FME, DEV: Why these 2 ASX palladium stocks surged higher today

Highlights

• Palladium touched a record high on Monday, rising 5.01% to US$3,156 per ounce.
• Russia accounts for almost 40% of the global palladium production.
• FME and DEV are two palladium miners that have caught investors’ attention.

Palladium touched a record high on Monday, rising 5.01% to US$3,156 per ounce as investors worried over the tightened supply from Russia, the largest producer of palladium in the world. The country accounts for almost 40% of the global palladium production, and a host of sanctions imposed on Russia is sending investors into a tizzy over supply disruption.

Image Source: © Photography74 | Megapixl.com

Apart from palladium, other precious and base metals have also gone up significantly in the last few days, creating an almost panic buying situation among investors. In such a scenario, Aussie investors are also trying their hands on ASX palladium shares. Let us have a look at two such stocks.

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1. Future Metals NL (ASX:FME)

Future Metals is an ASX-listed mining and exploration company, having a market capitalisation of AU$81.9 million. Currently, the company is focused on advancing its Panton PGM Project in the eastern Kimberly region of Western Australia. PGMs are a group of six precious metals including palladium, which is most notably used in auto-catalysis, hydrogen production, jewellery, etc. 

On Monday, FME shares rose to a high of AU$0.28, and closed at AU$0.275, gaining 17.02% for the day. Increased participation in the stock can be witnessed by looking at the uptrend in trading volumes on the exchange, which was at over 7.2 million, the highest one-day volume since June 2021.

2. DeveEx Resources Limited (ASX:DEV)

Another company investors are looking at is Perth-based DevEx Resources, which is a AU$122.3 million ASX miner having a diversified portfolio of high-quality projects spanning some of Australia’s most proven mining regions. The company has secured a strategic position within the new nickel-copper-PGE region of Julimar, Western Australia, targeting magmatic palladium-nickel-copper deposits.

DEV shares rose 11.54% to the last closing price of AU$0.435 on 7 March 2022. In the last six months, the stock has delivered a good return of 35.9%. The volume for the day was recorded at over 1 million shares.

Bottom line

Palladium prices hit a record high on Monday, leading to a buying frenzy in the Australian equity market for palladium producers. However, before investing in these commodity-based businesses, investors must do their own due diligence.

Read more: NIC & MCR: Two ASX stocks in spotlight as nickel prices shoot up