Lunch Wrap: ASX shuffles along as iron ore slumps, tech rallies

News.com.au

5 hours ago

Iron ore slumps again but ASX recovers from early dip
Trump's Iran blast rattles Wall Street
Uranium glows while NextDC borrows big
The ASX swung between gains and losses, and was up just a tad, by about 0.041% around lunchtime in the east on Wednesday.
Overnight in the US, Wall Street lost its nerve after Donald Trump took to social media with all-caps fury, calling Iran's Supreme Leader 'an easy target' and demanding 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.'
His sidekick JD Vance chimed in, too, warning that if Iran doesn't abandon its nuclear ambitions, the US might ditch the whole talking thing altogether.
Markets didn't like it. The S&P 500 dropped 0.84%, the Nasdaq shed 0.91%, and the Dow slipped 0.7%.
Oil prices jumped, bond yields fell, and the whole session had the air of a fire alarm.
And in a sign the market mood might be shifting for good, a fresh Bank of America fundie survey shows most investors now reckon global stocks will outperform the US over the next five years.
Back home, the ASX held up reasonably well this morning, all things considered.
The main drag came from the miners after iron ore extended its slide for a fourth straight day.
Prices dropped below US$93 a tonne in Singapore, hit by a seasonal lull in demand and signs that Chinese steel mills are reining things in.
BHP (ASX:BHP) lost 1.2%, and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) copped a bruising of 4% hit.
But while iron's on the nose, uranium is still glowing.
Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) rose 2% after confirming its Honeymoon project in SA has hit first-year production targets.
NextDC (ASX:NXT) didn't get quite the same love. It fell 0.5% after locking in a chunky new $2.2 billion debt facility to refinance existing loans and fund more data centre builds.
ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for June 18 :
Security Description Last % Volume MktCap
SIS Simble Solutions 0.005 67% 1,735,000 $2,628,991
AR9 Archtis Limited 0.220 63% 5,982,156 $38,875,565
LNR Lanthanein Resources 0.002 50% 5,851,968 $2,810,182
EUR European Lithium Ltd 0.066 50% 24,894,415 $63,587,984
NPM Newpeak Metals 0.019 46% 1,597,314 $4,186,933
LU7 Lithium Universe Ltd 0.009 42% 26,937,522 $4,715,878
MGU Magnum Mining & Exp 0.004 33% 483,762 $3,364,953
RPG Raptis Group Limited 0.091 30% 78,980 $12,273,970
DGR DGR Global Ltd 0.005 25% 1,246,000 $4,174,784
ECT Env Clean Tech Ltd. 0.003 25% 2,962,317 $8,013,537
MEM Memphasys Ltd 0.005 25% 100,000 $7,934,392
MRD Mount Ridley Mines 0.003 25% 1,538,334 $1,556,978
SKK Stakk Limited 0.005 25% 456,000 $8,300,319
VRC Volt Resources Ltd 0.005 25% 100,000 $18,739,112
MXO Motio Ltd 0.043 25% 3,784,776 $9,608,368
EMD Emyria Limited 0.031 24% 12,817,183 $12,281,104
ZMM Zimi Ltd 0.011 22% 110,000 $3,847,894
AUR Auris Minerals Ltd 0.006 20% 100,000 $2,383,130
IXR Ionic Rare Earths 0.012 20% 26,345,210 $52,674,258
ITM Itech Minerals Ltd 0.032 19% 1,712,292 $4,612,555
OM1 Omnia Metals Group 0.013 18% 960,733 $2,388,009
HFR Highfield Res Ltd 0.170 17% 381,882 $68,741,171
Simble Solutions (ASX:SIS) is raising $527k to grow its sustainability software business, locking in $500k from a placement. It will use the funds for working capital and stash $200k in Bittensor (TAO), a decentralised AI crypto, to earn staking rewards and support its long-term strategy. Faldi Ismail steps in as non-exec chair, bringing 20+ years in deals, listings and capital markets.
archTIS (ASX:AR9) has cracked into the UK defence market, locking in a three-year contract worth $263k with the UK arm of a global aerospace giant. The deal covers 400 NC Protect licences to help meet strict UK Ministry of Defence data security rules in Microsoft 365. This follows a recent win with the US Department of Defense.
