Closing Bell: ASX banks stage a recovery, but market still stumbles 0.36pc

The ASX hobbled gingerly to a close today, despite some support from the big seven banks. Pic: Getty Images
- ASX 200 Banks index adds 0.49pc
- Eight of 11 sectors down, with losses led by industrials sliding -1.40pc
- Uranium and oil stocks lift energy sector out of the negative
The ASX retreated in trade today, shedding 0.36% with 8 of 11 sectors staging a pullback.
Most of the damage came from industrials (-1.4%), materials (-1.32%) and staples (-0.97%) but only financials (+0.35%), energy (+0.13%) and utilities (+0.03%) crept into the green.

While rising oil prices definitely played a role in energy’s ascent in trade today, plenty of alternative energy options were also climbing.
As for the traditionalists, Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR) added 1.45%, Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) 1%, Santos (ASX:STO) 0.84% and Woodside (ASX:WDS) ticked up less than 0.1%.
Yellowcake stock Bannerman Energy (ASX:BMN) climbed 1.7%, while hydrogen compression and shipping company Provaris Energy (ASX:PV1) added 26% – more on that below – Noble Helium (ASX:NHE) gained 15%, and small cap Terra Uranium (ASX:T92) jumped 11%.
Elsewhere, ASX 200 Bank stocks also had a look in, adding 0.49% to handily outperform all other indices.

Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) climbed 1%, Westpac (ASX:WBC) added 0.63%, Macquarie (ASX:MQG) 0.26% and QBE (ASX:QBE) 0.26%.
ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS
Today’s best performing small cap stocks:
Making news…
BirdDog (ASX:BDT), a software-enabled video solution company, has postponed a shareholder vote on the company’s voluntary delisting from the ASX until July 22 and bumped the buy-back offer up by 40%.
BDT has now offered to buyback public shares at a 112% premium to its 15-day VWAP at $0.07 a share. The board reckons it’s the best move for the company as its share price has been underperforming at low levels of liquidity, at a price point they don’t believe reflects BDT’s inherit value.
Provaris Energy (ASX:PV1) has given the proverbial shrug to a please explain price query from the ASX, indicating the company is unaware of why its share price is climbing.
Last week, PV1 inked a development agreement with global shipping company “K” LINE to collaborate on Provaris’ H2Neo Carriers and H2Leo Barges, which form part of its near-shore hydrogen compression and shipping offering.
X2M Connect (ASX:X2M) will deliver 100k IoT-connected personal safety devices to the City of Seoul under a $3m contract as part of the city’s 2025 Smart City public safety initiative.
The smart personal safety devices, dubbed “Help Me” link directly with the city’s infrastructure, capable of alerting police and emergency contacts, sharing the user’s real-time location and initiating rapid intervention when activated.
This first delivery will be made free of charge, with scope to scale up to 1 million devices over time as part of the government’s broader public safety roadmap.
ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS
Today’s worst performing small cap stocks:
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Optiscan Imaging (ASX:OIL) has signed an exclusive five-year collaboration with Long Grove Pharmaceuticals to develop new applications for AK-FLUOR, a contrast agent used with Optiscan’s fluorescence-based endomicroscopic imaging devices.
DY6 Metals (ASX:DY6) continues to make progress at its recently acquired Douala Basin project in Cameroon on the trail of a major discovery.
West Wits Mining (ASX:WWI) has started key work streams for Qala Shallows in South Africa as it launches a fresh DFS to plug in record gold prices to the already attractive mine.
Infill drilling has confirmed and extended mineralisation at Mt Malcolm Mines’ (ASX:M2M) Golden Crown prospect within its Malcolm project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields after intersecting broad zones of gold.
Tryptamine Therapeutics (ASX:TYP) has received approval from Swinburne University Human Research Ethics Committee for trial of proprietary psilocin-based IV-infused formulation TRP-8803 into binge eating disorder (BED).
Drilling results from the remaining 63 aircore holes at Petratherm’s (ASX:PTR) Rosewood heavy mineral prospect in Gawler Craton have expanded the mineralised zone, reinforcing consistency in grade and thickness.
Exploration activity at Cannindah Resources’ (ASX:CAE) Mt Cannindah project has confirmed opportunities to extend high-grade zones within the current 14.5Mt resource.
With rising global tensions and the US pushing to develop domestic antimony production, Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) has moved to improve its strategic position by expanding its Antimony Canyon project in Utah.
TRADING HALTS
Fortifai Limited (ASX:FFK) – cap raise
Inventis Limited (ASX:IVT) – business restructuring
Lightning Minerals Ltd (ASX:L1M) – proposed acquisition and cap raise
MA Credit Income Trust (ASX:MA1) – cap raise
Mount Burgess Mining NL (ASX:MTB) – cap raise
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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