Closing Bell: ASX stays the course to finish flat as uranium stocks take flight

The ASX finished flat today, adding just 1 point. The energy sector propped the market up, adding 5pc as oil prices continue to climb.

ASX uranium stocks soared in trading today, with many finding new year-to-date highs. Pic: Getty Images

• Energy sector powers higher again, up more than 5pc

• ASX uranium stocks surge

• ASX All Ords Gold index falls almost 5pc

While global markets fell on Friday, the ASX has resisted economic riptides, staying afloat to finish up just 1 point or 0.01% in today's trade.

The vast majority of that buoyancy came from the energy sector, which added 5% after surging 6% on Friday last week.

Source: Market Index.

Santos (ASX:STO) was a big part of that momentum, gaining 10% on a $30b takeover offer from Abu Dhabi's state-owned energy group ADNOC.

The South Australian minister for energy and mining Tom Koutsantonis has already signalled that the State will be looking closely at the proposal, and in particular at its implications for employment and Santos’ operations in the local area.

There was also movement in the ASX All Tech index, up 0.84%, but the All Ords Gold sub-index pulled in the other direction, dragging more than 5%.

Source: Market Index.

ASX uranium stocks take flight

It’s not just oil and gas stocks pushing the ASX energy sector higher today.

Uranium miners are also flying, netting double-digit gains as sentiment around uranium mining and nuclear energy turns bullish.

The Iran-Israel conflict is also playing a part – Israel has pointedly targeted Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities, destroying a uranium conversion facility at Isfahan.

While Iran wasn’t exporting any uranium to the global market, it was producing about 3000 kilogram of enriched uranium per year, demand that will now need to be met by other sources.

Sprott analysts say the long-term outlook for uranium is strong, citing its constrained supply and inelastic demand levels.

“China shows no signs of slowing its buildout of new reactors,” Sprott analyst Jacob White wrote in the most recent Sprott Uranium Report.

“In the US, the Trump administration has reaffirmed its support for nuclear energy as a strategic priority.

“Large technology companies, such as Amazon, Google, and Meta, have joined the chorus, backing the expansion of tripling nuclear power by 2050 to meet growing baseload power needs.

“In a world of rising risk and correlation, uranium remains resilient, uncorrelated and increasingly essential.”

Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) has added 20% today, Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) 17%, Paladin (ASX:PDN) 15%, Bannerman (ASX:BMN) 14% and Lotus Resources (ASX:LOT) just under 13%.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

Security	Name	Last	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
ICE	Icetana Limited	0.085	107%	8544476	$21,804,862
CYQ	Cycliq Group Ltd	0.003	50%	709158	$921,033
PAB	Patrys Limited	0.0015	50%	380326	$2,057,447
RC1	Redcastle Resources	0.007	40%	10745155	$3,717,835
AR9	Archtis Limited	0.084	35%	1078512	$17,853,963
PLG	Pearlgullironlimited	0.008	33%	783413	$1,227,251
BSN	Basinenergylimited	0.021	31%	600374	$1,965,269
ATV	Activeportgroupltd	0.009	29%	2141388	$4,794,840
RML	Resolution Minerals	0.045	29%	92650295	$18,840,040
WEC	White Energy Company	0.044	26%	2050	$10,906,697
MKL	Mighty Kingdom Ltd	0.015	25%	1097469	$5,833,700
AAU	Antilles Gold Ltd	0.005	25%	596599	$9,245,472
BMO	Bastion Minerals	0.0025	25%	2610000	$1,807,255
GTE	Great Western Exp.	0.01	25%	2523554	$4,542,063
JAV	Javelin Minerals Ltd	0.0025	25%	242699	$12,252,298
MSG	Mcs Services Limited	0.005	25%	130000	$792,399
MTB	Mount Burgess Mining	0.005	25%	302098	$1,406,811
OVT	Ovanti Limited	0.0025	25%	3537862	$6,011,030
ROG	Red Sky Energy.	0.005	25%	247542	$21,688,909
TFL	Tasfoods Ltd	0.005	25%	521382	$1,748,382
TMX	Terrain Minerals	0.0025	25%	809666	$4,497,113
VEN	Vintage Energy	0.005	25%	590000	$8,347,655
KAI	Kairos Minerals Ltd	0.032	23%	23024188	$68,403,717
ZAG	Zuleika Gold Ltd	0.016	23%	2269484	$9,644,439
MQR	Marquee Resource Ltd	0.011	22%	4715139	$5,024,723

Making news…

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.

A contract with the US Department of Defense has turned heads for archTIS (ASX:AR9), after the company locked in a deal to deploy its NC Protect secure software collaboration solution to an initial 1000 users.

