Australian shares rallied at midday, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 1.19% to 8,827.9 at 12:20pm AEST after weaker-than-expected US jobs data eased concerns about further interest rate rises. Gold miners and healthcare stocks led the gains, while utilities lagged for a second straight session and the major banks delivered a mixed performance.
In small cap company news:
Talga begins commercial anode sales to Nyobolt
Talga Group (ASX: TLG) has commenced commercial deliveries of its Talnode®-C battery anode product to Nyobolt under a binding offtake agreement, marking the transition from qualification volumes to ongoing sales revenue. The first shipment has been delivered from Talga’s demonstration plant in Sweden, with the balance of the 3,000-tonne agreement to be supplied from its planned commercial anode facility. The company said demand is growing across high-performance battery applications including heavy vehicles, robotics, defence and AI data centres, while discussions continue with additional customers across Europe, Japan and North America.
Echo IQ secures exclusive cardiovascular AI dataset
Echo IQ (ASX: EIQ) has signed an exclusive data licensing agreement with Advara HeartCare, securing access to between 500,000 and one million de-identified echocardiography studies to support development of its AI-powered cardiovascular diagnostics platform. The company said the three-year agreement, subject to ethics approval, complements its existing National Echo Database Australia partnership and will strengthen AI model training, product development and future commercial opportunities through one of Australia’s largest cardiovascular imaging datasets.
Mamba expands Meeka East exploration footprint
Mamba Exploration (ASX: M24) has expanded its Meeka East Gold Project in Western Australia through new licence applications and the acquisition of additional ground along the Bella Trend, while confirming a heritage survey in late July ahead of planned reverse circulation drilling. The company is also reviewing the copper potential of its tenure following recent regional exploration success and expects exploration activity to accelerate as approvals are received.
Boss Energy brings forward Honeymoon study
Boss Energy (ASX: BOE) has achieved its revised FY26 production guidance at the Honeymoon uranium operation, producing 1.41 million pounds of U₃O₈, while bringing forward the release of its updated feasibility study and life-of-mine plan to the end of August. Management said growing confidence in the project’s wide-spaced wellfield design and recent technical work supports the accelerated timetable and the potential to incorporate additional satellite deposits into future mine plans.
GreenTech gears up for Pilbara drilling
GreenTech Metals (ASX: GRE) has contracted a drill rig ahead of an 8,300-metre exploration campaign across its Munni Munni and Whundo projects in Western Australia, with mobilisation planned for late July. The program will target copper-gold extensions and priority exploration areas, supported by a government-funded electromagnetic survey, while resource re-estimation and metallurgical testwork continue to advance ahead of a future scoping stud
