ASX 200 Live Today - Monday, 14th July

Welcome to our live ASX coverage for Monday, July 14. We’re excited to be trialing this new format. Expect a high volume of posts pre-market and more periodic updates throughout the day. Be sure to refresh manually for the latest updates — and let us know how we can make it even better.

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ASX 200 slips, still within 0.4% of all-time highs

[4:30 pm] The S&P/ASX 200 closed 9 points lower (-0.11%) in another choppy session, with solid gains from Energy (+0.54%), Materials (+0.53%) and Telcos (+0.30%) offsetting weakness across Industrials (-0.57%), Discretionary (-0.48%), Utilities (-0.46%) and Tech (-0.43%).

Beneath the surface, it was a busy day with lithium stocks pushing towards 3-4 month highs, silver names surging, and South32 sinking on impairment charges. Key fintech stocks like Block and Zip also showed weakness.

The local market remains in a holding pattern despite escalating Trump tariffs placing upward pressure on bond yields. The Australian 10-year yield is trading at 4.37%, its highest level since 26 May. The market seems like it will likely continue this sideways drift until a stronger directional catalyst emerges.

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Very strong day for silver stocks

[3:31 pm] Silver stocks have spent most of the day trending higher after prices for the commodity hit levels not seen since 2011.

For example, Sun Silver opened the session 5% higher (84 cents) and currently up 18.75% (95 cents).

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Pilbara Minerals extends intraday rally

[2:56 pm] Pilbara Minerals is currently up around 8% vs. 5.0% earlier in the afternoon.

The stock is set to close at its highest level since 2 April, 2025.

If you're looking for a source to track Chinese lithium futures, I use Sina (the whole website is in Chinese but you can see the price and daily % change).

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Droneshield at all-time highs

[1:55 pm] Droneshield has topped July 2024 high of $2.72 and crossed the $3.00 level for the first time on record.

The previous move was arguably more off hype, while the recent move has been fuelled by significant contract momentum and today's $13 million investment in a "significant R&D and manufacturing capacity expansion."

Droneshield daily price chart (Source: TradingView)

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BHP explores opportunities in battery technology

[12:31 pm] BHP has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with battery giant CATL to explore decarbonisation pathways for mining operations, including electrification of mining equipment and locomotives and rapid charging infrastructure.

The key highlights of the agreement include:

• The partnership will assess energy storage systems and battery recycling, aligning with BHP’s goal to reach net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050.

• Collaboration focuses on circular economy opportunities, leveraging BHP’s copper operations to support battery recycling and build sustainable value chains in the mining sector.

• Both companies frame the partnership as a way to accelerate mining’s energy transition, combining BHP’s operational footprint with CATL’s innovation in battery and energy solutions.

Source: BHP

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Pilbara Minerals extends intraday rally

[12:27 pm] Pilbara Minerals is currently up 5.1%, up from a flattish start.

This follows a ~5% rally in Chinese lithium carbonate futures.

Pilbara Minerals intraday chart (Source: TradingView)

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A broad silver miner rally

[11:53 am] Silver stocks are trading broadly higher after prices surged to fresh 14-year highs last Friday.

Most have continued to trend higher after a sharp gap up at the open.

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Chinese lithium futures surge

[11:48 am] Chinese lithium futures opened 1.5% higher at 11:00 am AEST and currently up 5.0% to 67,300 yuan a tonne, the highest since April 2024.

The news has reversed early losses for most large cap names, with Pilbara Minerals and Liontown Resources both up around 3-4%

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Ballard Mining makes its ASX debut

[11:15 am] Ballard Mining listed at 11:00 am AEST after successfully raising $30 million at 25 cents per share.

The stock opened at 36 cents (+44%) and hit a session high of 37.5 cents (+50%).

The company was formed through a spin‑out from Delta Lithium and its Mt Ida gold asset in Western Australia. Post-IPO, Delta retained approximately 49% ownership of the company.

Mt Ida boasts a JORC-compliant resource of 1.1 million ounces (Moz) of gold at an average grade of 3.33 g/t Au across several deposits.

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Small caps making moves

[11:10 am] Here are the top small caps ($200m to $1bn market cap) gainers and losers in early trade.

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Top gainers and losers in early trade

[10:30 am] Here are the top S&P/ASX 200 gainers and losers in early trade.

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Droneshield at all-time highs, Hansen pops, Zip tanks

[10:11 am] Quite a few stocks making moves this morning.

Hansen (+10.25%): FY25 underlying and cash EBITDA upgrade of around 15% and tracking around 12.5% ahead of Morgan Stanley estimates.

