Midday Market Movers

Stocks making the biggest moves at noon: Syrah Resources, Myer, Premier Investments and more

Mon 13 Jan 25, 1:05pm (AEDT)
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These are the companies and sectors making headlines in afternoon trade.

Syrah Resources (ASX: SYR) – Shares in the struggling graphite producer rallied 8.9% after the company was awarded a tax credit of approximately US$165 million (approx A$267 million) under the US Inflation Reduction Act's Section 48C Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit Program. Syrah said the tax credit "can be monetised for cash" and proceeds will support the potential expansion of its Vidalia active anode material facility in Louisiana.

4DMedical (ASX: 4DX) – Shares rallied 9.0% after the respiratory device company won a contract with the US Department of Defense to pilot its CT Ventilation-Perfusion technology to assess lung health for a cohort of 80 active duty personnel.

Insignia Financial (ASX: IFL) – Shares rallied 2.7% after the wealth giant received another takeover offer from Bain Capital at $4.30 per share, a 7.5% increase on its previous $4.00 a share proposal. Bain also indicated its willingness to allow existing Insignia shareholders to retain some of their equity under private equity ownership.

Oil and gas stocks including Woodside (+2.1%), Karoon Energy (+1.8%), Beach Energy (+1.4%), Strike Energy (+1.2%) and Santos (+1.1%) are trending higher after the US imposed sweeping new sanctions on Russia's oil industry. Citi analysts believe these measures could target almost 30% of Russian crude oil exports. Brent crude prices have rallied almost 15% since early December on tightening Russian sanctions, falling US inventories and higher-than-expected winter demand.

Myer (ASX: MYR) – Shares in the retailer tumbled 17.9% after issuing a preliminary trading update for the year-to-date ended 28 December 2024.

  • Group comparable sales were flat compared to the prior period

  • Total sales down 0.8% to $1.59 billion, affected by the temporary closure of the Werribee store between 14 February and 29 November 2024

  • Operating gross profit down approximately 2.6% to $560 million

  • "Myer’s year-to-date financial performance has been impacted by a number of factors including challenging macroeconomic conditions as well as increased costs and ramp-up complexity at the new National Distribution Centre in Ravenhall, which has delayed the realisation of expected benefits."

Premier Investments (ASX: PMV) – Shares also tumbled 15.2% after reporting an unaudited 1H25 trading update for the 26 weeks to 25 January 2025.

  • "Retail conditions have remained challenging through 1H25 with customers continuing to experience cost of living pressures across all of Premier Retail’s global markets and having a strong focus on value."

  • Total global sales for 1H25 to be in the range of $855-865 million, down 2.2% year-on-year and below Macquarie's $879.6 million estimates (as of Nov-24)

  • Premier Retail's underlying EBIT to be in the range of $160-165m

Alkane Resources (ASX: ALK) – Shares in the gold miner dipped 8.5% after its December quarterly flagged 14,852 ounces of gold production, below forecasts for the quarter. The weaker production was slightly offset by the gold-in-circuit, which increased by 1,700 ounces.

NRW Holdings (ASX: NWH) – Shares in the diversified contract services company dipped 10% after the company's CFO, Richard Simons, tendered his resignation. In the interim, finance executive Alexander Hall will be acting CFO as the company undertakes a search process for a new CFO.

Retail stocks are falling across the board, likely in response to the weaker-than-expected numbers from Myer and Premier Investments. A few key losers include Adairs (-4.7%), Cettire (-3.4%), Accent Group (-3.4%) and Universal Store (-2.7%).

Tech stocks suffered broad-based weakness as soaring bond yields and a pullback in Fed rate cut expectations weighed on risk appetite. Stocks including Weebit Nano (-4.6%), Life360 (-3.6%), Codan (-2.3%) and Wisetech Global (-1.9%) are leading the declines.

Written By

Kerry Sun

Content Strategist

Kerry holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Monash University. He is an avid swing trader, focused on technical set ups and breakouts. Outside of writing and trading, Kerry is a big UFC fan, loves poker and training Muay Thai. Connect via LinkedIn or email.

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