Lunch Wrap: Rare earths tumble and tech rattled as the Big Short returns

News Eddy Sunarto
Big Short

Tech sold off after Michael Burry’s short position on Nvidia. Pic: Getty Images

  • ASX slides as tech and miners stumble
  • China’s Simandou move rattles iron ore giants
  • Rare earths and rate hopes crushed in one morning

 

The ASX was down around 0.7% by lunchtime in the east on Wednesday, extending yesterday’s 0.9% loss.

Overnight in New York, the S&P 500 lost 1%, and the Nasdaq copped a 1.7% slap as tech finally remembered that valuations can’t levitate forever.

Nvidia also sagged 3% after Michael Burry (yes, the Big Short guy) revealed he’s shorting it. The most renowned time he successfully called a bubble, the world nearly ended (GFC 2008); this time, maybe just the Magnificent 7 portfolio will.

 

 

Back home this morning, the ASX tech sector led the sell-off as Aussie traders took their cues from Wall Street.

Mining was the second weakest sector, down about 2.5% as iron ore futures slid 1.5%.

China’s backing for Guinea’s Simandou project, apparently the world’s largest untapped iron ore deposit, has spooked the big boys.

Rare earth stocks also took a beating this morning.

Lynas (ASX:LYC) slid 5% and Arafura Rare Earths (ASX:ARU) took a stinging 11% hit as retail punters started bailing out now that US-China trade tensions look calmer, at least for this week.

 

Source: MarketIndex

 

In other large cap news, Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) slipped 2.5% despite reaffirming its FY26 earnings growth target of 9%.

The company’s riding the data-centre wave, with $12.4 billion of work in progress and 68% of that tied to digital infrastructure.

Goodman says demand’s hot, and in fairness, AI data storage is the new beachfront property.

Bluescope Steel (ASX:BSL) fell 2% after announcing a new CEO – Tania Archibald takes the helm from Mark Vassella.

Medibank Private (ASX:MPL) was one of the few bright spots, up 1% after agreeing to buy Better Medical, a network of 61 GP clinics, for $159 million.

And … it looks like the Kiwis are doing it tough.

Data today shows NZ’s jobless rate climbed to 5.3%, its highest since 2016. No wonder almost 50,000 have moved to Australia in the past year.

 

ASX LEADERS

Today’s best performing stocks (including small caps) intraday:

Security Description Last % Volume MktCap
MRZ Mont Royal Resources 0.300 632% 6,741,960 $7,738,518
BMO Bastion Minerals 0.002 50% 3,000,000 $2,236,450
BUY Bounty Oil & Gas NL 0.003 50% 1,855,020 $3,122,944
TMK TMK Energy Limited 0.003 50% 1,000,000 $23,944,766
ARC ARC Funds Limited 0.125 25% 844,736 $5,979,217
CR9 Corellares 0.005 25% 206,010 $4,030,279
GR8 Great Dirt Resources 0.240 23% 89,779 $5,723,496
SRR Saramaresourcesltd 0.049 23% 5,844,238 $14,768,281
1AD Adalta Limited 0.004 17% 388,583 $5,676,588
M2R Miramar 0.004 17% 1,665,389 $3,584,770
MML Mclaren Minerals 0.023 15% 1,221,935 $3,974,696
SCP Scalare Partners 0.120 14% 206,060 $8,747,169
NOX Noxopharm Limited 0.105 14% 107,662 $26,885,891
VBS Vectus Biosystems 0.165 14% 70,277 $7,733,333
FBR FBR Ltd 0.005 13% 26,823,752 $26,747,890
LEG Legend Mining 0.009 13% 935,199 $23,315,817
SPQ Superior Resources 0.009 13% 450,320 $18,991,862
AM5 Antares Metals 0.010 11% 305,532 $4,633,676
PKY Pathkey.Ai Ltd 0.020 11% 245,326 $5,449,483
RKB Rokeby Resources Ltd 0.005 11% 4,078,993 $8,219,525
TYX Tyranna Res Ltd 0.005 11% 102,008 $15,093,685
TTX Tetratherix Limited 4.750 11% 229 $114,277,702
OLL Openlearning 0.052 11% 1,019,694 $25,576,066
WordPress Table

 

Mont Royal Resources (ASX:MRZ) came back to the boards with a bang this morning, rocketing more than 600% after completing its merger with TSX-V listed Commerce Resources.

The deal creates a new Canadian-focused critical minerals developer built around the Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Deposit in Québec, one of North America’s largest rare earth assets.

