Aureka (ASX:AKA) snares experienced exploration manager Jozef Story

Aureka (ASX:AKA) has just scored a major win by bringing on Jozef Story as its new exploration manager. Story's no rookie, he's fresh off four years at Barrick Gold as exploration manager, with over 25 years in the field, including stints at Fosterville and Castlemaine in Victoria.

The ASX started Tuesday in a jittery mood, seesawing between gains and losses before lunchtime AEST.

By 12:30 PM AEST, the ASX200 index was up by 0.5%, while the broader ASX50 rose by 0.4%. Over in the US, the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tacked on 1%.

Local investors were keeping one eye on Wall Street’s rally and the other on US-China trade talks set for the weekend.

Overnight, Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the UK, which he called the start of something much bigger, hinting that more deals could be on the cards.

“You better go out and buy stock now,” Trump declared, grinning.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is already packing his bags for Switzerland, where he’ll meet Chinese officials for a bit of backroom dealing.

Top of the agenda is cutting that monstrous 145% tariff Trump slapped on Chinese goods. “We’ll see,” he said, keeping his cards close, but the market loved it.

The crypto world buzzed after those comments, with Bitcoin jumping back above $102,000, hitting its highest level since January.

Just last month, Bitcoin slumped to US$75,000 after Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement.

Elsewhere, crude prices perked up, with WTI climbing 3% to just over $US60.

Iron ore also found a bit of a heartbeat, clawing back 0.5% to sit at $US96.85 a tonne.

Meanwhile, gold’s glitter dulled a bit, shedding 2% after the UK deal poured some cold water on the trade war flames fuelling its climb.

Back home, seven out of 11 ASX sectors managed to blink green this morning, with tech leading the charge.

In the large caps space, Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) strutted into the spotlight, climbing 4% after posting a $3.7 billion full-year profit.

Asset management did the heavy lifting for the bank, proving once again that Macquarie knows how to squeeze a dollar out of every opportunity.

Over in real estate, CoStar finally got Domain Holdings Australia (ASX:DHG) to say yes, snapping it up for $2.8 billion. The deal’s been months in the making, and Domain shareholders got a nice 3% bump for their patience.

And finally, News Corp (ASX:NWS), the publisher of Stockhead, pulled in $2.01 billion in Q3, a slight bump from last year, with Dow Jones and book publishing doing the heavy lifting.

News’ subsidiary REA Group (ASX:REA) wasn’t slacking too, hauling in $271 million, up 6%, thanks to a hot Aussie property market. News’ shares were up 3% .

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for May 9 [intraday]:

Jameson Resources (ASX:JAL) just gave an update on its Crown Mountain Hard Coking Coal Project, and it’s looking pretty solid. A review by top technical advisers confirmed the Project’s proven and probable reserves are still good to go, even with the shake-up in costs and coal prices.

Since 2020, inflation’s pushed up capital and operating costs, and the Project’s still standing strong, said Jameson. Revised coal price forecasts and adjustments boosted its pre-tax NPV from US$469m to a massive US$942m.

A Eureka (ASX:AKA) has just scored a major win by bringing on Jozef Story as its new exploration manager. Story’s no rookie, he’s fresh off four years at Barrick Gold as exploration manager, with over 25 years in the industry, including stints at Fosterville and Castlemaine in Victoria. CEO James Gurry is stoked, saying Story’s experience gives A Eureka the edge to tap into its gold targets at Bendigo, Stawell, and St Arnaud.

Forrestania Resources (ASX:FRS) has just struck gold at its Ada Ann prospect in WA’s Eastern Goldfields. Fresh drilling results from its second phase confirmed high-grade hits, with the standout being 1m at 25.6g/t Au, the highest intercept yet seen at the prospect.

The mineralised zone now stretches about 60m south and 30m north of previous finds, extending the strike to roughly 310m. Chairman John Hannaford feels the thickening of the mineralised zones with depth is a fantastic sign, and the team is keen to get the drills turning again later in the year.