Closing Bell: Uranium surges on tariff exemption whispers; ASX rides energy wave higher

A surge in uranium stocks following whispers the mineral will be exempt from US tariffs has boosted the ASX for a fourth straight day of gains.

Heating uranium stocks are fuelling a fourth straight day of gains on the ASX. Pic: Getty Images.

• ASX uranium stocks have soared after the US administration flagged U3O8 would be included in tariff exemption list

• Energy sector up more than 2pc, with Small Ords index close behind

• Utilities, Info Tech, Resources, Real Estate sectors all up more than 1pc

Assurances from the US administration that uranium will be included in an upcoming list of tariff exemptions has given stocks dealing in the yellowcake mineral a welcome boost.

Small cap Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) is one of the best performing stocks on the ASX today, lifting 13.75% to $3.185 a share. The uranium producer’s core focus is the Honeymoon uranium project in South Australia, where it expects to produce 850k pounds of uranium in the 2025 financial year.

Micro caps Connected Minerals (ASX:CML) and Energy Resources of Australia (ASX:ERA) outperformed even Boss in terms of percentage gain (up 45% and 33.33% respectively), also enjoying attention from the uranium bulls.

Boss and ERA are joined by Bannerman Energy (ASX:BMN) up 12.86%, Lotus Resources (ASX:LOT) up 15.15%, Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) up 12.44%, and Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) with a 9.2% gain.

It’s difficult to judge the effect on uranium’s pricing, however, as its not traded openly on the market like other commodities, but rather directly between producers and end users in private long-term contracts.

The effect on the wider Aussie market, on the other hand, was obvious. The ASX has gained almost a full percentage point today, lifting 0.92%.

The ASX Small Ords Index is up more than 2%, and the ASX 200 Resources close behind with a more than 1.5% lift.

Source: Market Index

The optimism appears to have carried over into the rest of the market, with 10 of 11 sectors in the green, although Consumer Staples (-0.03%) held the class back.

Source: Market Index

Behind Energy, the Utilities and Info Tech sectors also enjoyed sizable gains, lifting 2.29% and 1.45% each.

Standouts included Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) up 3.15% and AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) with a 2.09% boost.

There was a 1.17% uptick for Wisetech (ASX:WTC), 1.05% for Xero (ASX:XRO), 1.45% for Technology One (ASX:TNE) and NextDC (ASX:NXT)rounded out the tech big caps with a 2.19% gain.

All to say, the ASX is on a bit of a tear at the moment, hovering around two-month highs after posting its fourth straight day of gains.

Of course, the bourse is still down 1.08% for the year to date, and the trade war that caused all the chaos is far from over, but for now things are looking up.

Speaking of which, here are today’s small cap movers and shakers on the Aussie market.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
DY6	Dy6Metalsltd	0.165	293%	5842597	$2,117,255
88E	88 Energy Ltd	0.002	100%	9133331	$28,933,812
MMR	Mec Resources	0.005	67%	1080000	$5,549,298
EEL	Enrg Elements Ltd	0.0015	50%	2598009	$3,253,779
RAN	Range International	0.003	50%	270606	$1,878,581
CML	Connected Minerals	0.16	45%	189271	$4,549,403
ICR	Intelicare Holdings	0.01	43%	16556666	$3,403,317
PHL	Propell Holdings Ltd	0.01	43%	844830	$1,948,367
ADN	Andromeda Metals Ltd	0.014	40%	35683888	$34,287,277
EAT	Entertainment	0.007	40%	274684	$6,543,930
NYM	Narryermetalslimited	0.042	35%	2813	$5,457,699
1TT	Thrive Tribe Tech	0.002	33%	4505606	$3,047,585
ADD	Adavale Resource Ltd	0.002	33%	1061407	$3,430,919
PRM	Prominence Energy	0.004	33%	1132	$1,167,529
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	0.004	33%	50200	$3,930,987
SIS	Simble Solutions	0.004	33%	429710	$2,628,991
EL8	Elevate Uranium Ltd	0.29	32%	3345655	$84,835,479
MVP	Medical Developments	0.61	31%	1485471	$52,386,121
PNT	Panthermetalsltd	0.017	31%	21681035	$3,911,759
DTR	Dateline Resources	0.009	29%	43908802	$19,358,980
WYX	Western Yilgarn NL	0.034	26%	3215	$3,714,149
HMY	Harmoney Corp Ltd	0.635	26%	91637	$51,491,894
UVA	Uvrelimited	0.094	25%	1305	$4,515,000
RRR	Revolverresources	0.035	25%	162884	$7,735,679
ASR	Asra Minerals Ltd	0.0025	25%	21606559	$4,746,254

Making news…

DY6 Metals (ASX:DY6) surged almost 300% after striking something special at Tundulu in southern Malawi, near the border with Mozambique. A fresh look at old drill data has uncovered high-grade gallium right from surface, with some hits showing eye-popping grades over long stretches. One standout drill hole pulled 74 metres at over 93 g/t gallium, including a spike at 310 g/t. DY6 said less than half the area has been drilled, and the gallium keeps going deeper, hinting there’s plenty more below.

