Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens
Good morning! Here’s everything you need to know, and some things you don’t, before the ASX flings open its doors and begins trading today.
Good morning, and welcome to Rise and Shine on a beautiful Thursday May 1, 2025.
Yesterday Donald Trump spoke at a Michigan rally for nearly 1.5 hours, called a bunch of jurists commies and hailed the most successful first 100 days of any administration in the history of the US.
Pinball Wizard, taken from a rock opera which warns about the folly of cults, got an airing in the pre-game show. The irony. In the background a tiff between the Prez' team and Amazon squillionaire Jeff Bezos after a US Pol pub claimed the online marketplace wanted to itemise tariff costs for US customers. It was denied by Amazon, sorta. The linguistic gymnastics will tie you in knots.
The S&P 500 was down 5.24% YTD as of yesterday morn. Not the dire straits the US market found itself in post-Liberation Day. Nasdaq Futures are pointing softly down, as the Mag 7 led index looks to rebound and recover its post April 2 losses.
Back home annual trimmed mean inflation fell below the key 3% level yesterday, dropping to 2.9%, rising a soft 0.7% QoQ. ANZ says a 25bps cut is a near certainty in May, post Saturday's Federal Election. ANYWAY.
It was on this day in 1941 that Orson Welles released Citizen Kane, the legendary tale of the life of alienation engendered by a media tycoon’s lust for power.
The eponymous subject Charles Foster Kane bore more than a hint of resemblance to the US media baron William Randolph Hearst.
That tanked its commercial potential. The film was barred from promotion in the Hearst papers, something akin to being shadowbanned from Instagram.
RKO demurred on hosting the first screening, at risk of reprisal from the man who sympathised with the Nazis and once claimed to have started a literal war with Spain, or a time-travelling Elon Musk, same, same.
It eventually opened at the Palace Theatre in New York to rapturous critical acclaim but limited, initial, commercial success.
It lost out at the Academy Awards to John Ford’s How Green Was My Valley, put down to the extraordinary number of non-academy members allowed to vote for the best film.
“The mob prefers a regular guy to a genius,” a Variety reporter lamented. We feel that here all the time, my guy.
Onto the markets info you probably came here for…
COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES
Gold: US$3282.95/oz (-1.22%)
Silver: US$32.38/oz (-2.8%)
Iron Ore: US$97.55/t (-0.92%)
Nickel (3mth): US$15,550 (-0.4%)
Copper (3mth): US$9440/t (+0.7%)
Zinc: US$2650/t (+0.6%)
Lithium carbonate: US$8700/t (-3.33%)
Oil (WTI): US$59.60/bbl (-1.29%)
Oil (Brent): US$63/bbl (-1.95%)
AUD/USD: 0.6397 (+0.21%)
Bitcoin: US$94,738.73 (+0.52%)
WHAT GOT YOU TALKING
Stockhead brings you 11 ASX listed companies searching for highly sought-after critical minerals that have once again been thrust into the investor spotlight.#ASX #investing #criticalminerals #mining #miningnewshttps://t.co/XnyqpqMYWe
— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) April 30, 2025
Also in the news...
Demand growth from technology - particularly humanoid robots - coupled with supply constraints from China are brewing to create a perfect storm for rare earth prices, which analysts say could double by the 2030s.
In an effort to avoid tariff impacts, biotech ImpediMed (ASX:IPD) intends to stockpile $1.2m in foreign components. CEO Parmjot Bains said the items would be bought at “pre-tariff prices to further reduce the risk of disruption.”
The safe haven of gold has gone from strength to strength in recent months, with demand hitting a nine-year high in the March quarter. Investors are reportedly flooding into the market, increasing demand 170% year-on-year.
ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS
Today’s best performing small cap stocks:
| Security | Description | Last | % | Volume | MktCap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOM | Moab Minerals Ltd | 0.0015 | 50% | 245980 | $1,733,666 |
| JLL | Jindalee Lithium Ltd | 0.58 | 41% | 696836 | $30,172,658 |
| SKK | Stakk Limited | 0.007 | 40% | 305663 | $10,375,398 |
| ERA | Energy Resources | 0.002 | 33% | 4901144 | $608,094,361 |
| WOA | Wide Open Agricultur | 0.0355 | 31% | 34887241 | $14,409,538 |
| ALM | Alma Metals Ltd | 0.005 | 25% | 4005600 | $6,345,381 |
| CYQ | Cycliq Group Ltd | 0.0025 | 25% | 249999 | $921,033 |
| ERL | Empire Resources | 0.005 | 25% | 500000 | $5,935,653 |
| OVT | Ovanti Limited | 0.005 | 25% | 4147687 | $10,806,191 |
| WHK | Whitehawk Limited | 0.016 | 23% | 7400433 | $9,354,933 |
| OSX | Osteopore Limited | 0.018 | 20% | 4460326 | $2,283,284 |
| BMR | Ballymore Resources | 0.12 | 20% | 182966 | $17,673,059 |
| 1AI | Algorae Pharma | 0.006 | 20% | 1455146 | $8,436,974 |
| AZL | Arizona Lithium Ltd | 0.006 | 20% | 5190549 | $22,809,073 |
| LMG | Latrobe Magnesium | 0.012 | 20% | 10632106 | $25,485,374 |
| PV1 | Provaris Energy Ltd | 0.012 | 20% | 758334 | $6,980,013 |
| SMM | Somerset Minerals | 0.012 | 20% | 6678247 | $3,271,122 |
| TMX | Terrain Minerals | 0.003 | 20% | 1000000 | $5,008,892 |
| REM | Remsensetechnologies | 0.062 | 19% | 1383821 | $8,696,167 |
| SVG | Savannah Goldfields | 0.025 | 19% | 1120359 | $18,263,918 |
| NUC | Nuchev Limited | 0.19 | 19% | 7784 | $23,414,288 |
| ECS | ECS Botanics Holding | 0.013 | 18% | 3350172 | $14,256,545 |
| NMT | Neometals Ltd | 0.075 | 17% | 1936292 | $49,243,205 |
| AKN | Auking Mining Ltd | 0.007 | 17% | 500000 | $3,448,673 |
| CRR | Critical Resources | 0.0035 | 17% | 2019002 | $7,842,664 |
Making news…
Wide Open Agriculture (ASX:WOA) has signed a deal with Univar Solutions China, naming it the exclusive distributor of its lupin protein products across mainland China. Univar’s no small player, it’s the second-biggest ingredient distributor in the world, pulling in over $11 billion in sales last year. Under the deal, Univar has agreed to buy at least 50 tonnes of lupin protein over 12 months (after a 6-month prep phase), with pricing to be sorted between the two.
