Lunch Wrap: Santos rockets, oil surges as Israel-Iran tensions fire up ASX energy stocks

The ASX shook off a rough start to edge higher by lunch as oil surged, Santos soared on a $30b takeover.

Santos rockets on $30b bid as oil fires up ASX. Pic: Getty Images

• Santos rockets on $30b bid as oil fires up ASX

• Gold nears record

• ASIC probes ASX, as Aurizon lands BHP deal

It was a jittery start for the ASX this morning, opening in the red as global markets continued to digest the deepening crisis between Israel and Iran.

But by lunchtime, the ASX 200 index had quietly clawed its way back into positive territory, up 0.1%.

Global oil markets kicked off the week still steaming from Friday’s chaos. Crude jumped 13% last week, 7% of that in just one day, and added another 1.5% this morning.

This came as Israel intensified its attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure. The fear now is that Tehran could shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping lane for about 20% of the world’s oil.

If that happens, you can expect more than just petrol prices to spike, inflation could come roaring back too.

That backdrop lit a fire under local energy stocks. The sector jumped 6% on Monday, one of its biggest single-day leap in years.

Gold also crept closer to its all-time high, hitting as high as US$3450 an ounce, just shy of its April record.

Source: MarketIndex

But front and centre this morning was Santos (ASX:STO), rocketing 12% after confirming it had received a $30 billion takeover offer from a heavyweight Middle Eastern consortium led by Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc, ADQ, and private equity firm Carlyle.

The offer lands at US$5.761 per share, or $8.89, marking a 28% premium to Friday’s close, and a hefty 44% premium to its 3-month average.

The Santos board has opened the door for due diligence, and if this thing lands, it will go down as one of the year’s biggest energy deals. Foreign investment concerns will dominate the talk on this one.

In other large caps news, ASIC announced it’s launching a full-blown inquiry into ASX (ASX:ASX), focusing on governance, risk management, and whether the bourse has its house in order.

Not surprisingly, ASX shares dropped 6%, with investors wondering just how deep this probe might go.

And in the heavy-lifting department, Aurizon Holdings (ASX:AZJ) rose 2% after announcing a $1.5 billion contract win with BHP (ASX:BHP) to provide logistics for its South Australian copper projects over 10-15 years.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for June 16 :

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
SRN	Surefire Rescs NL	0.002	100%	2,004,907	$2,486,445
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.003	50%	1,000,000	$2,362,635
ICU	Investor Centre Ltd	0.003	50%	200,328	$609,023
JNO	Juno	0.036	44%	326,919	$5,230,926
EM2	Eagle Mountain	0.007	40%	1,554,948	$5,675,186
PRM	Prominence Energy	0.004	33%	2,527,297	$1,167,529
8CO	8Common Limited	0.024	33%	1,279,353	$4,033,708
EAT	Entertainment	0.005	25%	10,000	$5,235,144
MRD	Mount Ridley Mines	0.003	25%	1,000,000	$1,556,978
MSG	Mcs Services Limited	0.005	25%	175,000	$792,399
OEL	Otto Energy Limited	0.005	25%	8,555,899	$19,180,039
SIS	Simble Solutions	0.003	25%	10,999	$1,752,661
UBI	Universal Biosensors	0.042	24%	68,082	$10,134,293
PHO	Phosco Ltd	0.077	22%	95,588	$27,614,252
A11	Atlantic Lithium	0.165	22%	218,948	$93,574,887
ICG	Inca Minerals Ltd	0.006	20%	5,675,253	$7,881,950
OLI	Oliver'S Real Food	0.006	20%	15,000	$2,703,660
RC1	Redcastle Resources	0.006	20%	700,000	$3,717,835
PVW	PVW Res Ltd	0.013	18%	315,106	$2,187,953
YAR	Yari Minerals Ltd	0.013	18%	5,986,573	$6,101,826
JCS	Jcurve Solutions	0.047	18%	343,790	$13,213,738
CDE	Codeifai Limited	0.041	17%	2,110,842	$15,065,346

Tourism Holdings (ASX:THL) has received an unsolicited takeover offer from a group led by BGH Capital and the Trouchet family, pitching NZ$2.30 a share in cash. It’s non-binding and still subject to due diligence and a final tick from BGH’s investment committee. The consortium is also open to just taking a controlling stake in THL, not necessarily buying the whole lot. THL’s board hasn’t made a call yet.

