Lunch Wrap: Trump’s Tehran warning jolts oil stocks, CSL climbs on FDA nod

Trump tells Tehran to evacuate, lifting oil, gold, miners, while CSL rose on a US FDA approval.

ASX creeps slightly higher as Trump tells Tehran to pack up. Pic: Getty Images

• ASX treads water as Trump warns Tehran to evacuate

• Gold and oil stocks ride fresh war jitters

• CSL wins FDA nod, VBX joins ASX boards today

Wall Street surged overnight, but local traders weren’t buying it early on as the ASX opened in the red.

By lunchtime in the east, the index had climbed slightly after Trump abruptly left the G7 meeting in Canada and fired off a post telling people in Tehran to evacuate.

“Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" he said on Truth Social.

Oil prices, which had dropped as much as 3% overnight, quickly bounced back.

Investors had just priced in calm: Iran was supposedly standing down, and the Strait of Hormuz still had tankers coming through.

But now, there’s fear that Iran might lash out, and Tehran’s only real leverage left might be oil.

Economists reckon if this drags on, central banks like the Fed Reserve might be stuck fighting oil-fuelled inflation well into next year.

Gold prices also jumped after Trump’s post, and so did the ASX, where gold miners and oil stocks are obviously enjoying the chaos this morning.

Source: MarketIndex

In the large end of town, CSL (ASX:CSL) gave investors something to smile about, announcing the FDA has signed off on its new drug Andembry, designed to prevent hereditary angioedema, which is a rare, nasty swelling condition that hits 1 in 50,000.

The drug is already approved across Europe, the UK, Japan, and now hits the US market immediately. CSL’s shares were up 0.7%.

Meanwhile, a new IPO listing, VBX (ASX:VBX), will hit the boards today, giving investors fresh exposure to Aussie bauxite.

The company owns the Wuudagu project in WA, with 96 million tonnes in resource and plans to be in production within two years.

Read more: Guinea style bauxite from WA – VBX lists today in a $10mn IPO.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for June 17 :

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
VR8	Vanadium Resources	0.032	129%	5,571,782	$7,900,086
PVT	Pivotal Metals Ltd	0.011	83%	43,497,549	$5,443,355
AR9	Archtis Limited	0.150	79%	1,510,616	$24,189,241
AXP	AXP Energy Ltd	0.002	50%	142,500	$6,684,681
GMN	Gold Mountain Ltd	0.002	50%	24,227,079	$5,619,759
RAN	Range International	0.002	50%	416,980	$939,290
SRL	Sunrise	0.710	43%	513,869	$44,662,612
ADD	Adavale Resource Ltd	0.002	33%	354,721	$3,430,919
FMR	FMR Resources Ltd	0.270	32%	1,316,052	$4,338,891
FDR	Finder	0.084	29%	1,268,066	$18,478,740
ATV	Activeportgroupltd	0.010	25%	637,081	$5,479,817
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.003	25%	200,948	$6,046,718
MEL	Metgasco Ltd	0.003	25%	496,667	$3,413,768
PRM	Prominence Energy	0.005	25%	851,601	$1,556,706
SKK	Stakk Limited	0.005	25%	426,427	$8,300,319
APC	APC Minerals	0.011	22%	1,650,808	$2,636,400
CP8	Canphosphateltd	0.030	20%	98,529	$7,669,013
AHN	Athena Resources	0.006	20%	18,039	$11,329,785
AZL	Arizona Lithium Ltd	0.006	20%	252,869	$26,351,572
CAZ	Cazaly Resources	0.024	20%	1,252,366	$9,226,060
IFG	Infocusgroup Hldltd	0.006	20%	845,303	$1,379,809
FBM	Future Battery	0.019	19%	303,464	$10,770,576

Vanadium Resources' (ASX:VR8) shares doubled after signing a non-binding MoU with China Precious Asia (CPAL) to supply 1.2 million tonnes per year of vanadium-rich magnetite DSO from its fully permitted Steelpoortdrift project. Vr8 said the deal could generate early cashflow and support its staged development strategy, with 100,000 tonnes a month to be delivered to CPAL, a key player in Asian steel and vanadium supply chains.