Arizona Lithium (ASX:AZL) is powering ahead with its Prairie Project in Canada, locking in approvals to kick off brine production and raising $1.3 million to fund its first facility. It’s also reworking plans at Big Sandy alongside key shareholder NTEC. With DLE tech in hand and the lithium market tipped to bounce back, AZL reckons it’s in prime position to make a splash.
Strong exploration potential and the formal acquisition of the Coppermine project delighted Somerset Minerals (ASX:SMM) investors. The company has drummed up 15 anomalous copper zones on the project tenure, with at least five coinciding with other indicators of mineralisation, including positive historical drilling, surface exploration and geophysical results.
A cash flow positive quarter achieving net cash of $420k and customer cash receipts of $1.403m boosted RemSense Technologies (ASX:REM) shares after the company released its quarterly report. Major customer Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS) also renewed its virtualplant subscription during the quarter, alongside Newmont Mining (ASX:NEM). REM says its discussing a global rollout across all Newmont Mining operations with the major gold production company.
ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS
Today’s worse performing small cap stocks:
| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICU | Investor Centre Ltd | 0.001 | -50% | 103990 | $609,023 |
| IVT | Inventis Limited | 0.01 | -38% | 51005 | $1,222,790 |
| EEL | Enrg Elements Ltd | 0.001 | -33% | 6454216 | $4,880,668 |
| WEL | Winchester Energy | 0.001 | -33% | 100000 | $2,044,528 |
| 3DP | Pointerra Limited | 0.06 | -28% | 9513299 | $66,821,374 |
| NC6 | Nanollose Limited | 0.034 | -28% | 2056610 | $10,950,168 |
| 1TT | Thrive Tribe Tech | 0.0015 | -25% | 3112589 | $4,063,446 |
| 88E | 88 Energy Ltd | 0.0015 | -25% | 1976288 | $57,867,624 |
| CT1 | Constellation Tech | 0.0015 | -25% | 1000000 | $2,949,467 |
| GMN | Gold Mountain Ltd | 0.0015 | -25% | 433530 | $9,591,960 |
| M2R | Miramar | 0.003 | -25% | 7372978 | $3,987,293 |
| RFA | Rare Foods Australia | 0.006 | -25% | 362307 | $2,175,866 |
| TFL | Tasfoods Ltd | 0.003 | -25% | 60261 | $1,748,382 |
| MAP | Microbalifesciences | 0.17 | -24% | 763535 | $100,766,695 |
| GSM | Golden State Mining | 0.007 | -22% | 426513 | $2,514,336 |
| TMS | Tennant Minerals Ltd | 0.007 | -22% | 3058097 | $8,603,014 |
| ODE | Odessa Minerals Ltd | 0.0055 | -21% | 1838502 | $11,196,728 |
| VAR | Variscan Mines Ltd | 0.0055 | -21% | 3877994 | $5,480,004 |
| ASR | Asra Minerals Ltd | 0.002 | -20% | 7556077 | $6,765,117 |
| BLZ | Blaze Minerals Ltd | 0.002 | -20% | 700000 | $3,917,370 |
| C7A | Clara Resources | 0.004 | -20% | 6962 | $2,558,021 |
| HLX | Helix Resources | 0.002 | -20% | 160999 | $8,410,484 |
| MGU | Magnum Mining & Exp | 0.004 | -20% | 139999 | $4,046,807 |
| MMR | Mec Resources | 0.004 | -20% | 2558333 | $9,248,829 |
| PHL | Propell Holdings Ltd | 0.008 | -20% | 125431 | $2,783,381 |
Trading Halts
- AdAlta (ASX:1AD) - evaluate financing opportunities
- Advance Metals (ASX:AVM) - cap raise
- Arika Resources (ASX:ARI) - cap raise
- Clime Investment Management (ASX:CIW) - distribution deal with a US based fund manager
- Dreadnought Resources (ASX:DRE) - farm-in and joint venture agreement
- Equinox Resources (ASX:EQN) - cap raise
- Opyl (ASX:OPL) - cap raise
- Red Mountain Mining (ASX:RMX) - cap raise
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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