Closing Bell: Tech stocks rip higher, pushing ASX into the green

• ASX recovers from early dip to post 0.24pc gain
• Tech stocks surge with sector up 4pc
• Energy and Materials weigh on gains, down more than 1pc each

An after-hours surge in US tech stocks has lit the Aussie tech sector on fire, rocketing up 4.0% today after Microsoft and Meta’s earnings reports wowed investors.

With a 0.24% gain, the ASX has notched its sixth consecutive day in the green.

While the Facebook parent may have fallen during US trading (-0.98%) Meta has gained 5.36% after hours, and Microsoft went from strength to strength, adding almost 7% after US markets closed for the day.

Both companies have signalled their intention to ramp-up investment in data centres and similar AI-related expansions, which will likely offer a boost to any companies placed to fill those orders.

A steady PCE index reading hinting at fertile ground for an interest rate cut from the Fed lent additional momentum, which ASX stocks have taken full advantage of.

DUG Technology (ASX:DUG), an analytical software development company specialised in high performance computing, shot up more than 10%.

The company’s latest quarterly update reveals a 23% uptick in software-related revenue, and a 15% increase in EBITDA compared to the corresponding period in 2024.

Satellite and communications solutions company Beam Communications (ASX:BCC) shot up 6%, AI-driven cardiac diagnostic company Echoiq (ASX:EIQ) also 6% and IT solutions provider Data3 (ASX:DTL) 6.7%.

Of course, the Big Caps had their day in the sun as well.

WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) surged 6.6%, NextDC (ASX:NXT) 4.5%, Xero (ASX:XRO) gained 3.2%, and TechnologyOne (ASX:TNE) lifted 2.5%.

The All Technology index was the standout in trade today, surprisingly absolutely no one, but the ASX Small Ords got some love too, up 0.49% to outperform both the All Ordinaries and the ASX200.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

Making news…

Andromeda Metals (ASX:ADN) has pulled off a major breakthrough, with lab tests showing it can produce ultra-high purity 4N HPA (99.9985%) using its own low-cost process and kaolin from the Great White Project in SA. The results have been confirmed by top labs in the US and CSIRO.

What sets this apart is the process. No high-pressure acid, no extreme heat, and no expensive aluminium metal. It’s cleaner, cheaper, and slashes carbon emissions by over two-thirds, ADN said.

Andromeda is now heading into a scoping study and will start working with customers to fine-tune the product for everything from semiconductors to batteries. After seven years of R&D, this could put it in the box seat as global HPA (high purity alumina) demand heats up, it said.

Dimerix (ASX:DXB) has just inked a big-ticket deal, handing over exclusive US rights to its kidney drug DMX-200 to Amicus Therapeutics for US$30 million up front, with another US$560 million on the table in milestone payments plus royalties down the track.

DMX-200 is currently in a pivotal Phase 3 trial for FSGS, a rare and deadly kidney disease with no approved treatments. The FDA has already agreed that proteinuria – a marker of excess protein in urine and a key sign of kidney damage – can be used in the primary measure for approval. Full trial enrolment is expected by the end of 2025.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Today’s worse performing small cap stocks:

Trading Halts

AdNeo Limited (ASX: AD1) – cap raise
Aeris Resources (ASX:AIS) – debt refinancing
Anax Metals (ASX:ANX) – strategic partnership and funding
Bio-Gene Technology (ASX:BGT) – cap raise
Caspin Resources (ASX:CPN) – cap raise
Conrad Asia Energy (ASX:CRD) – cap raise
Enlitic (ASX:ENL) – cap raise
Excite Technology Services (ASX:EXT) – cap raise
Felix Gold (ASX:FXG) – cap raise
Hazer Group (ASX:HZR) – material strategic alliance
Rox Resources (ASX:RXL) – cap raise
Zimi (ASX:ZMM) – cap raise