Lunch Wrap: Woolies, Coles cleared of price gouging; miners ratted after Trump's exec order

Woolies, Coles surge after ACCC clears them of price-gouging
Trump invokes emergency powers to boost US critical minerals
Paladin Energy dives after Namibian mine closure due to heavy rains

The ASX swung between the green and red on Friday, and at lunch time AEDT, the S&P/ASX 200 index had bounced back by 0.3%.

On Wall Street overnight, things weren’t looking quite as rosy. After a Fed-fuelled rally on Wednesday, US stocks took a step back.

The Nasdaq dropped 0.3%, the S&P 500 lost 0.2%, and the Dow Jones barely held on to the flat line.

Wednesday’s rally had been sparked by the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged, which initially boosted investor sentiment.

But a later press conference overnight revealed that US inflation projections were being revised upwards, while economic growth forecasts were being slashed.

The mood shifted as doubts crept back in about the economy’s direction, particularly with Trump pushing hard for tariffs.

Meanwhile, Trump has invoked emergency powers to boost the US’s production of critical minerals, which could include coal.

Last night, he signed an executive order aimed at reducing the country’s reliance on imports by ramping up domestic mineral production.

“The United States was once the world’s largest producer of lucrative minerals, but overbearing federal regulation has eroded our nation’s mineral production,” the president said.

On ASX, miners were rattled on the back of this latest order.

Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) were sent into a tailspin, dropping by 3% each.

Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) followed suit, each dropping around 4%.

Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) fell 3.5% after hitting pause on its Langer Heinrich Mine in Namibia. Paladin said it has been struggling with heavy drenching of rain that made getting to the site a no-go.

Meanwhile, the best large cap movers of the morning were Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and Coles Group (ASX:COL), both of which surged after the competition watchdog dropped a bombshell of a report.

The ACCC’s long-awaited findings cleared the supermarket giants of price-gouging allegations, and dubbed them some of the most profitable supermarket retailers in the world.

And finally, to round up the large-caps news, Premier Investments (ASX:PMV) rose 2% despite a 12.8% drop in H1 profits. According to chairman Solomon Lew, it’s still “a credit to management” in what’s been a tough trading environment for consumer brands.

The profit for the half slid to $148.8 million, but that doesn’t factor in the transaction costs from flogging off Premier’s Apparel brands to Myer, or its stake in Myer itself.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for March 21 [intraday]:

Code	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
GMN	Gold Mountain Ltd	0.003	150%	46,483,038	$4,579,223
H2G	Greenhy2 Limited	0.013	117%	13,075,247	$3,589,105
AXP	AXP Energy Ltd	0.002	100%	220,000	$6,574,681
OVT	Ovanti Limited	0.006	38%	16,770,674	$10,806,191
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.006	33%	2,713,583	$8,936,265
HE8	Helios Energy Ltd	0.012	33%	1,478,439	$23,436,445
RDG	Res Dev Group Ltd	0.011	22%	263,100	$26,557,723
GES	Genesis Resources	0.006	20%	110,000	$3,914,206
WBE	Whitebark Energy	0.006	20%	66,912	$1,541,046
CRS	Caprice Resources	0.066	18%	17,347,271	$28,320,678
CMP	Compumedics Limited	0.300	18%	302,218	$49,015,563
RR1	Reach Resources Ltd	0.010	18%	3,162,923	$7,432,666
BDG	Black Dragon Gold	0.055	17%	539,777	$14,274,655
BNL	Blue Star Helium Ltd	0.007	17%	4,737	$16,169,312
HHR	Hartshead Resources	0.007	17%	51,229	$16,852,093
PLY	Playside Studios	0.230	15%	534,145	$81,844,427
CPO	Culpeominerals	0.016	14%	504,555	$3,079,471
SP8	Streamplay Studio	0.008	14%	50,000	$8,969,552
ODA	Orcoda Limited	0.081	14%	53,186	$12,116,652
TMX	Terrain Minerals	0.005	13%	50,000	$8,014,226
VRC	Volt Resources Ltd	0.005	13%	467,777	$18,117,573
LKY	Locksleyresources	0.019	12%	30,000	$2,493,333
PSC	Prospect Res Ltd	0.145	12%	811,113	$74,446,188

Greenhy2 (ASX:H2G) has locked in a new deal with European tech supplier H2Core to bring advanced storage solutions to the table, including supercapacitor batteries and hydrogen tech. These new supercapacitor batteries use graphene and promise five times longer life and lower operating costs than traditional lithium-ion batteries, plus H2G said they’re safer with no fire risk. H2G’s also making a move to replace lithium-ion with these supercapacitors for startup and balancing in hydrogen systems, cutting costs and boosting performance.

Compumedics (ASX:CMP) has landed a new MEG order worth $5.7m from Hangzhou Normal University, bringing its total MEG sales to around AUD 20M across China. The company’s Orion LifeSpan MEG system is now the go-to tech for brain research in China, with installations happening at four major universities. Compumedics expects solid growth, projecting over $60m in sales for FY25 and over $70m for FY26. The new tech features advanced superconductor sensors and zero helium refills, setting a new standard in the field.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for March 21 [intraday]:

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.001	-50%	6,000	$4,900,774
MOM	Moab Minerals Ltd	0.001	-50%	9,761	$3,467,332
ERA	Energy Resources	0.002	-33%	457,727	$1,216,188,722
88E	88 Energy Ltd	0.002	-25%	3,982,867	$57,867,624
AOK	Australian Oil.	0.002	-25%	5,500	$2,003,566
TOU	Tlou Energy Ltd	0.030	-25%	453,432	$51,943,373
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.004	-20%	908,781	$15,053,461
BCB	Bowen Coal Limited	0.004	-20%	1,446,212	$53,878,201
CHM	Chimeric Therapeutic	0.004	-20%	5,817,218	$8,100,749
HLX	Helix Resources	0.002	-20%	112,500	$8,410,484
MRQ	Mrg Metals Limited	0.004	-20%	175,000	$13,632,593
1AI	Algorae Pharma	0.005	-17%	137,334	$10,124,368
AMS	Atomos	0.005	-17%	200,000	$7,290,111
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.003	-17%	522,000	$3,534,952
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.005	-17%	2,269,753	$17,158,914
IPB	IPB Petroleum Ltd	0.005	-17%	70,717	$4,238,418
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.003	-17%	326,719	$7,330,908
IMI	Infinitymining	0.012	-14%	180,813	$5,922,221
KGD	Kula Gold Limited	0.006	-14%	22,160,487	$6,448,776
PHL	Propell Holdings Ltd	0.012	-14%	152,056	$3,896,734
PIL	Peppermint Inv Ltd	0.003	-14%	620,000	$7,740,177
THR	Thor Energy PLC	0.012	-14%	113,729	$9,923,058
TYX	Tyranna Res Ltd	0.006	-14%	250,500	$23,015,477
RVT	Richmond Vanadium	0.130	-13%	18,309	$33,275,000