Stocks making the biggest moves at noon: Gold and lithium miners, Bank of Queensland and more

These are the companies and sectors making headlines in afternoon trade.

Bank of Queensland (ASX: BOQ) – Shares rallied 5.5% after the bank reported its earnings for the full year ended 31 August 2024. The results were better-than-feared and topped analyst expectations across the board. While the final dividend was cut 20% from 21 cents to 17 cents, this was in line with Macquarie estimates and above Citi expectations of 15 cents. Full-year net interest margins came in at 1.56% compared to market expectations of 1.54%. It's worth noting that Bank of Queensland is the 37th most shorted stock on the market with 5.29% short interest.

Gold miners – It's a sea of green for gold stocks as bullion prices continued to climb overnight, up 0.5% to US$2,661 an ounce and within arm's reach of all-time highs. Top gainers include Alkane Resources (+6.4%), Evolution (+4.8%), Genesis Minerals (+4.8%), West Gold (+3.6%), and Newmont (+3.0%).

Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) – Reported its first quarter FY25 report, which outlined better-than-expected gold production (193,554 ounces vs. 187,400 consensus) at lower-than-expected costs (AISC of A$1,569 vs. $1,643 consensus). Evolution also reaffirmed its full-year production guidance of 710-780,000 ounces of gold and 70-80,000 tonnes of copper at an AISC of A$1,475-1,575 an ounce.

Tyro Payments (ASX: TYR) – Shares bounced 4.6% after a sharp 11% selloff on Tuesday. The move was driven by the Federal Government's plans to ban debit card surcharges from January 2026. Tyro said it has been actively engaged with the RBA and welcomes reviews that assess the true cost of card acceptance for small businesses and consumers. That said, Tyro's revenue is significantly tied to merchant service fees, which may include surcharges.

Tower (ASX: TWR) – The dual-listed New Zealand-based insurer is ticking 1.2% higher after being added to the NZX 50 Index and MidCap Index. Tower shares have massively outperformed the market this year, up 121% to record levels. This follows five consecutive earnings upgrades, where full-year NPAT expectations have soared from $22-27 million in February to "around" $83 million by October.

Challenger (ASX: CGF) – The investment manager reaffirmed its full-year profit guidance of $440-480 million despite flagging a double-digit decline in annuity sales for the September quarter. Over the same time period, group assets under management grew 1% to $128 billion, driven by positive market movements. However, Challenger Life sales dipped 14% to $2.4 billion.

Super Retail Group (ASX: SUL) – Shares are under pressure, down 2.6% amid an ASIC investigation over two whistleblower disputes. According to Financial Review, two former Super Retail executives have alleged the company was a highly dysfunctional workplace and that CEO Anthony Heraghty was having a secret affair with former head of Human Resources, Jane Jelly.

Lithium miners – Lithium miners have pulled back sharply after Macquarie analysts downgraded several names including Core Lithium, Global Lithium, Liontown Resources and Piedmont Lithium. Chinese lithium carbonate prices also opened lower on Wednesday, down 1.0% to 72,650 yuan a tonne. In the past five days, prices have eased around 4.8%.