ASX Lunch Wrap: ASX closes on record high and BTC surges despite Wall Street lead

ASX nears record high, Bitcoin rebounds above US$96k, AV Jennings runs hot on takeover.

ASX up and BTC surges on Thursday morning. Pic: Getty Images

• ASX nears record high despite weak Wall Street session

• Bitcoin rebounds above US$96k

• Home builder AV Jennings stuns with private equity takeover bid

The ASX is on the verge of a new record this morning, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbing by 0.5%  to within striking distance.

The surge comes despite a weak session on Wall Street, where major indices Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all fell overnight.

Investor sentiment in the US was dampened by disappointing earnings from tech giants Dell and HP, which saw their stocks tumble by around 12% each.

On top of that, US inflation data came in hotter than expected, sparking fears the Fed Reserve may reverse course and raise interest rates.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has recovered from yesterday’s dip, jumping back above US$96,000.

On the ASX, here’s what’s happening at around 12:45pm AEST:

Source: MarketIndex

Source: MarketIndex

Iron ore-related stocks climbed as iron ore futures rose by over 1% in Singapore, driven by improving conditions in China’s steel sector.

A key announcement from the large-cap space today came from insurance giant Insurance Australia (ASX:IAG), which revealed it’s acquiring RACQ’s insurance underwriting business in a deal worth $855 million. IAG’s shares rose by 3%.

Webjet Group (ASX:WJL) said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking the c0mpany to court. The ACCC alleges that Webjet misled customers by advertising flight prices without including mandatory fees. Shares were down 4%.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for November 28 :

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
1TT	Thrive Tribe Tech	0.002	100%	423,000	$703,362
AVJ	AVJennings Limited	0.625	89%	5,417,983	$184,229,383
DDT	DataDot Technology	0.006	50%	7,071,448	$4,843,811
NTM	Nt Minerals Limited	0.003	50%	100,000	$2,421,806
LPD	Lepidico Ltd	0.002	33%	612,089	$12,883,778
SP8	Streamplay Studio	0.013	30%	26,294,655	$11,506,238
DM1	Desert Metals	0.023	28%	287,655	$4,777,662
ARV	Artemis Resources	0.010	25%	2,562,533	$15,335,059
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.005	25%	241,848	$11,812,964
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.005	25%	500,000	$9,111,422
FGH	Foresta Group	0.010	25%	4,858,773	$18,843,032
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.003	25%	119,999	$4,900,774
TMK	TMK Energy Limited	0.003	25%	7,404,555	$18,651,130
VML	Vital Metals Limited	0.003	25%	170,368	$11,790,134
EPY	Earlypay Ltd	0.200	21%	540,927	$44,914,500
EXL	Elixinol Wellness	0.006	20%	4,000,000	$8,767,023
RDS	Redstone Resources	0.003	20%	2,435,981	$2,313,446
HAS	Hastings Tech Met	0.335	20%	1,048,230	$50,631,318
SRR	Saramaresourcesltd	0.033	18%	25,000	$4,745,641
IMR	Imricor Med Sys	1.260	18%	333,935	$289,088,070
WA8	Warriedarresourltd	0.060	18%	8,453,413	$39,015,782
NMG	New Murchison Gold	0.011	17%	12,591,091	$66,482,576
ATH	Alterity Therap Ltd	0.004	17%	5,339,037	$15,961,008
AVE	Avecho Biotech Ltd	0.004	17%	2,751,754	$9,507,891

AV Jennings (ASX:AVJ) the residential property developer, has received an unsolicited proposal from Proprium Capital Partners and AVID Property Group to acquire all its outstanding shares for $0.67 per share in cash. This offer represents a premium of over 100% compared to AVJennings’ last share price.

NT Minerals (ASX:NTM) has entered into an exclusive exploration agreement with Mine Operations for the Mummaloo Project, located 300 km southeast of Geraldton, WA. The agreement grants NTM the exclusive right to explore the project for an initial 12-month term, with an option to extend for another 12 months. NTM also has the first right of refusal to acquire the project.

Desert Metals (ASX:DM1) has identified a gold anomaly at its King Kong prospect in Côte d'Ivoire, with soil sampling, grab sampling, and geophysics revealing a 2.4km-long gold zone. Peak gold values from soil samples include 3.55g/t, while grab samples from artisanal pits returned up to 8.40g/t. The company has completed eight diamond drill holes, with results expected by December.

Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) has reported high-grade gold and copper results from rock chip sampling at the Thorpe Prospect, part of its Carlow tenement in WA. Samples returned up to 45.8 g/t gold and 10.3% copper, with significant silver values also detected. The mineralisation is linked to veins along two key structures, each with a 500m strike length.

Earlypay (ASX:EPY) said it expects to achieve FY25 underlying earnings per share (EPS) of 2.2 cents, a 28% increase from FY24. Earnings are expected to be weighted towards the second half of FY25, with a target dividend payout ratio of at least 60%.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for November 28 :

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
MTB	Mount Burgess Mining	0.001	-33%	500,000	$1,947,220
NES	Nelson Resources.	0.002	-33%	7,142	$2,115,783
AS2	Askarimetalslimited	0.012	-29%	978,115	$2,149,015
AMD	Arrow Minerals	0.002	-25%	3,242,971	$26,447,256
BNL	Blue Star Helium Ltd	0.004	-20%	234,373	$13,474,426
HUM	Humm Group Limited	0.620	-20%	3,485,372	$381,114,661
IXU	Ixup Limited	0.011	-19%	280,589	$21,722,817
AIV	Activex Limited	0.009	-18%	500,000	$2,370,528
IFG	Infocusgroup Hldltd	0.035	-17%	20,187,887	$6,075,693
NIS	Nickelsearch	0.010	-17%	5,093,517	$6,113,771
DTR	Dateline Resources	0.003	-14%	20,000	$8,806,912
GLL	Galilee Energy Ltd	0.012	-14%	3,019,990	$7,800,700
MEG	Megado Minerals Ltd	0.012	-14%	837,137	$4,094,378
RFA	Rare Foods Australia	0.024	-14%	23,546	$7,615,531
PAR	Paradigm Bio.	0.495	-14%	4,182,694	$200,848,663
VNL	Vinyl Group Ltd	0.100	-13%	556,942	$134,528,412
CAV	Carnavale Resources	0.004	-13%	390,000	$16,360,874
MKG	Mako Gold	0.014	-13%	180,660	$15,785,905
TON	Triton Min Ltd	0.007	-13%	1,841,325	$12,547,110
AKO	Akora Resources	0.105	-13%	20,000	$15,012,331
SFX	Sheffield Res Ltd	0.140	-13%	215,149	$63,168,792
3PL	3P Learning Ltd	0.750	-12%	794	$231,970,544
KAI	Kairos Minerals Ltd	0.015	-12%	494,882	$44,725,507
NSM	Northstaw	0.015	-12%	75,917	$4,635,501

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Far East Gold (ASX:FEG) has been given the greenlight from the Foreign Investment Review Board for the second and third tranches of funding under a strategic investment agreement with Xingye Gold.

FEG CEO Shane Menere says this marks another significant milestone for the company this year, partnering with a major Chinese mining company to advance its portfolio of world-class assets and provide a clear pathway toward project development in 2025.

Imricor Medical Systems (ASX:IMR) has inked a license agreement with ADIS, a Swiss-based software company, to integrate AI modules into its NorthStar 3D mapping system.

The agreement sets up terms for upfront license payments and ongoing fees. While the company is still working through regulatory processes, Imricor plans to commercially roll out the NorthStar system and its AI modules across Europe, the USA, and the Middle East in 2025.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Far East Gold and Imircor Medical Systems 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 ASX Lunch Wrap: ASX closes on record high and BTC surges despite Wall Street lead