Lunch Wrap: ASX lifts and miners bounce back after tariff de-escalation

The ASX crept higher as talk of easing tariffs gave miners a leg up, but oil got the wobbles on OPEC supply rumours.

ASX edges higher as tariff de-escalation pushes miners higher. Pic: Getty Images

• ASX edges higher as tariff de-escalation pushes miners higher


• Oil wobbles on OPEC supply ramp-up talk


• Gold stocks bounce back

The ASX lifted again on Thursday morning, with the ASX 200 climbing 0.5% by lunchtime, AEST.

Not a thumping rally, but enough to keep the mood upbeat.

Investors seemed to breathe a little easier as whispers emerged from Washington that President Trump might be looking to ease those monster 145% tariffs on China.

Word is, they could be dialled back to somewhere between 50% and 65%. Nothing official, but it was enough to give Wall Street a jolt overnight.

The S&P 500 hit a two-week high, Nasdaq surged 2.5%, while the Dow had a crack at a 400-point gain.

Tesla jumped nearly 6% after Elon Musk promised to actually spend more time running the company, instead of moonlighting at DOGE.

Intel, meanwhile, is swinging the axe, with plans to cut over 20% of its headcount as it tries to get back to its engineering roots.

The chip giant’s been wobbling a bit lately, and the new boss, Lip-Bu Tan, reckons it’s time for a clean-out and he’s not mucking around.

In other markets, Brent is hovering around a two-week low as rumours grow that OPEC+ might open the taps further.

Concerns also still remain for the oil market that this whole tit-for-tat tariff drama could dent energy demand, especially if it drags on.

Back home, most of the big lift came from the miners this morning.

Gold stocks, which faced a bloodbath on Wednesday, bounced back strongly. Emerald Resources (ASX:EMR) and Newmont Corporation (ASX:NEM) clawed back 4%.

Iron ore names like BHP (ASX:BHP) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) also rallied, helped by the iron ore price popping back above US$100 a tonne.

Source: MarketIndex

Source: MarketIndex

In large caps news, Kathleen Valley lithium mine operator Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) gained 3% after reporting a solid 17% lift in March quarter revenue.

Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) said its gold production and sales dipped during the March quarter, down to 75,497 ounces and 64,322 ounces respectively, though it insists it’s still on track to hit its full-year guidance.

And, Generation Development Group (ASX:GDG), headed by former Olympics champ Grant Hackett, crashed 17% despite growing its asset base in the March quarter. Looks like the market expected more from its first quarter as an ASX 200 club member.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for April 24 :

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
M2R	Miramar	0.004	100%	14,698,944	$1,993,647
EEL	Enrg Elements Ltd	0.002	50%	1,500,000	$3,253,779
RAN	Range International	0.003	50%	333,334	$1,878,581
PPY	Papyrus Australia	0.011	38%	13,750	$4,565,454
ACS	Accent Resources NL	0.008	33%	60,000	$2,838,764
BNL	Blue Star Helium Ltd	0.008	33%	1,473,566	$16,169,312
RDS	Redstone Resources	0.004	33%	2,618,087	$2,776,135
CUS	Coppersearchlimited	0.022	29%	180,006	$2,017,456
RFA	Rare Foods Australia	0.009	29%	485,766	$1,903,883
GCM	Green Critical Min	0.012	28%	29,194,954	$17,655,105
KNI	Kunikolimited	0.175	25%	135,330	$12,169,398
FHS	Freehill Mining Ltd.	0.005	25%	1,905,216	$12,314,111
TAR	Taruga Minerals	0.011	22%	1,330,000	$6,354,241
PDN	Paladin Energy Ltd	4.850	22%	5,257,867	$1,587,861,950
BMG	BMG Resources Ltd	0.012	20%	1,298,293	$8,383,972
JLL	Jindalee Lithium Ltd	0.285	19%	295,832	$17,662,044
ABE	Ausbondexchange	0.039	18%	218,181	$3,718,048
AGE	Alligator Energy	0.028	17%	14,454,597	$92,966,384
AKN	Auking Mining Ltd	0.007	17%	429,095	$3,448,673
SPX	Spenda Limited	0.007	17%	175,201	$27,691,293
TEG	Triangle Energy Ltd	0.004	17%	5,600,699	$6,267,702
TOE	Toro Energy Limited	0.225	15%	1,033,453	$23,454,960
AEE	Aura Energy	0.115	15%	781,040	$89,074,814
CU6	Clarity Pharma	2.055	14%	1,448,202	$580,039,660

Gold Mountain (ASX:GMN) has been poking around its Ararenda Project in northeast Brazil, and reckons it’s onto something big. Early test results from stream sediment samples show some chunky copper-gold anomalies stretching across 20 kilometres, which line up with a known mineralised zone nearby. It’s sniffing out signs of a large IOCG-style system and with more results on the way, the company said it’s keen to drill.