Droneshield (+10.8%): Trading at record levels after announcing plans to invest over $13 million in a new 3,000 sqm Sydney facility to boost combined global capacity to $2.4 billion by 2026.

Zip (-4.5%): JPMorgan said it plans to start charging fintech companies fees for access to their customers' bank account information, which could hinder its US operations.

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Turaco Gold closes oversubscribed SPP

[9:41 am] Turaco Gold says its share purchase plan announced on 25 June has now closed after raising the target amount of $4 million at 44 cents per share.

"Prior to the Offer’s early closing, the Company had received valid applications totalling approximately $10 million, far in excess of the targeted amount of $4 million," the company said in a statement.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Turaco Gold (TCG)

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Hansen Technologies upgrades FY25 EBITDA guidance

[9:36 am] Hansen Technologies has upgraded its FY25 underlying and cash EBITDA guidance, driven by "improved operating efficiencies, disciplined cost management, and a positive earnings contribution from powercloud."

The update noted a slight downgrade in FY25 revenue projections due to "project timing and customer-driven factors, some revenue will shift to FY26."

The key numbers include:

• Operating revenue of $391-393m vs. prior $398-405m (down 2.3% at midpoint)

• Underlying EBITDA of $110-112m vs. prior $92-101m (up 15% at the midpoint)

• Underlying EBITDA margin to be approximately 28%, cash EBITDA margin of approximately 24%

• Cash EBITDA of $92-94m vs. prior $76-85m (Up 15.5% at the midpoint)

To add some perspective, Morgan Stanley (as at Feb-25) forecasted FY25 EBITDA of $98.4m (unclear if underlying or cash) and EBITDA margins of 24.4%.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Hansen Technologies (HSN)

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South32 flags Mozal impairment

[9:25 am] South32 expects to record an impairment for Mozal Aluminium in FY25, driven by uncertainty around securing a post-March 2026 electricity supply for the smelter.

Its long-standing power deal with hydro provider HCB expires in March 2026, but attempts over six years to lock in a new affordable tariff have been unsuccessful. Recent drought conditions are impacting HCB’s hydro-electric generation capacity, increasing the risk of inadequate power availability for Mozal operations.

FY26 production guidance is now under review, highlighting potential disruption to Mozal’s operations if power supply is not secured. Mozal is economically significant, contributing ~3% of Mozambique's GDP and employing thousands. South32 owns 63.7% of the smelter.

The impairment amount will be disclosed when the valuation assessment is finalised, signalling material downside risk for the asset.

Citi's NPV analysis of South32's projects values Mozal at A$0.84 vs. $5.13 across all projects (16.3%), less corporate and cash items.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: South32 (S32)

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Droneshield bolsters R&D, manufacturing output

[9:20 am] DroneShield will invest over $13 million in a new 3,000 sqm Sydney facility, boosting annual production capacity to $900 million by mid-2026 and combined global capacity to $2.4 billion by end-2026.

The facility is expected to open by December 2025, with the site to include advanced in-house production, testing, and warehousing. The company’s current production space will be repurposed for expanded R&D, taking total R&D area to 5,530sqm.

The expansion supports a $2.34 billion sales pipeline, with Europe emerging as the fastest-growing export market, particularly following a $61.6 million European contract in June — its largest ever.

Droneshield shares are up 62% in the past month and 262% year-to-date amid a recent streak of contract wins.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Droneshield (DRO)

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Macquarie Technology enters into land purchase option agreement

[9:15 am] Macquarie Data Centres entered into an option agreement to potentially buy land in Sydney for $240 million, intended for a new campus with over 150 MW of IT load targeted at hyperscale, AI, cloud, and government customers.

The land acquisition is contingent on subdivision and planning approvals, with purchase to be funded via existing cash and debt facilities. Longer-term funding options include project finance or infrastructure investors.

The development timeline spans several years, giving Macquarie flexibility to scale and secure funding as demand materialises.

Its current IC3 SuperWest development remains on track, with Phase 1 due September 2026. Future phases and the new campus create a 7–10 year growth runway for capacity and customer onboarding.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Macquarie Technology Group (MAQ)

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Australian Finance Group reports record quarterly loan volumes

[9:12 am] AFG posted a record $27 billion in Q4 FY25 loan lodgements, up 19% year-on-year, marking the highest quarterly volume in company history and pushing full-year lodgements past $100 billion.

The announcement was marked non-price sensitive, as the company provides these updates every quarter.

