Hot Stocks: Perseus Mining, Dreadnought Resources, Nexus Minerals

Wall Street began the week on a positive note, lifted by earnings optimism and strength in major tech stocks. The S&P 500 edged up 0.14% to close above 6,300 for the first time, while the Nasdaq gained 0.38% to a fresh record of 20,974.17. Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet helped drive both indexes to new intraday highs. Although the Dow slipped slightly, the broader tone was upbeat as second-quarter earnings season gathered momentum. Of the 62 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, over 85% have beaten expectations. Verizon rose 4% on strong results, while Alphabet climbed ahead of its report on Wednesday. Analysts expect solid growth from the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, with Ed Yardeni forecasting S&P 500 earnings could rise as much as 8% once all results are in.

In commodities, gold rose 1.4% to US$3,397.05 an ounce and iron ore surged 3.1% to US$103.90 a tonne, while Bitcoin slipped below US$117,000 before recovering slightly. Brent crude eased 0.4% to US$69 a barrel. The Australian dollar edged up to US65.24¢. Locally, the ASX is set for a mildly positive start, with SPI 200 futures up 12 points to 8,660. Attention now turns to today’s release of Reserve Bank of Australia meeting minutes at 11:30am AEST, which could provide further clues on the rate outlook.

Perseus Mining (ASX/TSX:PRU) has reported highly encouraging results from its ongoing resource definition drilling at the Nyanzaga Gold Project, following its final investment decision (FID) in April 2025. Over 58,000m of drilling has been completed since acquiring the project, with standout intersections including 23m @ 20.87g/t Au, 84m @ 3.24g/t, and 54m @ 9.69g/t. Many high-grade results are located below the current pit design, supporting the potential for deeper mineralisation and possibly future underground mining. Current mineral resources stand at 3.2Moz Au (Indicated) and 0.6Moz Au (Inferred), with 2.34Moz in Ore Reserves. An updated Ore Reserve is expected in Q1 2026.

Dreadnought Resources (ASX:DRE) has identified a major gold-in-soil anomaly (>2.6km x 600m) at the Steve’s Reward prospect within its 100%-owned Mangaroon project in WA. This anomaly includes a peak soil result of 770ppb Au and remains open along strike. RC drilling is already underway, with assays pending from both Steve’s Reward and nearby targets including Inevitable, Popeye, and Star of Mangaroon. Earlier rock chip assays returned results as high as 155.5g/t Au. The company is targeting shallow, high-grade deposits to feed an open-pit mine at Star of Mangaroon under a self-funded strategy, supported by high metallurgical recoveries (96.7%). Further assays are due across July to September, with additional updates expected from the Noosa and Diggers & Dealers conferences.

Nexus Minerals (ASX:NXM) has released strong assay results from a first-pass 46-hole, 5,172m RC drilling program at the Payns Prospect within the Wallbrook Gold Project in WA. The campaign confirmed and expanded a 900m x 750m gold mineralised footprint, building on earlier AC drilling. Key intersections include 8m @ 7.99g/t Au (within 24m @ 2.8g/t) and 8m @ 2.85g/t Au (within 16m @ 1.55g/t). Gold mineralisation remains open along strike and down plunge. One-metre split samples are now being analysed to better define the high-grade core. The company plans further drilling to expand and delineate the system as part of its near-surface gold resource growth strategy.