Pursuit Minerals (ASX:PUR) released its quarterlies today. The company said during the quarter, it’s been busy at its Rio Grande Sur lithium project over in Argentina, which is starting to hit some solid milestones. The company fired up its lithium carbonate pilot plant in Salta and produced its first batch from synthetic brine. Pursuit is also rolling out a staged production plan aiming for over 15,000 tonnes a year, and the numbers from its recent resource upgrade are feeding straight into the feasibility study due out in the first half of 2025.

Forbidden Foods (ASX:FFF) is finding its groove after snapping up Oat Milk Goodness, with March racking up its best sales month since the new crew took over. Net sales hit $1.1 million for the quarter, more than double what it was this time last year, and online orders are still climbing. Costco’s placed another chunky order – its biggest yet – and the company is building up stock to keep pace with demand.

Sabre Resources (ASX:SBR) is offloading its Ninghan Gold Project to Capricorn Metals in a deal worth $1.6 million, with most of the payment coming in Capricorn shares. It’s pocketed a $100k deposit and could score up to $1.75 million more down the track if Capricorn kicks off drilling, confirms a decent gold resource, and gives the green light to mine. Sabre’s also keeping a small royalty on any gold dug up.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for April 24 :

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
88E	88 Energy Ltd	0.001	-33%	6,981,035	$43,400,718
FTC	Fintech Chain Ltd	0.004	-33%	583,050	$3,904,618
T3D	333D Limited	0.006	-25%	22,222	$1,409,468
NGX	Ngxlimited	0.100	-20%	73,985	$11,326,480
CTN	Catalina Resources	0.002	-20%	776,798	$4,159,399
FAU	First Au Ltd	0.002	-20%	58,227	$5,179,983
LML	Lincoln Minerals	0.004	-20%	2,665	$10,512,849
VFX	Visionflex Group Ltd	0.002	-20%	5,000,000	$8,419,651
TRP	Tissue Repair	0.205	-18%	628,015	$15,116,211
CTT	Cettire	0.540	-18%	5,388,646	$249,711,034
KPO	Kalina Power Limited	0.005	-17%	5,315,165	$17,365,318
SHP	South Harz Potash	0.005	-17%	72,000	$6,495,472
REE	Rarex Limited	0.032	-16%	14,943,330	$30,432,142
8CO	8Common Limited	0.017	-15%	6,695	$4,481,898
IR1	Irismetals	0.135	-14%	300,698	$26,926,103
AAU	Antilles Gold Ltd	0.003	-14%	100,000	$7,442,287
CLA	Celsius Resource Ltd	0.006	-14%	1,907,211	$20,352,998
FFF	Forbidden Foods	0.006	-14%	5,514,266	$4,984,714
HHR	Hartshead Resources	0.006	-14%	3,226,541	$19,660,775
ODE	Odessa Minerals Ltd	0.006	-14%	6,993	$11,196,728
W2V	Way2Vatltd	0.006	-14%	350,000	$6,538,001
OBM	Ora Banda Mining Ltd	1.030	-14%	5,855,173	$2,250,645,829
C1X	Cosmosexploration	0.074	-13%	13,378	$8,794,661
AGD	Austral Gold	0.061	-13%	95,141	$42,861,795

Motor-sports cooling system specialist, PWR (ASX:PWH), took a 5% hit after announcing that founder and CEO Kees Weel is stepping back temporarily to focus on his health. While Weel will still be involved in steering the company’s direction, day-to-day operations are now in the hands of the executive leadership team, with Matthew Bryson stepping in as acting CEO.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Hillgrove Resources (ASX:HGO) has mobilised contractors, equipment, and labour to fast-track development of the Nugent decline at its Kanmantoo site, with first ore on track for processing in the December 2025 quarter. This milestone marks the start of Stage 1 in the company’s 12-month production ramp-up strategy.

EU-funded geophysical exploration has kicked off at Latitude 66 (ASX:LAT) flagship KSB Project in Finland’s Kuusamo Schist Belt, as part of the €5 million UNDERCOVER initiative led by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK). Backed by Horizon Europe, the three-year project aims to advance deep exploration for critical raw materials using innovative and environmentally friendly techniques.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Hillgrove Resources and Latitude 66 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: ASX lifts and miners bounce back after tariff de-escalation