Closing Bell: ASX tips up; Woodside Energy AGM interrupted by protest

The ASX has managed to claw its way into a 0.16pc gain after an uncertain day of trading, while Woodside Energy’s AGM was overshadowed by a shareholder revolt and climate protestors.

Woodside had another tense AGM this year, interrupted by climate protestors and a mini shareholder revolt. Pic: Getty Images

• ASX wobbles into the green today, adding 13.4 points or 0.16pc

• Gains led by Utilities, Industrials and Tech sectors

• Financials worst performing sector, down 0.62pc

Despite a bit of a rollercoaster of a day, the ASX has settled up just over a dozen points, gaining 0.16%.

By the end of trading, eight sectors were in the green and three in the red.

Source: Market Index.

Financials were the biggest source of weakness, dragged down by some big dips in banking stocks.

Westpac (ASX:WBC) fell 4.18%, ANZ (ASX:ANZ) 1.93% and Suncorp (ASX:SUN) 1.59%.

NAB (ASX:NAB) bucked the trend to lift 1.39% and QBE Insurance (ASX:QBE) gained 1.77%.

There was also plenty of movement in the ASX indices.

Source: Market Index.

The All Ords Gold index rose 2.16% despite a 0.9% fall in gold futures overnight, which settled at US$3,391.90 an ounce.

The All Technology index also put in a strong showing, lifting 1.6%.

WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) shot up 3.78% and financial software company Iress (ASX:IRE) 4.67%.

Shareholders revolt against Woodside’s emissions plan… again

For the second year running, Woodside Energy’s annual general meeting has been interrupted by climate protestors, who blew whistles and heckled MD Meg O’Neill during her opening address.

Having none of it, O’Neill resorted to playing promotional videos about Woodside’s sponsorships and energy projects until the protestors were removed.

Unfortunately for Woodside, the call is also coming from inside the house.

For the second year in a row a large chunk of WDS shareholders rejected the re-election of climate risk committee chair and independent director Ann Pickard.

“This is the worst vote on record against a Committee Chair for Woodside and the second worst vote ever against a Woodside director,” Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility lead analyst Alex Hillman said.

The company opted not to allow shareholders to vote on its environmental plans this year, after they were firmly rejected by shareholders in 2024.

Superannuation funds HESTA and Aware were part of the revolt, joined by US pension funds CalPERS and CALSTRS, which flagged their intention to vote against director Ben Wyatt.

"The steps taken by Woodside so far fall short of what is needed to position it for the global transition to a low-carbon future and the company needs to do more," HESTA said in a statement.

Woodside chair Richard Goyder assured the audience the group was still committed to its climate targets.

“We are making good progress towards the targets we have set. We will, of course, continue listening to our shareholders, who have diverse views, and take your feedback into account as we evolve our approach,” he said ahead of the vote.

Woodside Energy’s (ASX:WDS) shares fell 0.79% in trading today, and are down 27.8% over the past 12 months.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

Security	Name	Last	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
CRB	Carbine Resources	0.006	100%	4534590	$1,655,213
DY6	Dy6Metalsltd	0.12	67%	4088698	$4,214,580
LKY	Locksleyresources	0.043	59%	1.34E+08	$3,960,000
MOM	Moab Minerals Ltd	0.0015	50%	50000	$1,733,666
MKL	Mighty Kingdom Ltd	0.007	40%	12066	$1,825,273
RPG	Raptis Group Limited	0.014	40%	180000	$634,864
HRE	Heavy Rare Earths	0.026	37%	1248099	$3,952,644
PPY	Papyrus Australia	0.012	33%	2050984	$5,136,136
VRL	Verity Resources	0.024	33%	11330590	$4,449,617
FNR	Far Northern Res	0.17	31%	12993	$5,234,557
MTM	MTM Critical Metals	0.265	26%	12425307	$96,322,364
C7A	Clara Resources	0.005	25%	1394	$2,046,417
DTM	Dart Mining NL	0.005	25%	1739091	$2,751,056
MRD	Mount Ridley Mines	0.0025	25%	6250	$1,556,978
8IH	8I Holdings Ltd	0.011	22%	23000	$3,133,448
RR1	Reach Resources Ltd	0.011	22%	2580806	$7,869,882
DES	Desoto Resources	0.145	21%	2970037	$22,346,934
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.006	20%	939059	$5,890,381
CHM	Chimeric Therapeutic	0.006	20%	2093174	$9,086,764
MEM	Memphasys Ltd	0.006	20%	10583612	$9,917,991
MGU	Magnum Mining & Exp	0.006	20%	805498	$5,608,254
RFA	Rare Foods Australia	0.006	20%	25918	$1,359,916
HAW	Hawthorn Resources	0.061	20%	80312	$17,085,796
PLY	Playside Studios	0.155	19%	1060203	$53,198,878
VR1	Vection Technologies	0.0155	19%	17398295	$22,973,885

Making news…

Locksley Resources’ (ASX:LKY) shares surged after announcing that it will push ahead with its Mojave antimony and rare earths project in the US, located just 1.4km from Mountain Pass, America’s only active rare earth mine.