European Lithium (ASX:EUR) says Critical Minerals Group (ASX:CMG), which it owns 63% of, has landed a non-binding US$120m Letter of Interest from the US EXIM Bank to help develop the Tanbreez rare earths project in Greenland. The funding, if finalised, would be non-dilutive and run over 15 years. If it goes ahead, EUR said the package would support one of the world's largest rare earth deposits and boost Western supply chains.
NewPeak Metals (ASX:NPM) says Lakes Blue Energy, in which it holds a 16.3% stake, is raising $6.5 million at $0.75/share through a fully underwritten placement ahead of its planned ASX relisting around June 24. The funds will help kick off drilling of the Wombat-5 well in the Gippsland Basin, targeting up to 10 terajoules a day from a 1.5km lateral. The Victorian government has given consent to drill, pending rehab bond payments, with spudding expected the week of July 21.
Lithium Universe (ASX:LU7) has secured global rights to a new microwave-based tech from Macquarie University that makes recycling solar panels cleaner and more efficient. It's raising $1.7m to back the move, with solar waste set to hit 78 million tonnes by 2050, and most panels still ending up in landfill.
ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for June 18 :
Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap
ICU Investor Centre Ltd 0.001 -67% 54,399 $913,534
BGE Bridgesaaslimited 0.011 -39% 225,000 $3,597,466
AQX Alice Queen Ltd 0.003 -25% 130,586 $4,998,560
CTN Catalina Resources 0.003 -25% 6,593,391 $9,704,076
HLX Helix Resources 0.002 -25% 600,000 $6,728,387
ICE Icetana Limited 0.058 -22% 2,691,848 $39,355,118
AAU Antilles Gold Ltd 0.004 -20% 83,000 $11,656,840
ERA Energy Resources 0.002 -20% 199,000 $1,013,490,602
FIN FIN Resources Ltd 0.004 -20% 800,001 $3,474,442
JAV Javelin Minerals Ltd 0.002 -20% 264,485 $15,315,373
MEL Metgasco Ltd 0.002 -20% 626,524 $4,267,210
OMG OMG Group Limited 0.004 -20% 2,780,701 $3,641,474
OVT Ovanti Limited 0.002 -20% 7,162 $7,513,788
PRM Prominence Energy 0.004 -20% 6,375,087 $1,945,882
TMX Terrain Minerals 0.002 -20% 2,139,672 $5,621,392
HAR Harangaresources 0.056 -18% 2,170,636 $7,758,747
SCP Scalare Partners 0.100 -17% 32,004 $5,020,203
ERL Empire Resources 0.005 -17% 176,162 $8,903,479
TSL Titanium Sands Ltd 0.005 -17% 647,374 $14,020,483
JNO Juno 0.028 -15% 15,846 $6,904,823
WTM Waratah Minerals Ltd 0.280 -15% 1,339,616 $76,475,267
SGA Sarytogan 0.060 -14% 454,469 $12,668,833
SPX Spenda Limited 0.006 -14% 5,358,328 $32,306,508
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Anson Resources (ASX:ASN) has recorded 44% higher lithium values at its Green River project in Utah after opening up aquifers.
Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) will soon add a second source of high-grade gold to the ore processed under its Laverton Hub ore purchase agreement (OPA) with Genesis Minerals.
Ark Mines (ASX:AHK) has begun metallurgical testing to improve the mineral separation of rare earths and heavy minerals at Sandy Mitchell.
Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) goes over a recent pre-feasibility study outlining its strong economic pathway to high purity alumina production.
Codeifai Limited (ASX:CDE) is snapping up its main rival Trust Codes to create a global QR code powerhouse, just as the world gears up for Sunrise 2027.
Resolution Minerals (ASX:RML) is kicking its US strategy into gear with the appointment of Washington DC External Affairs adviser Todd Clewett to support engagement with US federal agencies.
LAST ORDERS
Javelin Minerals (ASX:JAV) has tapped Michael Edwards to be its new non-executive director, effective immediately.
He brings more than 25 years' experience in senior management roles, having worked as an exploration and mine geologist with a focus on Archaean gold and base metals.
Edwards has been involved in multiple ASX-listed companies, most recently serving as non-executive chair of Firefly Resources until it merged with Gascoyne Resources.
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Javelin Minerals is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
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