Top 10 at 11: ASX surges higher as small caps rake in the cash

Morning, and welcome to Stockhead’s Top 10 (at 11… ish), highlighting the movers and shakers on the ASX in early-doors trading.

With the market opening at 10am sharp eastern time, the data is taken at 10.15am in the east, once trading kicks off in earnest.

In brief, this is what the market has been up to this morning.

ASX powers higher

It’s been a fantastic start to the trading day for the ASX this morning, riding 0.82% higher in the first hour with all 11 sectors firmly in the green.

US markets made big gains overnight as July jobs data came in particularly weak, raising the chance that the US Fed will cut rates in September.

Gold futures jumped 0.8% to US$3426.4 an ounce, with spot prices hovering at around US$3380.

Oil softened 1.3% to US$68.76 a barrel of Brent as OPEC raised oil production limits by half a million barrels a day, but threats from Trump around Russian oil contracts could rapidly shift the supply-demand paradigm.

Back on Aussie markets, info tech is leading gains with strong support from gold stocks, and ASX small caps are building out their war chests with fresh capital raises.

WINNERS

In the news…

Asset maintenance specialist SRJ Technologies (ASX:SRJ) is trading higher despite closing out a $1.38m entitlement offer at a 22.7% discount to its 10-day VWAP of $0.005.

The funding will support SRJ’s entry into a 50:50 joint venture with a NOC-registered entity to deliver a multi-year contract valued at US$6m in the Middle East.

Medical data firm Heramed (ASX:HMD) has been reinstated to the ASX after lodging a late quarterly activity report alongside notice of a $1.98m share placement.

Management says the healthcare landscape in the US is beginning to improve as concerns over changing policy and funding settle and the sector adapts. HMD has teamed up with US healthcare commercialisation firm Aspire Health Innovations to spearhead its market strategy in North America.

Macro Metals (ASX:M4M) has locked in commitments to raise $2m in a placement priced at $0.007 per new share, a 16.67% premium to M4M’s last closing price.

Funding will fuel the third phase of field work at the Turner iron ore project and a technical services contract with REGROUP at the Extension iron ore project.

It will also support tendering of mining services contracts within M4M’s Macro Mining Services segment and the company’s two majority-indigenous owned joint ventures, Nyapiri Macro Mining and Robe River Kuruma Macro Mining.

Stellar Resources (ASX:SRZ) is celebrating tin recoveries of up to 97.2% in a new ore sorting trial leveraging X-Ray Transmission (XRT) technology.

Management says the results support the inclusion of ore sorting in an upcoming prefeasibility study, offering reduced capital, operating and processing costs while optimising ore size and producing coarse backfill material for underground mining.

LAGGARDS

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.