Locksley has formally submitted its drilling permit to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the process is expected to move faster thanks to President Trump’s March 2025 Executive Order aimed at speeding up critical mineral projects.

Recent samples from the Desert Antimony Mine showed standout results with up to 46% antimony and 1,022 g/t silver, confirming strong surface mineralisation over 400 metres.

There’s also promising rare earth potential at the El Campo prospect, with assays hitting 12.1% TREO and 3.19% NdPr.

With its prime location and high-grade finds, Locksley said it was betting big on Mojave to become a key US supply source for antimony and rare earths.

Memphasys (ASX:MEM) has just pulled off successful trials for its RoXsta Mega Cell High-Throughput Assay, a new device that can test antioxidant levels in biological samples – humans and animals – at lightning speed.

In trials, it processed 96 samples in under an hour, a massive leap from the usual 16-hour-wait with traditional methods.

The tech has already been put to the test with cattle and professional footballers, where it delivered quick and accurate data on oxidative stress. Memphasys reckons this could be a game-changer for labs looking to scale up testing without the hefty costs.

Traditionally a battery metals company, Volt Resources (ASX:VRC) has kicked-off a drilling program at its Guinea gold projects, planning to drill a total of 1,350 metres beginning with the Kouroussa prospect.

With multi-million-ounce gold projects like Bankan (5.5Moz) and the Kouroussa Mine (1.2Moz) right next door, VRC is confident its efforts will bear golden fruit.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Today’s worse performing small cap stocks:

Security	Name	Last	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
EEL	Enrg Elements Ltd	0.001	-33%	380501	$4,880,668
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.002	-33%	353610	$8,401,161
TMK	TMK Energy Limited	0.002	-33%	4567683	$30,667,149
RNX	Renegade Exploration	0.003	-25%	1625000	$5,153,454
SFG	Seafarms Group Ltd	0.0015	-25%	709986	$9,673,198
BGT	Bio-Gene Technology	0.024	-20%	113537	$6,040,847
TRI	Trivarx Ltd	0.012	-20%	3531456	$8,553,196
ASR	Asra Minerals Ltd	0.002	-20%	18295557	$6,765,117
LML	Lincoln Minerals	0.004	-20%	129822	$10,512,849
TEM	Tempest Minerals	0.004	-20%	109813	$3,672,649
TYX	Tyranna Res Ltd	0.004	-20%	423560	$16,439,627
ARV	Artemis Resources	0.0065	-19%	7204751	$20,228,234
MIO	Macarthur Minerals	0.018	-18%	1131377	$4,392,641
EM2	Eagle Mountain	0.005	-17%	60001	$6,810,224
EXL	Elixinol Wellness	0.016	-16%	136638	$4,195,583
PSL	Paterson Resources	0.016	-16%	286473	$8,664,720
GEN	Genmin	0.027	-16%	4986283	$28,393,155
PEB	Pacific Edge	0.085	-15%	16000	$81,191,597
RIM	Rimfire Pacific	0.023	-15%	1822447	$67,983,135
M4M	Macro Metals Limited	0.009	-14%	5644196	$41,762,884
EE1	Earths Energy Ltd	0.006	-14%	1401383	$3,709,750
HHR	Hartshead Resources	0.006	-14%	1941579	$19,660,775
MRQ	Mrg Metals Limited	0.003	-14%	3040242	$9,542,815
ARI	Arika Resources	0.031	-14%	6167290	$22,806,311
ABX	ABX Group Limited	0.04	-13%	366509	$11,542,922

Hartshead Resources (ASX:HHR) investors were unimpressed by a pause in procedural timelines for a joint operating agreement covering the UK Southern Gas Basin Licence P2607.

The pause comes after receipt of legal correspondence via joint venture partner RockRose Energy’s legal council.

HHR says the two parties are working towards a “resolution of contractual matters associated with the proposed development program and budget”.

Trading Halts

Waratah Minerals (ASX:WTM) – cap raise
Vertex Minerals (ASX:VTX) – cap raise
Andromeda Metals (ASX:ADN) – cap raise
TZ Limited (ASX:TZL) – pending an announcement regarding a material customer contract (stated purpose)
Peak Minerals (ASX:PUA) – pending an announcement regarding exploration results from the Minta rutile project
Australian Bond Exchange (ASX:ABE) – pending an announcement regarding boardroom personnel changes

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 tips up; Woodside Energy AGM interrupted by protest