steadily growing. All up, investors saw strong cash, solid outlook, and momentum. Yojee (ASX:YOJ) Logistics tech minnow Yojee surged in May off the back of two big catalysts. First, it presented at the IFCBAA national freight conference, putting its next-gen freight forwarding software in front of key industry players. Second, WiseTech's massive $2.1bn acquisition of E2open lit a fire under the whole sector, showing just how hot logistics tech is right now. Yojee's building its own momentum too, with an AI assistant baked into its platform, and a pilot deal with global player Röhlig Logistics kicking off in Singapore. All up, investors saw a small-cap riding a big wave, and jumped on board. ASX tech losers in May Code Name Price Month % Change Market Cap DUB Dubber Corp Ltd 0.016 -61% $41,973,880 1TT Thrive Tribe Tech 0.001 -50% $2,031,723 DTZ Dotz Nano Ltd 0.048 -36% $28,323,086 BLG Bluglass Limited 0.011 -31% $22,198,234 FCT Firstwave Cloud Tech 0.013 -28% $22,275,743 OPL Opyl Limited 0.019 -27% $4,464,398 EIQ Echoiq Ltd 0.245 -26% $158,070,989 SIS Simble Solutions 0.003 -25% $2,628,991 BRN Brainchip Ltd 0.205 -24% $435,534,473 SKO Serko 2.720 -22% $338,912,408 SPA Spacetalk Ltd 0.160 -22% $12,395,156 DWG Dataworks Group 0.130 -21% $13,289,126 HTG Harvest Tech Grp Ltd 0.016 -20% $14,335,148 KNO Knosys Limited 0.035 -19% $7,564,854 NOV Novatti Group Ltd 0.022 -19% $11,950,156 RWL Rubicon Water 0.210 -18% $50,545,971 FBR FBR Ltd 0.005 -17% $28,447,261 NOR Norwood Systems Ltd. 0.020 -17% $10,318,553 JAN Janison Edu Group 0.140 -15% $36,384,355 IFG Infocusgroup Hldltd 0.006 -14% $1,574,561 NVQ Noviqtech Limited 0.027 -13% $6,791,487 HYD Hydrix Limited 0.014 -13% $3,818,764 EPX Ept Global Limited 0.023 -12% $15,150,929 AJX Alexium Int Group 0.008 -11% $12,691,429 8CO 8Common Limited 0.016 -11% $3,585,518 IOD Iodm Limited 0.130 -10% $77,070,523 CYB Aucyber Limited 0.080 -10% $16,751,735 3DP Pointerra Limited 0.055 -8% $44,279,224 ACE Acusensus Limited 0.970 -8% $135,825,086 CF1 Complii Fintech Ltd 0.025 -7% $14,284,841 ICE Icetana Limited 0.014 -7% $6,133,997 MX1 Micro-X Limited 0.056 -7% $37,363,326 WHK Whitehawk Limited 0.014 -7% $10,378,849 XRG Xreality Group Ltd 0.030 -6% $19,906,426 SOR Strategic Elements 0.032 -6% $15,236,274 HSN Hansen Technologies 5.100 -6% $1,047,697,081 AT1 Atomo Diagnostics 0.017 -6% $11,321,179 X2M X2M Connect Limited 0.019 -5% $7,375,455 TZL TZ Limited 0.059 -5% $16,556,232 BDT Birddog 0.047 -4% $7,589,843 CXZ Connexion Mobility 0.026 -4% $21,216,424 CML Connected Minerals 0.130 -4% $5,376,568 IFM Infomedia Ltd 1.210 -2% $471,132,514 AVA AVA Risk Group Ltd 0.103 -2% $30,499,563 DDR Dicker Data Limited 8.230 -2% $1,473,911,938 CCR Credit Clear 0.230 -2% $97,669,188 PPS Praemium Limited 0.730 -2% $348,732,077 DRO Droneshield Limited 1.315 -2% $1,127,576,305 ATA Atturralimited 0.860 -2% $328,224,812 CPU Computershare Ltd 40.220 -1% $23,657,729,209
