These are the ASX companies and sectors making headlines in afternoon trade.
The S&P/ASX 200 is trading 60 points higher, up 0.71% after Trump's recent deals with Mexico and Canada offered some reprieve to tariff worries.
Predictive Discovery (ASX: PDI) – Shares in the Guinea-based gold explorer rallied another 10% after a 13.1% gain in the previous session. On Tuesday, the company raised $69.2 million via a private placement with strategic investments from the Lundin family (6.5% stake) and Zijin Mining (3.5%) at 26.5 cents per share.
Insignia Financial (ASX: IFL) – Shares rallied 6.7% after a third private equity firmed joined the bidding war, with Brookfield Capital Partners offering $4.60 cash per share. Here's a summary of key events since the initial offer on 13 December 2024.
13 December 2024: Bain Capital offers $4.00 cash per share
18 December 2024: Insignia rejects the offer, citing "the transaction does not adequately represent fair value for IFL shareholders"
6 January 2025: CC Capital offers $4.30 cash per share (a 7.5% premium to Bain $4.00 offer)
13 January 2025: Bain Capital matches the $4.30 offer and says it is open to discussing a transaction structure that would allow Insignia shareholders to receive a portion of their consideration as private equity shares
17 January 2025: CC Capital lifts the offer price to $4.60 cash per share (a 7.0% premium to the $4.30 offer)
20 January 2025: Insignia offers to provide CC Capital with access to non-public information on a non-exclusive basis
23 January 2025: Bain Capital matches the $4.60 offer and also receives access to non-public information
Tower (ASX: TWR) – Shares in the New Zealand-based insurer raised its full-year underlying net profit guidance to $60-70 million (from $50-60m), citing strong first quarter performance and lower claims.
BWP Trust (ASX: BWP) – Shares in the commercial real estate company rallied 4.2% after its first-half FY25 result showed profit surged 195% to $157.1 million and a steady 9.2 cents per share dividend.
Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) – Shares gained 3.6% after Chin announced sweeping export controls on Tuesday, targeting five critical minerals including tungsten, indium, antimony, gallium and germanium.
Amcor (ASX: AMC) – Shares rallied 3.6% after the company reported a largely in-line Q2 result and reiterated its full-year guidance. Key highlights from the result include:
Net sales flat at US$3.24bn but a 2% miss against consensus
EBITDA flat at US$453m and 2% below consensus
Underlying NPAT up 3% to US$233m and in-line with consensus
Dividend of 12.75 US cents per share is in-line with Q1 and consensus
Net debt was US$6.4bn, leverage at 3.3x
FY25 guidance reaffirmed, including EPS guidance of US$0.72-0.76, representing 3-8% growth on a constant currency basis
Pinnacle Investment Management (ASX: PNI) – Shares rallied 4 .1% after the company reported a solid first-half FY25 result, including:
Net profit after tax up 151% to $75.7 million (20% beat vs. consensus)
Diluted earnings per share up 140% to 36.7 cents
Interim dividend up 112% to 33 cents per share
Aggregate funds under management to $155.4 billion, up 41.1% compared to the prior half
Uranium stocks are broadly higher, with Bannerman (+8.5%), Lotus Resources (+4.2%), Boss Energy (+3.1%), and Paladin Energy (+2.8%) leading the way. This rally may be linked to China's new tariffs on the US, including a 15% tax on coal imports.
Iron ore stocks are rebounding after a sharp 2-5% selloff on Monday, with top gainers today including Champion Iron (+5.4%), Fenix Resources (+3.4%), Rio Tinto (+2.4%), and BHP (+2.0%).
Coal stocks are also higher following China's tariff announcement. Morgan Stanley notes that the impact of these tariffs is likely "negligible or very modest," given that both markets are well-supplied. Today's top gainers in the sector include Coronado Global (+6.4%), Whitehaven Coal (+4.2%), and Stanmore Resources (+3.3%).
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