The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index (ASX: XSO) finished at 3,505 points, down 6.4 points or 0.18% in the latest session, but remains up 48 points or 1.39% over the past five trading days, reflecting continued resilience across the small-cap sector despite broader market volatility.
Gold explorers and consumer brands have delivered key updates this morning. You can read about those companies and more throughout the day.
Shares in Gelion PLC (AIM:GELN, OTC:GELNF, FRA:X0S), the sulfur battery company, rose 16% to 20.52p after it announced a three-year collaboration with Nissan and the University of Oxford to develop next-generation solid-state electric vehicle batteries using its proprietary Nano-Encapsulated Sulfur cathode technology.
The £3.4 million project, named CoRe-SoLiS, has secured £2.4 million in combined grant funding from Innovate UK under its Battery Innovation Concept Development Round 1 competition, with £1.6 million awarded directly to Gelion's UK subsidiary.
Aura Energy Ltd (ASX:AEE, AIM:AURA) shares rose 16.5% to 7.28p on Tuesday after the uranium developer announced a memorandum of understanding with an unnamed major international nuclear power company and set a target date for a final investment decision on its Tiris project in Mauritania by the end of 2026.
The MOU covers potential strategic equity investment, uranium offtake arrangements, technical collaboration and funding support, and formalises a relationship the company says has been building over several months.
PRO MEDICUS LIMITED (ASX:PME) shares have extended their gains for a second straight session as investors respond to a fresh wave of US contract wins, renewals and management's increasingly confident stance on artificial intelligence.
The medical imaging software company is up more than 6% at 12:30 pm AEST on Tuesday after notching a nearly 10% gain on Monday, following a series of major contract announcements and comments from chief executive Dr Sam Hupert pushing back against suggestions that AI will undermine established healthcare software providers.
Almost three million Australian workers will receive a pay increase from July 1 after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down a larger-than-expected annual wage review aimed at helping employees recover purchasing power lost during the post-pandemic inflation surge.
The commission lifted minimum and award wages by 4.75%, benefiting around 2.9 million workers, while approximately 100,000 of the nation's lowest-paid employees will receive a 6% increase.
Engineering services company Tasmea Ltd (ASX:TEA) surged 16.1% after unveiling plans to acquire specialist contractor Maxim Group in a deal worth up to $254 million, strengthening its position in fast-growing infrastructure, electrification and data centre markets.
The transaction, expected to complete around July 1 subject to ACCC approval, comprises $112 million in cash, $72 million in Tasmea shares and up to $70 million in earn-out payments tied to EBIT performance.
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX:NST) shares jumped 10.3% after activist hedge fund Elliott Management revealed it had built a stake worth more than $US1 billion in the gold miner and called for urgent changes to address operational and strategic shortcomings.
The $US80 billion Florida-based investor said Northern Star had suffered from operational missteps, cost overruns and inconsistent strategic direction, contributing to production downgrades and the recent departure of chief executive Stuart Tonkin.
Avira Resources Ltd (ASX:AVW) has started its inaugural 4,500-metre reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Mt Cattlin Gold Project in Western Australia, targeting extensions to known high-grade gold mineralisation and testing two additional prospects.
The program is focused on the Sirdar and Maori Queen deposits, where previous drilling has returned high-grade intersections including 1 metre at 131.24 g/t gold, 6 metres at 50.07 g/t and 2 metres at 31.65 g/t.
Simble Solutions Ltd (ASX:SIS) has entered into a strategic research partnership with Macquarie University to accelerate the development and commercialisation of its exclusive nanosensor technology, expanding its potential applications across sectors ranging from soft robotics and healthcare to industrial monitoring and environmental protection.
The collaboration builds on Simble's acquisition of Next Nano Pty Ltd, which holds an exclusive licence from Macquarie University to develop and commercialise the technology. Under the new agreements, the university and Simble will jointly fund a two-year research program designed to advance the platform towards commercial deployment.
EV Resources Ltd (ASX:EVR) has signed three additional non-binding memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with regional antimony miners, lifting potential third-party feedstock supply for its Tecomatlán Processing Plant in Puebla, Mexico, to more than 50% of plant capacity.
The company now has four non-binding MOUs covering 2,330–2,430 tons per month of feedstock, equivalent to about 50%–60% of Tecomatlán’s nameplate capacity based on a 28-day operating month.
HAWK RESOURCES LIMITED (ASX:HFC) has confirmed strong near-surface copper mineralisation from laboratory assays on drill hole DD26CT003 at the Cactus Corridor within its Cactus copper-gold project in Utah, USA.
Copper intersections include: