Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
Hello, hello, and welcome to HotCopper Highlights for Week 16, CY26, I’m Isaac McIntyre. In this segment, we wrap up the stocks and company announcements you were watching this week on Australia’s #1 finance website. Let’s get straight into it, starting with the most viewed – Bison Resources (ASX:BSR).
Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.
Not often we see a debutant break straight into the Highlights main pages, so this is a fun one to cover in Week 16. Nevada-focused Bison started life on the ASX on Thursday, listing under ticker “BSR” for 20 cents a share. Well, a day later, it’s cracked 65c and posted a +227% weekly gain. Remember, that’s since it floated 11AM yesterday, so it says weekly, but really, that’s a 24-hour rocket.
Other top watches included HotCopper forum lithium darlings PLS Group (ASX:PLS) and Liontown (ASX:LTR), with each drawing excitement for the same reason: They’ve been up as much as +14% in Week 16. Much of that has come from booming EV sales as punters try to avoid the oil crisis’s biggest victim: Petrol prices.
Now onto the most-discussed, where there’s a leader that will surprise absolutely no one, considering the week that’s been: Viva Energy (ASX:VEA).
Viva has been in mainstream headlines since early Thursday, when a fire broke out at its Geelong oil refinery. It’s drawn national attention 1) because there’s a fuel crisis going on globally, and 2) this particular Corio plant is one of just two operating refineries we have in Australia right now. It supplies 50% of Victoria’s and 10% of Australia’s fuel. Not great timing, by any stretch of the imagination.
The company’s shares have been in a trading halt since open Thursday, so no price action to report, and expect this story to roll on for a while. Albo today said it wouldn’t impact our four-stage fuel control plan, and wouldn’t lead to restrictions, but there’s already worry growing elsewhere that it won’t help.
Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) was another late breaker, overtaking several other Week 16 hot topics after the company bumped Langer Heinrich’s production guidance on a “robust performance during the first nine months.” Paladin now expects Langer Heinrich’s total production to reach between 4.5 million and 4.8 million pounds of uranium, an increase from the previously forecast 4.4 million.
Stock-wise PDN enjoyed a +4% hike, though it may be Week 17 where we see more price action, considering how many put it on their HotList watchlists.
Finally, Diablo Resources (ASX:DBO) drew some weekly attention after starting its maiden drilling program. The microcap’s leaping on high-grade silver, antimony, and copper it recently spotted at its flagship project in Utah.
(If that one interests you, they’re actually a Market Link client, so we sat down with boss Lyle Thorne on Wednesday to chat about the developments.)
That’s the Highlights for Week 16, I’m Isaac McIntyre. See you next week.
Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on HotCopper, Australia’s largest stock forum, and be part of the conversations that move the markets.
