Good afternoon and welcome to HotCopper Highlights, I’m Jon Davidson, in this segment we go through the most viewed and most discussed stocks you were deciding on Australia’s #1 finance website, let’s get into it starting with the most viewed.
The ASX Ltd itself generated chatter and views this week, or a lack of it perhaps, when on Monday the bourse operator saw announcements bungled for nearly 100 companies who were unable to issue disclosures to market. At least this time traders could actually buy and sell shares unlike one day this time last year, but it’s more reputational damage for Helen Lofthouse’s ASX, and, worst of all, HotCopper’s clients got hit by it too.
Elsewhere, NextDC causing late week excitement after it became the latest, or first, Australian ASX major to ink a multi-billion deal with the sensational and perhaps economically dubious company OpenAI; this news followed recent ABS data showing a data centre surge down under has basically helped artificially make the GDP look better than it really is.
Finally, Sandfire Resources has been catching eyes this week as copper prices surge to record highs, in line with metals gold and silver which are also acting like they’re on steroids. The copper megatrend, long since tipped by investment analysts and rock traders alike, hasn’t gone anywhere; and heading in 2026 it looks true to form. The real catalyst underpinning copper? The fact we’ve crossed 8 billion human beings on earth.
And as for the most discussed stocks,
Melbana Energy once again on the most discussed boards for two reasons this week, first, the ASX compliance department hit the stock with a please explain earlier this week regarding the length of tenure company chief Andrew Purcell has been running for un re-elected by a board; secondly, as the company noted its Angolese partner has deferred the company’s flagship well into next year.
Elsewhere, Ovanti Limited continuing to generate chatter as it seeks to move into the US BNPL space with its new payments platform Flote, the company this week inked a sponsor deal with a US sports organisation and the company continues to consider a NASDAQ backdoor listing; for those watching at home, it’s only fair to point out HotCopper and Ovanti currently have a commercial relationship.
Finally, Vulcan Energy Resources this week on the radar after issuing a placement to fund its European geothermal energy and lithium project; while the market didn’t necessarily like that news, it’s evidence that lithium benchmark upside is underpinning revived interest in lithium players large and small.
That’s HotCopper Highlights for this week, I’m Jon Davidson, have a great weekend and we’ll see you on Monday.