Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO), and Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) shares are turning heads today.
During the Wednesday lunch hour, two of the big-name ASX stocks are charging ahead of the 0.2% losses posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) at the time of writing, while one is getting pummelled.
Here's what's grabbing investor interest.
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Fortescue shares lift on legal news
Fortescue shares are up 2.3%, changing hands for $22.41 apiece.
The ASX 200 mining giant is making headlines after announcing, after market close on Tuesday, that the Federal Court had reached a decision regarding the Native Title Compensation Claim lodged by the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC.
The court found that Fortescue was liable to pay compensation for actions relating to the Solomon Hub, located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Fortescue will pay $150 million for cultural losses and around $100,000 for economic losses.
"Fortescue accepts that the Yindjibarndi People are entitled to compensation," the miner stated following the court decision.
Core Lithium shares jump on Finniss restart progress
Like Fortescue shares, Core Lithium is also enjoying a strong day of outperformance.
Shares in the resurgent ASX All Ords lithium stock are up a sharp 9% at the time of writing, trading for 36.5 cents each.
Core Lithium shares are making waves after the miner reported another big step towards restarting its flagship Finniss lithium project, located in the Northern Territory.
The miner halted operations at Finniss in January 2024 after global lithium prices crashed. In March this year, management announced a formal restart was underway.
Today, investors learned that Core Lithium has awarded a major underground mining contract at Finniss to Develop Global Ltd (ASX: DVP). Valued at $274 million, the contract spans three years of mining services.
First works are scheduled to commence in July.
Which brings us to…
CBA shares tank on Q3 profit decline
Joining Core Lithium and Fortescue shares in making waves today, CBA released its March quarter results (Q3 FY 2026) this morning.
And investors are reacting less than favourably, with CBA shares down a steep 9.7% at the time of writing, swapping hands for $154.96 apiece.
That selling pressure looks to be driven on two fronts.
First, the ASX 200 bank stock reported an unaudited cash net profit after tax (NPAT) of around $2.7 billion. That's down 1% on CommBank's first-half (H1 FY 2026) cash NPAT.
CBA shares also look to be catching headwinds from ongoing uncertainty stemming from the Iran war.
"Conflict in the Middle East is disrupting critical supply chains and contributing to global uncertainty," CommBank CEO Matt Comyn said.
Comyn noted:
Notwithstanding an already strong level of provisioning, we have chosen to further top up our collective provisions in the quarter to reflect heightened macroeconomic risks.