ActivePort Group (ASX:ATV) has inked a deal to roll out its software-defined networking tech for Telekom Malaysia, one of Asia’s biggest fixed-line telcos. The software will power TM’s shift from old-school manual provisioning to a slick, browser-based self-service platform, slashing circuit activation times from weeks to minutes. It will go live across five countries, starting from June, and marks a big step in TM’s push to become a global digital platform player

Redcastle Resources (ASX:RC1) has signed a non-binding MoU with Terra Mining to kick off contract mining at its Queen Alexandra and Redcastle Reef gold projects in WA. Terra will fund and manage all open-pit mining down to 70 metres, under a profit-sharing setup aimed at generating early cash without big upfront spend. Redcastle keeps full ownership of the gold and control over processing. A final deal is expected after updated resource estimates and permits land later this year.

Bubs Australia (ASX:BUB) confirmed it had lodged paperwork with US authorities to sell three infant formula products permanently in that market — a crucial move for a company looking to secure long-term access to American parents’ wallets.

Pointsbet (ASX:PBH)’s Board has officially knocked back a takeover bid from Betr, saying it just doesn’t stack up against the $1.20-a-share all-cash offer from MIXI. Pointsbet believes MIXI’s offer is clean, fully funded, and gives every shareholder a clearer value.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for June 16 :

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
AOK	Australian Oil.	0.002	-33%	15,000	$3,005,349
AXP	AXP Energy Ltd	0.001	-33%	50,000	$10,027,021
BMO	Bastion Minerals	0.002	-33%	1,310,000	$2,710,883
OVT	Ovanti Limited	0.002	-33%	1,006,466	$9,016,545
NAE	New Age Exploration	0.003	-25%	401,015	$10,637,596
AX1	Accent Group Ltd	1.400	-22%	9,237,398	$1,085,140,142
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.002	-20%	12	$7,558,397
ERA	Energy Resources	0.002	-20%	204,755	$1,013,490,602
JAV	Javelin Minerals Ltd	0.002	-20%	122,699	$15,315,373
THR	Thor Energy PLC	0.009	-18%	10,000	$7,818,688
PL3	Patagonia Lithium	0.041	-18%	80,519	$5,970,518
AD1	Adneo Limited	0.045	-17%	123,182	$7,905,975
BSN	Basinenergylimited	0.015	-17%	977,951	$2,210,928
ENV	Enova Mining Limited	0.008	-17%	18,790,631	$12,721,507
ERL	Empire Resources	0.005	-17%	347,579	$8,903,479
FBR	FBR Ltd	0.005	-17%	2,952,279	$34,136,713
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.003	-17%	350,926	$8,461,275
TMK	TMK Energy Limited	0.003	-17%	916,212	$30,667,149
ODA	Orcoda Limited	0.068	-16%	133,877	$15,188,651
CTT	Cettire	0.270	-16%	21,305,436	$121,996,230
MRR	Minrex Resources Ltd	0.009	-14%	1,938,452	$11,391,109
AM5	Antares Metals	0.006	-14%	1,110,000	$3,603,970
BYH	Bryah Resources Ltd	0.012	-14%	14,030,546	$12,179,349

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX:BCM) has received a clear sign the in-situ recovery trial at its Ema rare earths project is progressing as planned with the tracer reagent magnesium sulphate recorded in multiple extraction holes.

Phase 2 drilling at Nimy’s (ASX:NIM) Block 3 project in WA has delivered high-grade gallium in the first four holes, confirming the potential for the asset to emerge as a standalone gallium development.

Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) has returned more high-grade hits from the Sandstone Hub as it looks toward a resource upgrade and pre-feasibility.

LAST ORDERS

Buxton Resources (ASX:BUX) is delving into the Centurion iron oxide copper-gold target with a maiden drilling program.

The company will deploy a drill rig to the Centurion project as soon as repairs to an existing access track are complete, expected within the next two weeks.

BUX has planned a 1000-metre vertical diamond drill hole to test a large geophysical signature, with flexibility to follow up with more drill holes if needed.

Prospect Resources (ASX:PSC) has welcomed Matt Pascall to the board as a non-executive director. As a mining engineer, he brings decades of mining industry experience, including most recently with First Quantum Minerals.

Pascal played a defining role in First Quantum’s expansion in Zambia, where his operational oversight and strategic direction played a critical part in delivering mining developments.

He will support the next phase of exploration at Mumbezhi, through feasibility, development and into production.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Brazilian Critical Minerals, Brightstar Resources, Nimy Resources, Buxton Resources and Prospect 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 Lunch Wrap: Santos rockets, oil surges as Israel-Iran tensions fire up ASX energy stocks