Gallium is hot property right now thanks to demand in electronics and semiconductors, and most of the global supply is stitched up by China. DY6’s still running tests, but early signs point to a potentially serious play, and the market will be watching closely when results land in the coming weeks.

Joining in on the uranium bull run, Connected Minerals (ASX:CML) jumped 45% on release of its quarterly report, which included some promising uranium exploration results within the company's Namibian assets. Trench sampling at the Etango North-East prospect generated results of up to 46m at 506 ppm uranium, with grades peaking at 1m at 5,413 ppm U3O8.

InteliCare (ASX:ICR) is teaming up with Mecwacare to trial its smart care tech at the Trescowthick Centre in Prahran, Victoria. Mecwacare is a major aged care player in Victoria, and InteliCare’s AI-powered platform is part of its push to become a tech-savvy leader in aged and disability care. The trial will run for three months once the system’s fully set up, and if it goes well, Mecwacare could look to expand it across all 22 of its aged care homes. The deal’s worth $212k for now.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Today’s worse performing small cap stocks:

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
HCF	H&G High Conviction	0.055	-84%	427504	$6,792,267
SMX	Strata Minerals	0.017	-43%	12258716	$7,324,455
IVT	Inventis Limited	0.016	-33%	51875	$1,834,185
PAB	Patrys Limited	0.002	-33%	4061410	$6,172,342
REY	REY Resources Ltd	0.027	-29%	12682	$8,039,314
TON	Triton Min Ltd	0.005	-29%	25388	$10,978,721
AKN	Auking Mining Ltd	0.006	-25%	1411746	$4,598,230
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.003	-25%	166666	$12,042,769
SFG	Seafarms Group Ltd	0.0015	-25%	254852	$9,673,198
3PL	3P Learning Ltd	0.6	-21%	14325	$207,408,957
ALM	Alma Metals Ltd	0.004	-20%	503110	$7,931,727
AVE	Avecho Biotech Ltd	0.004	-20%	1730579	$15,867,318
BYH	Bryah Resources Ltd	0.004	-20%	2810980	$4,349,768
MEG	Megado Minerals Ltd	0.008	-20%	835592	$4,196,833
RLL	Rapid Lithium Ltd	0.002	-20%	46640	$3,112,362
PUA	Peak Minerals Ltd	0.009	-18%	14258456	$30,880,534
PNN	Power Minerals Ltd	0.059	-18%	2175314	$8,197,551
EMN	Euromanganese	0.205	-18%	45937	$10,247,906
PGH	Pact Group Hldgs Ltd	0.9	-18%	210275	$376,997,608
MNC	Merino and Co	0.12	-17%	170932	$7,696,103
1AI	Algorae Pharma	0.005	-17%	2150156	$10,124,368
AZL	Arizona Lithium Ltd	0.005	-17%	4252772	$27,370,887
BLZ	Blaze Minerals Ltd	0.0025	-17%	2405674	$4,700,843
TMX	Terrain Minerals	0.0025	-17%	385342	$6,010,670
BTE	Botalaenergyltd	0.055	-17%	20000	$16,510,297

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

A listing to the OTCQB has unlocked access to US investors and global market traders for White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN), which has been approved to trade under the ticker WCMLF as of yesterday. The company says the listing will enhance accessibility for US investors, and increase liquidity and market visibility.

Anson Resources (ASX:ASN) is preparing to re-enter the Mt Fuel-Skyline Geyser 1-25 well after submitting a proposal to the local authorities, with plans to use the results from the Bosydaba#1 well to prove-up a JORC mineral resource at the Green River project.

Following-up on broad intersections of gold including 35.76m at 2.14 g/t gold from 14.27m of depth, Arika Resources (ASX:ARI) is set to begin a 6,000m RC drilling program to test extensions and investigate new prospects at the Yundamindra gold project in WA.

Trading Halts

Dimerix (ASX:DXB) - licensing agreement
Orthocell (ASX:OCC) - new regulatory approval for Remplir
Southern Cross Gold (ASX:SXG) - cap raise
Kalamazoo Resources (ASX:KZR) - cap raise
Alice Queen (ASX:AQX) - cap raise
Nanoveu (ASX:NVU) - cap raise
Blinklab (ASX:BB1) – cap raise
Sparc Technologies (ASX:SPN) - cap raise
BluGlass (ASX:BLG) - cap raise
Kore Potash (ASX:KP2) - financing proposal
DY6 Metals (ASX:DY6) - clarification to an announcement

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While White Cliff Minerals, Anson Resources and Arika Resources 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.

Originally published as Closing Bell: Uranium surges on tariff exemption whispers; ASX rides energy wave higher