Some of the key takeaways include:

• Loan volumes surged across all states, led by WA (+25%), QLD (+21%), and SA (+18%), reflecting strong national demand and broker activity.

• Loan count hit 40,810, the most ever recorded by AFG and only the second time above the 40,000 mark, pointing to resilient consumer engagement via brokers.

• Refinancing dropped to a record low of 19%, as borrowers likely wait for potential RBA rate cuts, and only 2.3% of customers opted for fixed rate products.

• Non-major lenders gained share at 40.3%, while AFG Home Loans grew to 6.55%, suggesting rising consumer appetite for alternatives to the Big Four banks.

• Investor lending hit 34%, the highest since FY17, while the national LVR fell to 63.1%, indicating more equity-rich borrowers leveraging existing gains.

• Average mortgage size rose to $678,333, consistent with elevated property prices, while turnaround times held up at 15.6 days despite record volumes.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Australian Finance Group (AFG)

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Abacus Storage receives an improved offer

[9:02 am] The AFR says Ki Group and US-listed Public Storage have presented a $1.65 per share offer to Abacus Storage, a 14.7% increase from its initial $1.47 per share offer.

The new offer represents a 42.2% premium to Abacus Storage King’s share price before the initial bid in April, signalling strong strategic intent from suitors Ki Group and Public Storage.

Board has granted due diligence, indicating a shift toward serious engagement after the initial rejection.

Source: AFR

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Imugene poised to raise capital

[8:58 am] Imugene is set to raise ~$35 million through a placement, with brokers Bell Potter and E&P Financial already wall-crossing fund managers over the weekend, according to the AFR.

The raise will be linked to fresh data from Imugene’s allogeneic CAR T cell therapy (azer-cel), including complete and partial tumour responses, which could help underpin investor interest.

The last raise was in 2022, when Imugene acquired the azer-cel licence and raised $60 million at 8.4 cents per share (not to be confused with current share price of 42.5 cents as the company recently completed a 1:34 share consolidation).

Source: AFR

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Block tumbles on JPMorgan fees

[8:55 am] NYSE-listed Block shares tumbled 5.2% on Friday after JPMorgan said it plans to start charging fintech companies fees for access to their customers' bank account information.

A Bloomberg article noted: The largest US bank has sent pricing sheets to data aggregators — which connect banks and fintechs — outlining the new charges, according to people familiar with the matter. The fees vary depending on how companies use the information, with higher levies tied to payments-focused companies, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

Buy now, pay later peers like Affirm and Sezzle also finished sharply lower, down 5.5% and 9.3% respectively.

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Silver stocks to watch

[8:49 am] The silver price move and strong response from overnight silver miners should drive some positive flow for local names.

The breadth of silver stocks on the ASX remains relatively limited (compared to other metals like gold, uranium and lithium). The notable names to watch include:

• Adriatic Metals (ASX: ADT)

• Andean Silver (ASX: ASL)

• Boab Metals (ASX: BML)

• Manuka Resources (ASX: MKR)

• Maronan Metals (ASX: MMA)

• Polymetals Resources (ASX: POL)

• Silver Mines (ASX: SVL)

• Sun Silver (ASX: SS1)

• Unico Silver (ASX: USL)

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Silver prices at highest since 2011

[8:45 am] Silver prices rallied 3.79% overnight, trading above the US$38 level for the first time since October 2011.

This drove the NYSE-listed Global X Silver Miners ETF 3.5% higher, to the highest since January 2021.

Silver price daily chart (Source: TradingView)

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Tariff talk: Trump vs. Mexico, Canada and the EU

[8:42 am] An escalation in tariff headlines over the weekend, including:

• Trump announced 30% tariffs on the European Union and Mexico, starting 1 August. This represents an escalation from previous tariff levels with these trading partners.

• Trump threatened a 35% tariff on goods imported from Canada

• Trump told NBC News on Thursday that he plans to ratchet up his global tariff baseline rate as high as 20%

Despite the onslaught of tariff threats, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished the Friday session down just 0.33% and 0.22% respectively.

This suggests the market is increasingly viewing these letters/threats as a negotiating tactic for trade deals. Though, the real test will be upcoming inflation data. According to Bloomberg, US core inflation is forecast to accelerate on an annual basis for the first time since January, to 2.9% in June.

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Good morning!

[8:28 am] S&P/ASX 200 futures are down 13pts (-0.15%) after US equities finished broadly lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq snapping 2-3 straight weeks of gains.

It's a pretty stacked morning. I've got heaps of tariff, commodity moves and company announcements to review and post.

If you’re new to the blog – catch up quick via today’s Morning Wrap.