Closing Bell: Another record for ASX as Pro Medicus’ big contract win lifts healthcare sector

The ASX reached a new record high on Thursday – on banks and healthcare gains, while Pro Medicus secured a $330 million deal with Trinity Health.

ASX hits new record high, driven by banks and health stocks. Picture via Getty Images

• ASX hits new record high, driven by banks and health stocks

• Pro Medicus signs $330m deal with Trinity Health

• Lithium stocks rise on WA government's $150m support package

The ASX touched a new record high on Thursday, the second time this week, as the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark climbed by 0.7%.

The index was buoyed by big banks stocks and a strong showing in health stocks.

This is what the ASX sectors looked like at around 15:45 AEST:

Source: Market Index

Source: Market Index

Healthcare giant ProMedicus (ASX:PME) posted an 8% gain after signing a $330m, 10-year deal with Trinity Health to replace its legacy imaging system with PME’s cloud-based Visage 7 platform across 93 hospitals. The rollout will start in early 2025, expanding PME’s presence in North America.

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 7%.

Another key announcement in the large-cap space 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 4%.

Meanwhile, lithium stocks were in focus after Western Australia's government announced a $150 million support package to assist local lithium producers amid suppressed prices. 

The package includes waivers on port charges and mining fees for up to two years, along with a $50 million loan facility to help sustain operations and encourage downstream processing.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
1TT	Thrive Tribe Tech	0.002	100%	3,355,132	$703,362
AVJ	AVJennings Limited	0.620	88%	6,658,597	$184,229,383
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.006	50%	2,418,860	$11,812,964
ERA	Energy Resources	0.003	50%	1,443,008	$810,792,482
NTM	Nt Minerals Limited	0.003	50%	160,000	$2,421,806
88E	88 Energy Ltd	0.002	33%	3,790,830	$43,400,718
ATH	Alterity Therap Ltd	0.004	33%	13,600,000	$15,961,008
LPD	Lepidico Ltd	0.002	33%	612,089	$12,883,778
TAS	Tasman Resources Ltd	0.004	33%	804,257	$2,415,749
WBE	Whitebark Energy	0.008	33%	166,958	$1,514,001
DM1	Desert Metals	0.023	28%	287,655	$4,777,662
KGD	Kula Gold Limited	0.008	25%	5,661,170	$3,859,272
ARV	Artemis Resources	0.010	25%	2,967,838	$15,335,059
BUY	Bounty Oil & Gas NL	0.005	25%	238,090	$5,994,004
DDT	DataDot Technology	0.005	25%	7,473,140	$4,843,811
EPM	Eclipse Metals	0.005	25%	500,000	$9,111,422
FGH	Foresta Group	0.010	25%	6,115,255	$18,843,032
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.003	25%	119,999	$4,900,774
TMK	TMK Energy Limited	0.003	25%	9,383,878	$18,651,130
VML	Vital Metals Limited	0.003	25%	176,299	$11,790,134
EPY	Earlypay Ltd	0.205	24%	564,587	$44,914,500
NGX	Ngxlimited	0.210	24%	145,395	$15,404,013
KRR	King River Resources	0.016	23%	9,200,635	$19,866,870
IBX	Imagion Biosys Ltd	0.039	22%	54,413	$1,377,237

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 LAGGARDS

Today’s worst performing small cap stocks:

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
MCO	Myeco Group Ltd	0.027	-23%	653,805	$20,881,351
BNL	Blue Star Helium Ltd	0.004	-20%	234,901	$13,474,426
MEL	Metgasco Ltd	0.004	-20%	3,203,613	$7,287,934
SBW	Shekel Brainweigh	0.021	-19%	256,897	$5,929,592
AIV	Activex Limited	0.009	-18%	500,000	$2,370,528
AS2	Askarimetalslimited	0.014	-18%	1,456,432	$2,149,015
EXT	Excite Technology	0.010	-17%	450,097	$20,235,351
GCM	Green Critical Min	0.005	-17%	2,434,578	$11,445,320
NIS	Nickelsearch	0.010	-17%	5,200,522	$6,113,771
IXU	Ixup Limited	0.011	-15%	348,004	$21,722,817
PSL	Paterson Resources	0.011	-15%	276,941	$5,928,492
VAR	Variscan Mines Ltd	0.011	-15%	2,846,933	$9,598,341
HUM	Humm Group Limited	0.660	-15%	5,190,025	$381,114,661
IFG	Infocusgroup Hldltd	0.036	-14%	22,000,148	$6,075,693
DTR	Dateline Resources	0.003	-14%	20,000	$8,806,912
GLL	Galilee Energy Ltd	0.012	-14%	3,119,990	$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%	5,354,541	$200,848,663
AAU	Antilles Gold Ltd	0.004	-13%	1,254,995	$7,422,971
FRX	Flexiroam Limited	0.007	-13%	533,756	$6,285,150
ID8	Identitii Limited	0.014	-13%	1,563,978	$12,209,721

Humm (ASX:HUM) held its AGM this morning, following which its stock price dropped by approximately 15%. When the ASX inquired about the decline, Humm noted it was not aware of any undisclosed information that could explain the movement.

“The company’s AGM was held this morning at 10am and closed at 10.35am with no questions posed by shareholders or otherwise addressed at the meeting,” wrote Humm.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Green Critical Minerals (ASX:GCM) is a step closer to commercialising its VHD pilot plant, with all equipment ordered and on route with delivery expected by the year’s end.

Construction is expected to commence in the first half of December, with the commissioning to take place in Q2 FY25.

Western Gold Resources (ASX:WGR) has reported recoveries of up to 95.1% from met testwork at its Gold Duke project in WA, highlighting the potential for solid recoveries through conventional crush, grind and CIL treatment.

It comes on the heels of a recent scoping study release, headlined by a pre-tax NPV of around $38 million with an IRR of 617% at a conservative $3,500 gold price.

The USA FDA has wrapped up a 30-day review of Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals’ (ASX:PAR) phase III pivotal clinical trial protocol of repurposed pentosan polysulfate sodium (Zilosul) to treat knee osteoarthritis (OA).

It clears the way for the start of phase III trial to begin in Q1 CY25.

QMines (ASX:QML) has struck more high-grade copper at its Develin Creek copper-zinc project in Queensland, reporting results including a 26m intersection grading 1.38% copper and 1.99% zinc.

The results are timely for the company given the recent acquisition of Develin Creek, looking to wrap up the maiden drill program this year and provide an updated MRE in the near term.

Great Southern Mining (ASX:GSN) is raising $2.5 million via a placement to fast track exploration across its WA assets.

The placement was well received by sophisticated, professional and institutional investors, with major miner and JV partner Gold Fields maintaining its holding in GSN through its contribution in the raise.

Far East Gold (ASX:FEG) has been given the green light 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 licence 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 Green Critical Minerals, Western Gold Resources, Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals, QMines, 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 Closing Bell: Another record for ASX as Pro Medicus’ big contract win lifts healthcare sector