Finder Energy Holdings (ASX:FDR) has signed a strategic alliance with global energy giant SLB to speed up development of its Kuda Tasi and Jahal oil fields. The deal will cut about 12 months off the project timeline, with SLB already mobilising teams to kick off drilling and subsea design work. The partnership reduces Finder’s upfront costs through a shared contracting model, and creates a joint project team to drive things forward.

Metgasco (ASX:MEL) says gas production from the Odin and Vali fields hit 100 MMscf in May, its strongest monthly result since January. The boost comes off the back of a few smart tweaks, like reducing back pressure and cycling Odin-2 to build flow ahead of its upcoming Production Uplift Program. Daily volumes were up at Odin and steady at Vali, with the company fully funded and set to kick off the uplift plan from mid-July.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for June 17 :

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
CYQ	Cycliq Group Ltd	0.002	-33%	291,589	$1,381,550
SFG	Seafarms Group Ltd	0.001	-33%	660,744	$7,254,899
GTR	Gti Energy Ltd	0.003	-25%	6,572,142	$11,995,799
WEL	Winchester Energy	0.002	-25%	3,624,645	$2,726,038
SCP	Scalare Partners	0.120	-20%	16,369	$6,275,253
ERA	Energy Resources	0.002	-20%	529,700	$1,013,490,602
OEL	Otto Energy Limited	0.004	-20%	12,377,148	$23,975,049
TFL	Tasfoods Ltd	0.004	-20%	7,937	$2,185,478
TMX	Terrain Minerals	0.002	-20%	16,459,219	$5,621,392
CLG	Close Loop	0.034	-19%	4,365,147	$22,337,694
PEB	Pacific Edge	0.085	-19%	96	$85,251,177
ADG	Adelong Gold Limited	0.005	-17%	55,997,109	$12,412,060
ERL	Empire Resources	0.005	-17%	215,540	$8,903,479
ICR	Intelicare Holdings	0.005	-17%	93,000	$2,917,129
KPO	Kalina Power Limited	0.005	-17%	24,326	$17,597,818
SRJ	SRJ Technologies	0.005	-17%	1,901,199	$3,633,468
MEG	Megado Minerals Ltd	0.011	-15%	883,952	$7,886,882
ENL	Enlitic Inc.	0.023	-15%	2,721,645	$22,291,638
AON	Apollo Minerals Ltd	0.006	-14%	2,247,547	$6,499,198
C7A	Clara Resources	0.003	-14%	5,000	$1,790,615
EV1	Evolutionenergy	0.012	-14%	50,001	$5,077,107
FRS	Forrestaniaresources	0.060	-14%	570,351	$21,736,570
EWC	Energy World Corpor.	0.019	-14%	1,457,473	$67,736,267

Dubber Corp (ASX:DUB) is back in the headlines, and the courtroom. The ASX-listed voice tech company is suing its former auditors BDO for allegedly letting $26.6 million go missing, which has already led to its CEO being booted and ASIC launching investigations. BDO denies liability.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

A maiden auger drill program is set to begin at Verity Resources’ (ASX:VRL) Pimenta project in Minas Gerais, Brazil, to test a 20km high-grade rare earths-gallium-titanium zone.

Western Yilgarn (ASX:WYX) is surging past the milestones at its Cardea 2 bauxite deposit in WA’s Darling Range with the definition of a maiden resource just weeks after securing an exploration licence.

Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) has released a pre-feasibility study that outlines the “exceptionally” strong economics of its Lake Hope high purity alumina project in Western Australia.

LAST ORDERS

Norfolk Metals (ASX:NFL) is gearing up for its own maiden drilling program at the Carmen copper project in Chile, having submitted the permitting applications for a combination reverse circulation and diamond drilling program. The company expects to get the green light in the third quarter of 2025.

Further down the exploration pipeline, TG Metals (ASX:TG6) has just completed a stockpile grade drilling program at the Van Uden gold project. The core samples from the drilling will help TG6 determine gold grades and metallurgical characteristics, with results expected in mid to late July.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Norfolk Metals and TG Metals 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: Trump’s Tehran warning jolts oil stocks, CSL climbs on FDA nod