Magnesium anode production has been halted at ASX junior Magontec, which produces from the Chinese city of Xi'an, because of a COVID-19 outbreak. "All residents are now confined to their homes and all commercial activity has ceased," the company said. Its anodes are used in mass-market water storage heaters globally to stop corrosion. The stock rose 4.7 per cent to 45¢.

John Karantzis will step back as managing director of payments group iSignthis, switching to a board role as part of his relocation to Cyprus, with Tim Hart becoming executive chairman on an interim basis.

Mr Karantzis will focus on the European side of the business now separated into a single entity. ISignthis shares have been suspended from trading on the ASX since 2019.

Dual-listed Michael Hill International’s trading update puts the jewellery retailer on track for first-half earnings before interest and tax exceeding (or “well above”) last year’s $44.6 million, having achieved sales growth and margin expansion over the months of November and December. Michael Hill stock rallied more than 21 per cent to $1.38.

Its second-quarter trading update is due on January 14.

Chalice Mining received state government approval for its conservation management plan for low impact drilling at the Hartog-Baudin targets within the Julimar nickel, cobalt and platinum metals project, located in the Julimar state forest, provided it conducts no mechanised clearing of vegetation. It rose 7.8 per cent to $9.41.

Tyro Payments’ transaction value for the month to date is ahead 36 per cent over the same period of financial 2021, as of the last dollar processed on December 24, according to its weekly update which it has pledged to maintain until the release of its full-year results.

It processed $3.013 billion this time, against $2.214 billion in the equivalent month to date of December 2020. Tyro gained 0.7 per cent to $2.81.

The Agency Group Australia appointed chief executive Geoff Lucas to the board, making him group CEO and managing director as of January 28. Current managing director Paul Niardone will become executive director and retain his focus on Western Australia, financial services, and the property technology side of the business. The Agency shares rose 2.1 per cent to 4.9¢.

Select Harvests reported a fire at its waste facility in north-west Victoria, which has been contained, and anticipates making an insurance claim under its relevant policies spanning property and business interruption. It expects almond receiving and processing will still proceed when the harvest begins in February. Select rose 2.4 per cent to $6.06.