Ashram already boasts a Tier-1 resource (73.2Mt at 1.89% TREO Indicated and 131.1Mt at 1.91% TREO Inferred), with over A$50 million spent historically on development.

With a fresh $10 million raise and a board led by ex-Primero Cameron Henry and ex-Meteoric Nick Holthouse, the company is now starting an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment to streamline development.

TMK Energy (ASX:TMK) notched up another record month at its Gurvantes XXXV coal seam gas project, with October gas output jumping 25% from September and more than doubling since August.

Average production hit about 395 cubic metres a day in October and has already climbed to around 470 cubic metres a day so far in November.

Great Dirt Resources (ASX:GR8) has confirmed high-grade manganese at its Basin and Neranghi projects in NSW, with rock chip assays returning up to 51.8% manganese oxide.

Sampling of historic workings has mapped large outcrops and boulders, while results at the Basin (Copper Hill) area suggest mineralisation is aligned with host rock structures, hinting at a potential primary stratiform manganese system.

 

ASX LAGGARDS

Today’s worst performing stocks (including small caps) intraday:

Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap
AR1 Austral Resources 0.048 -70% 32,218,695 $271,809,384
MAY Melbana Energy Ltd 0.008 -47% 59,508,324 $56,729,532
FRX Flexiroam Limited 0.018 -28% 8,171,593 $37,934,965
NAE New Age Exploration 0.003 -25% 5,168,064 $13,231,995
RDS Redstone Resources 0.003 -25% 25,564,419 $4,919,927
ANG Austin Engineering 0.210 -25% 11,593,804 $175,583,582
CMO Cosmometalslimited 0.021 -22% 1,858,516 $11,724,662
T3D 333D Limited 0.079 -21% 208,319 $20,152,048
DTI DTI Group Ltd 0.024 -20% 3,264,319 $26,913,085
GGE Grand Gulf Energy 0.002 -20% 60,000 $7,051,062
NTM Nt Minerals Limited 0.002 -20% 8,405 $3,027,257
SLZ Sultan Resources Ltd 0.008 -20% 3,540,373 $5,363,205
SRN Surefire Rescs NL 0.002 -20% 300,000 $10,064,023
SUH Southern Hem Min 0.033 -20% 243,178 $30,185,842
WIN WIN Metals 0.038 -19% 5,973,990 $32,336,671
TGH Terragen 0.017 -19% 83,177 $10,605,361
TMG Trigg Minerals Ltd 0.110 -19% 39,721,229 $164,504,358
MSG Mcs Services Limited 0.009 -18% 3,109,750 $2,179,096
RWL Rubicon Water 0.205 -18% 11,311 $60,173,775
JCS Jcurve Solutions 0.047 -18% 369,358 $20,083,576
LSR Lodestar Minerals 0.024 -17% 14,497,593 $25,095,141
BSX Blackstone Ltd 0.035 -17% 5,012,424 $70,967,598
FAU First Au Ltd 0.008 -17% 942,849 $23,593,362
WordPress Table

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Energy Transition Minerals (ASX:ETM) has added serious political clout to its Greenland rare earths strategy with two high-profile Danish appointments.

Analysts have doubled their valuation target for Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA), flagging the ASX listed near-term producer as a standout dual-commodity play.

Ariana Resources (ASX:AA2) has kicked off a 4,000m RC drilling program at its flagship 1.1Moz Dokwe Gold Project in Zimbabwe.

Mont Royal Resources (ASX:MRZ) marks return to ASX with work to start immediately on advanced Ashram rare earths and fluorspar deposits in Québec, Canada.

Koonenberry (ASX:KNB) is ramping up exploration at the Enmore project with the addition of a second rig to investigate gold-arsenic soil anomalies.

Bayan Mining and Minerals (ASX:BMM) gets the go-ahead to drill at the Desert Star rare earths project in California.

 

LAST ORDERS

Albion Resources (ASX:ALB) has kicked off a Gradient Array Induced Polarisation (IP) survey at the Yandal West project in WA, targeting disseminated sulphide and quartz silica often associated with gold mineralisation ahead of an upcoming drill campaign.

Red Mountain Mining (ASX:RMX) has begun trading on the US OTCQB under the ticker RMXFF, gaining exposure to US$478 billion in liquidity and volume that flowed through the US OTC markets in 2024.

 

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Albion Resourcesand Red Mountain Mining 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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