Aussie shares bounce back on the first trading day of 2025. Picture via Getty Images
Closing Bell: ASX bounces back as Fortescue jumps 3pc; Brainchip keeps soaring
News
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- Aussie shares bounce back, energy stocks lead the charge
- Lendlease dips, Brainchip surges again
- AUD hits two-year low, Chinese stocks slide on weak data
Aussie shares had a good start to 2025, bouncing back from a two-day losing streak despite a lacklustre lead from global markets.
The S&P/ASX 200 opened higher, but spent a couple of hours in the red before closing up by 0.52% on Thursday.
Out of the 11 sectors, 10 were in the green.
Energy stocks led the charge thanks to a 1% bump in Brent crude as Russia halted gas flows to Europe.
Miners also made good gains, with Fortescue (ASX:FMG) leading the way, climbing by over 3%.
This is how things stood towards close on the first trading day of the year:
News flow was a bit thin today.
In the large end of town, Lendlease Group (ASX:LLC) fell 0.25% after agreeing to sell its UK construction business to Atlas Holdings for $70 million as part of a major restructure.
Chip stock BrainChip Holdings (ASX:BRN) surged once again, this time by 14%, bringing its one-month gains to around 80% despite no clear news driving the rally.
In other markets, national house prices fell for the first time in 22 months; while the Aussie dollar dipped to a two-year low below US62 cents.
“The fate of the AUD/USD in 2025 will largely depend on developments following Trump’s inauguration on January 20,” wrote Tony Sycamore at IG.
Overseas, Chinese stocks dropped today, hit by weak economic data and fears of more US tariffs. Data shows that Chinese manufacturing growth slowed in December, spooking investors.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin rose 2% over the past 24 hours to about $US95,400 at the time of writing.
ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS
Today’s best performing small cap stocks:
Security Description Last % Volume MktCap LYN Lycaon Resources 0.155 72% 3,345,236 $4,768,634 AAU Antilles Gold Ltd 0.004 33% 4,265,768 $5,573,628 AOA Ausmon Resorces 0.002 33% 3,400,000 $1,634,591 ERL Empire Resources 0.004 33% 320,000 $4,451,740 MRD Mount Ridley Mines 0.004 33% 217,365 $2,335,467 GCM Green Critical Min 0.018 29% 104,701,524 $26,705,746 MEL Metgasco Ltd 0.005 25% 100,000 $5,830,347 MEM Memphasys Ltd 0.010 25% 14,985,512 $14,168,118 HCT Holista CollTech Ltd 0.016 23% 808,750 $3,714,967 HFY Hubify Ltd 0.011 22% 149,155 $4,600,227 PER Percheron 0.009 21% 8,409,222 $7,612,063 CY5 Cygnus Metals Ltd 0.120 20% 546,246 $53,349,000 AVE Avecho Biotech Ltd 0.003 20% 1,056,732 $7,923,243 GW1 Greenwing Resources 0.049 20% 185,184 $9,866,711 ESK Etherstack PLC 0.260 18% 40,430 $29,011,154 MPA Mad Paws 0.086 18% 163,407 $29,655,685 AYA Artryalimited 0.620 17% 111,194 $48,484,245 SVY Stavely Minerals Ltd 0.021 17% 5,750,526 $9,792,758 1AI Algorae Pharma 0.007 17% 119,067 $10,124,368 AON Apollo Minerals Ltd 0.014 17% 72,544 $9,425,311 CCO The Calmer Co Int 0.007 17% 7,852,209 $15,245,117
Cygnus Metals (ASX:CY5) and Doré Copper have officially completed their merger, creating a dual-listed critical minerals company focused on copper and lithium in Quebec. With $14m cash in hand, the new entity will ramp up exploration, starting with a copper programme due for results early in 2025. The merger combines Doré’s Chibougamau copper-gold project with Cygnus’ James Bay lithium assets.
Lycaon Resources (ASX:LYN) has appointed Tony Rovira, a seasoned mining exec, to its board as a non-executive director from January 1. Rovira has more than 40 years of experience, and was most recently the MD of Azure Minerals, overseeing the discovery of the world-class Andover lithium deposit, which led to a $1.7 billion takeover. As part of his appointment, Rovira will invest $360k into Lycaon through a share placement.
Green Critical Minerals (ASX:GCM) has kicked off the wet commissioning phase, or second phase, of its VHD (very high density) graphite block pilot plant in NSW, well ahead of schedule. The company plans to roll out initial prototypes before the end of the month, with the blocks having applications across data centres, defence, semiconductor and nuclear industries.
ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS
Today’s worst performing small cap stocks:
Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap MTL Mantle Minerals Ltd 0.001 -33% 15,529 $9,296,169 PKO Peako Limited 0.002 -33% 2,588,352 $3,285,425 T88 Taitonresources 0.090 -33% 2,357 $10,051,746 PAB Patrys Limited 0.003 -25% 1,664,982 $8,229,789 MOH Moho Resources 0.004 -20% 125,000 $3,582,373 TMK TMK Energy Limited 0.002 -20% 350,000 $23,313,913 PLG Pearlgullironlimited 0.013 -19% 36,000 $3,272,669 5EA 5Eadvanced 0.108 -17% 1,586,895 $43,799,744 ADD Adavale Resource Ltd 0.003 -17% 479,806 $4,622,496 ERA Energy Resources 0.003 -17% 1,042 $1,216,188,722 LEG Legend Mining 0.010 -17% 4,038 $34,913,726 RMI Resource Mining Corp 0.005 -17% 2,113,777 $3,914,087 FTL Firetail Resources 0.066 -16% 13,636 $26,190,710 AJL AJ Lucas Group 0.006 -14% 1,520,034 $9,630,107 HE8 Helios Energy Ltd 0.012 -14% 218,833 $36,456,692 LM1 Leeuwin Metals Ltd 0.120 -14% 287,566 $6,559,234 STM Sunstone Metals Ltd 0.006 -14% 26,516 $36,049,325 NME Nex Metals Explorat 0.033 -13% 282,908 $10,346,562 BMH Baumart Holdings Ltd 0.073 -13% 1 $12,158,560 CF1 Complii Fintech Ltd 0.020 -13% 437,932 $13,216,356 RDG Res Dev Group Ltd 0.020 -13% 93,254 $67,869,737 FFF Forbidden Foods 0.007 -13% 2,372 $4,577,788
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
QPM Energy (ASX:QPM) has completed the acquisition of the 12.8MW Moranbah Power Station, reducing costs by more than $500,000 per month and generating new revenue. The acquisition supports its QLD-based Moranbah gas project and marks the first step in building an electricity portfolio in the region.
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Green Critical Minerals and QPM Energy are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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