AR9 expects to expand to the full DoD network in the coming months, with potential to expand its user base 6-fold. The initial license sale carries a value of $38,500.

Following the death of its founder Nigel Forrester and a reshuffle of the leadership team, Mount Burgess Mining (ASX:MTB) has laid out a strategy to strengthen its operational foundation and advance the Kihabe–Nxuu polymetallic project in Botswana.

The company as adopted three pillars, namely business stability, project advancement, and project pipeline growth, as the core elements of its new strategy.

Vintage Energy (ASX:VEN) has inked a contract with Adelaide Energy Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Beach Energy, to sell its 25% interest in the PEP 171 licence, in the onshore Otway Basin, Victoria.

The sale will net $1.25m in consideration, with $1m being cash and the remainder consisting of a waive of a milestone payment otherwise due from Vintage.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Today’s worst performing small cap stocks:

Security	Name	Last	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
RAN	Range International	0.001	-50%	450000	$1,878,581
CP8	Canphosphateltd	0.025	-34%	117951	$11,656,900
AUH	Austchina Holdings	0.001	-33%	328	$4,538,075
BUY	Bounty Oil & Gas NL	0.002	-33%	203374	$4,684,416
SKN	Skin Elements Ltd	0.002	-33%	101023	$3,225,642
VML	Vital Metals Limited	0.002	-33%	1458383	$17,685,201
DTI	DTI Group Ltd	0.005	-29%	657964	$3,139,860
M2R	Miramar	0.003	-25%	3626977	$3,987,293
RLC	Reedy Lagoon Corp.	0.0015	-25%	127604	$1,553,413
HFY	Hubify Ltd	0.009	-25%	12898	$6,133,636
GLE	GLG Corp Ltd	0.1	-23%	59324	$9,633,000
ZNC	Zenith Minerals Ltd	0.031	-21%	317	$15,890,215
1AD	Adalta Limited	0.002	-20%	774750	$2,678,291
CTN	Catalina Resources	0.004	-20%	12446766	$12,130,095
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.002	-20%	193661	$2,953,293
MEM	Memphasys Ltd	0.004	-20%	1061600	$9,917,991
MRD	Mount Ridley Mines	0.002	-20%	2401601	$1,946,223
SKK	Stakk Limited	0.004	-20%	143009	$10,375,398
EQX	Equatorial Res Ltd	0.13	-19%	38600	$21,031,256
UBI	Universal Biosensors	0.035	-19%	23531	$12,816,900
HE8	Helios Energy Ltd	0.018	-18%	1989506	$68,754,700
IXR	Ionic Rare Earths	0.009	-18%	11421574	$57,941,683
PBL	Parabellumresources	0.045	-18%	65465	$3,426,500
AM7	Arcadia Minerals	0.015	-17%	10000	$2,112,902
FME	Future Metals NL	0.015	-17%	4086017	$12,938,411

TRADING HALTS

Blaze Minerals (ASX: BLZ) – cap raise & acquisition
D3 Energy (ASX:D3E) – potential asset acquisition
Emyria (ASX:EMD) – material commercial deal & cap raise
European Lithium (ASX:EUR) – funding transaction for Greenland project
Lithium Universe (ASX:LU7) – acquisition & cap raise
Simble Solutions (ASX:SIS) – cap raise
St Barbara (ASX:SBM) – production guidance update & mining lease renewal
Turaco Gold (ASX:TCG) – cap raise
X2M Connect (ASX:X2M) – cap raise

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Zenith Minerals (ASX:ZNC) has announced a $3.5 million underwritten, non-renounceable entitlement offer to advance gold exploration.

A recently completed reverse circulation drilling program at Latitude 66’s (ASX:LAT) K6 prospect has successfully tested gold-cobalt prospective targets.

West Wits Mining (ASX:WWI) will soon begin gold production at Qala Shallows after securing $14m in a share placement.

Asian Battery Metals’ (ASX:AZ9) regional drilling at the Yambat project in Mongolia has intersected ultramafic mineralisation at the MS1 target.

A bargain basement deal to acquire the Weebo gold project will position Magmatic Resources (ASX:MAG) between some of the giants of the WA gold sector.

AnteoTech (ASX:ADO) has entered an agreement with Swiss Wyon AG to evaluate its Ultranode tech for medical applications.

Neurizon Therapeutics (ASX:NUZ) has rolled out new preclinical data demonstrating significant neuroprotective effects of NUZ-001 and its active metabolite NUZ-001 Sulfone, in a zebrafish model of Huntington’s disease.

Redcastle Resources (ASX:RC1) has inked a performance-based, profit-sharing MoU with a mining services contractor for open-pit gold extraction.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Redcastle Resources is a Stockhead advertiser, it 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: ASX stays the course to finish flat as uranium stocks take flight