Top 10 at 11: Green open places ASX in touching distance of all-time high

Morning, and welcome to Stockhead's Top 10 (at 11… ish), highlighting the movers and shakers on the ASX in early-doors trading.
With the market opening at 10am sharp eastern time, the data is taken at 10:15, once trading kicks off in earnest.
In brief, this is what the markets have been up to this morning.
Mixed Wall Street performance
It was a mixed performance on Wall Street overnight, with semiconductor stocks powering the Nasdaq into the green while the other indices fell or remained essentially flat.
ON Semiconductor CEO Hassan El-Khoury signalled the industry was showing signs of recovery at the Bank of America Global Technology Conference.
'We're expecting growth driven by our penetration and our success that we've had in EVs in China, but we're also going to benefit from a broad-based recovery based on the signs that we see even for the second half of this year,' he said.
The stock jumped 6.1%, followed by several of its peers. Those included Broadcom, which added 1.65% to hit a new all-time high.
Nvidia gained 0.5%, NXP Semiconductors 5.6%, and AMD and Micron Technology about 1% each. Industry leading Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC jumped 4.2%.
Unfortunately, the tech stock wins came against a backdrop of a slow down in US economic data.
Trump has another go at Powell
Private sector hiring slowed to its lowest pace in over two years, transitioning into its fourth contraction period in five years. The services sector also contracted for the first time in nearly a year.
Trump predictably took aim at the US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, railing at him to cut interest rates and dubbing him with the moniker 'Too Late Powell' in his latest effort to influence Central Bank policy.
The two met at the White House last week to discuss said monetary policy, but by the sounds of things it didn't go well.
According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump told Powell he was 'making a mistake by not lowering interest rates, which is putting us at an economic disadvantage to China and other countries.'
In an official Federal Reserve statement released after the meeting, the Central Bank insisted that monetary policy must be guided by economic data, based on 'careful, objective, and non-political analysis.'
Another strong open for ASX
After lifting more than 0.7% yesterday, the ASX has had another strong start to the morning's trade, adding 0.28% as of about 10:30 am AEST.
Bullish sentiment from the US on the tech and semiconductor front has translated to a 0.75% boost to the Aussie Info Tech sector this morning, followed closed by Real Estate (+0.63%) and Consumer Discretionary (+0.50%).
Only Industrials (-0.05%) and Utilities (-0.13%) are on the wrong side of the balance sheet at present, with 9 of 11 sectors in the green.
The ASX 200 Resources index is also performing well, up 0.36% on strength in an eclectic collection of rare earth, gold and lithium stocks.
WINNERS
Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap
AXP AXP Energy Ltd 0.002 100% 4355555 $6,684,681
ADD Adavale Resource Ltd 0.0015 50% 250066 $2,287,279
GRE Greentechmetals 0.062 48% 1725380 $4,709,984
EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.002 33% 1000000 $4,880,668
CDE Codeifai Limited 0.018 29% 603477 $4,564,445
EVEDA EVE Health Group Ltd 0.029 26% 618517 $3,032,828
RPG Raptis Group Limited 0.05 25% 240000 $7,013,697
AAU Antilles Gold Ltd 0.005 25% 20000 $8,605,471
EDE Eden Inv Ltd 0.0025 25% 2318777 $8,219,762
ENT Enterprise Metals 0.0025 25% 100108 $2,356,635
In the news...
AXP Energy (ASX:AXP) has achieved what it described as 'reliable system uptime' for its gas-to-Bitcoin mining operation, using an oil and gas wells in the Pathfinder field of Colorado to power a bitcoin mining site.
With the off-grid gas-to-power site now operational, the company is looking to roll out its technology in additional locations to support the bitcoin mining sector.
Greentech Metals (ASX:GRE) unearthed bonanza-grade gold mineralisation in historical assays at its Whundo project, where its exploring for copper, zinc and gold.
The company has uncovered more than a dozen gold intersections grading more than 1 g/t, peaking with a 1-metre intersection at 64.7 g/t gold from just 47 metres of depth.
LAGGARDS
Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap
OVT Ovanti Limited 0.002 -33% 3611682 $8,380,545
PIL Peppermint Inv Ltd 0.002 -33% 2830000 $6,828,269
PRX Prodigy Gold NL 0.002 -33% 36667 $9,525,167
AVE Avecho Biotech Ltd 0.004 -20% 155257 $15,867,318
AON Apollo Minerals Ltd 0.006 -14% 1728998 $6,499,198
CRR Critical Resources 0.003 -14% 20408 $9,149,774
XF1 Xref Limited 0.13 -13% 30000 $33,013,465
CBY Canterbury Resources 0.024 -11% 86747 $5,600,904
BLG Bluglass Limited 0.009 -10% 7051387 $20,180,213
M4M Macro Metals Limited 0.009 -10% 2579 $39,774,175

