Wall Street edged higher on Wednesday as strong earnings from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley lifted the S&P 500 back into positive territory. The Dow closed little changed, while the Nasdaq gained 0.7%. Bank stocks led the rally, with both lenders beating forecasts, though volatility remained elevated as the Cboe index held above 20. Trade tensions continued to hang over markets after President Trump threatened new tariffs and an embargo in response to Chinese export restrictions. The ongoing U.S. government shutdown, now in its third week, added further uncertainty by stalling the release of key economic data.
In Australia, shares are set to open higher after futures reversed earlier losses. Macquarie could see support from the US$40bn sale of Aligned Data Centers, while quarterly updates from AMP, Challenger and Santos are in focus. The key domestic release will be the September Labour Force report, due at 11.30am.
In company news,
Meeka’s first drilling at Turnberry North hits thick high-grade gold
Meeka Metals (ASX:MEK) maiden drilling at Turnberry North within its Murchison Gold Project has intersected wide zones of high-grade gold, including 22m at 3.25 g/t Au with 10m at 6.03 g/t Au. These results lie outside the planned Stage 1 open pit and are expected to expand resources, extend pit life beyond two years, and boost underground production potential. Drilling is continuing across Turnberry, while underground diamond drilling is also underway at Andy Well. September quarter production exceeded ramp-up forecasts, with further results due in the quarterly update.
Indiana strikes more high-grade gold at Minos, launches new drilling at Ariadne
Indiana Resources (ASX:IDA) has delivered further strong results at its Minos Gold Project in South Australia, with assays including 4m at 13 g/t gold. Extensional drilling has expanded mineralisation, while infill calcrete sampling at nearby Ariadne and Company Well returned values up to 3 g/t gold, supporting a 7,000m air-core drilling program now commencing. Assays from diamond drilling targeting high-grade plunges are pending. Indiana is well-funded with $37m cash to advance exploration across its 5,700km² Gawler Craton tenure
Provaris opens Norwegian robotics centre to accelerate hydrogen tank development
Provaris Energy (ASX:PV1) has established an Innovation Centre in Fiskå, Norway, to house a robotic cell for fabricating and testing proprietary hydrogen and liquid CO2 tanks. The facility enables automated, large-scale welding and fabrication, with the hydrogen prototype tank set to resume construction this month for completion and testing in Q1 2026. The centre will also support development of an LCO2 tank design with Yinson Production. Site visits from Provaris’ shipping partner “K Line” are scheduled this quarter.
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Source: Finance News Network