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

News.com.au

14 minutes ago

• News.com.au

Billionaire with 10 kids dead at 80

Fred Smith, the billionaire founder of revolutionary delivery firm FedEx, has died at the age of 80. FedEx started up in 1973 delivering small parcels and documents more quickly than the postal service. Smith oversaw its growth to a behemoth of the industry, relied upon by other companies all over the world. The business now delivers a staggering 17 million parcels every day. His cause of death is yet to be confirmed. After Smith graduated Yale University, he used a business theory he developed in college to create a delivery system. His approach became known as a 'hub and spokes' system, and was based on co-ordinated air cargo flights centred around a main hub. At the start, FedEx had 14 small aircraft operating out of the Memphis International Airport flying packages to 25 American cities. Smith, worth $5.3 billion ($A8.3 billion) at his death according to Forbes, was also known for his philanthropy. He stepped down as FedEx's CEO in 2022, but remained at the helm as executive chairman. Memphis's former mayor Jim Strickland hailed him as 'the most significant Memphian in history'. Strickland said: 'He benefited our city in every way possible and allowed generations of Memphians to achieve the American dream. 'God bless Fred Smith. My condolences to the Smith family.' He donated millions of dollars to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation - after serving for four years in the Marine Corps himself. In an 2023 interview, he said that all the experience he used to run FedEx came from his experience in the Marines, not what he learned at Yale. Politicians and commercial figures have paid tribute to the legendary businessman. Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn said: 'I am deeply saddened by the passing of Fred Smith. 'As the founder of FedEx, his leadership and innovation transformed global commerce, and he will be remembered for his relentless drive, patriotism, and commitment to service. 'His legacy will endure not only through the company he built but through the countless lives he touched. 'Praying for his wife, children, and family.'

West Australian

29 minutes ago

• West Australian

Dale Henderson keeps the faith amid deteriorating lithium market with $1m splurge on PLS shares

The chief of PLS keeps buying millions of dollars worth of his company's stock amid a share price slide showing no signs of abating. Dale Henderson last week bought 755,000 shares in PLS, formerly known as Pilbara Minerals, for a total of $1.01 million — according to filings released to the ASX on Monday. This on-market outlay equates to $1.34 per share and comes seven months after a $1.1m spend on PLS shares. Mr Henderson bought 500,000 shares at $2.23 apiece during this December cash splash. But the spending sprees are unlikely to make a big dent in his bank balance. Mr Henderson's package of salary, shares and performance rights totalled $4.5m for the 2024 financial year. He now owns almost 2.1 million PLS shares, worth approximately $2.5m at current prices, and 2.1m of performance rights. PLS shares have sunk 61 per cent over the past year and 78 per cent since a November 2022 peak of $5.37. Its shares were in the red on Monday despite Mr Henderson's top up, trading down 2 per cent to $1.20 by 11.30am. Mr Henderson has been a vocal lithium bull, even in comparison to his other lithium CEO counterparts. While most miners of the battery mineral were battening down the hatches during the latter half of last year, PLS inked a deal to buy Brazilian-focused lithium developer Latin Resources for $560m. Mr Henderson described the major acquisition as 'counter-cyclical'. At the time of the Latin deal, the benchmark price of the spodumene concentrate lithium product PLS produces was over $US900 per tonne. And a year prior to the date of the deal it was about $US3500/t. It is now currently languishing at just over $US600/t, as slower-than-expected uptake of electric vehicles plus booming supply out of South America, Africa and China drags prices down.

West Australian

44 minutes ago

• West Australian

Estrella strikes near-surface manganese paydirt in Timor-Leste

ASX-listed Estrella Resources has wasted little time making its mark in Timor-Leste, after the company revealed a high-impact 7.76-metre manganese oxide hit from just 30 centimetres below surface at its Ira Miri project in the country's northwest. The discovery came from a diamond drill hole using an upgraded rig, which twinned the project's first hole. The maiden hole pulled up short in mineralisation earlier this month. Drilling is now being powered by a repurposed Boart Longyear Deltabase 525 rig, which has been modified for exploration and fitted with an appropriate drill bit capable of churning through the harder material. The company says it significantly boosted core recovery at the project by switching the drill bit and improving the drilling fluids. The updated equipment is likely to be vital for generating results that meet the rigorous standards needed to define a resource under the JORC code. While assays for the first hole are still a few weeks away, the new hit is already shaping up as a significant moment for Estrella and Timor-Leste's emerging minerals. Initial visual estimates from the core show thick, continuous zones of manganese mineralisation, with some sections appearing to contain up to 100 per cent manganese oxide. Estrella says the material appears to be in-situ supergene enrichment from the Noni Formation and looks extremely well preserved beneath ancient overburden. Daws added the latest results, which twin the company's first hole, are strategically important, and provide Estrella with complete core for geological analysis and data on the depth of its initial manganese discovery. While Estrella is keen to point out that visual estimates aren't a stand-in for lab assays, the geology on show looks the real deal. Notably, the thickness of the manganese hit stacks up against Australia's legendary Groote Eylandt deposit, which averages just 3 metres. Estrella says drilling at Ira Miri will continue with step-out diamond holes designed to test the continuity and scale of the mineralised horizon. At the same time, reconnaissance mapping of the company's southern Lautém manganese grounds has continued. Environmental approvals - in conjunction with community input - are also being worked up at its Werumata site. It plans to drill a large 3.9 square kilometre target area at Werumata when the permits are secured. Estrella's boots-on-the-ground efforts are earning widespread recognition. Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão met with the company's management, offering strong support for the project and for Estrella's broader exploration activities across the country. Estrella also organised a full site visit for more than 50 investors, national media representatives and senior government officials. The party toured the Ira Miri manganese site and its Werumata limestone project in Baucau. Attendees witnessed drilling in action and inspected a trench dug into a new discovery of massive manganese oxides 350m northwest of the current drilling, hinting at the project's potential scale. Backed by community support, government enthusiasm and early geological success, Estrella appears to be on track to cut out a new mineral province. With assays imminent and more drilling on the cards, punters are likely to keep a close eye on what comes next out of Timor-Leste. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: