Budget FY21 is in the books, and the Morrison government surprised to the upside with its commitment to fiscal firepower.

Broadly speaking, the ASX response has been… meh.

Plans for another $96bn in government spending over the next five years failed to shake markets out of their slump following yesterday’s sharp selloff.

The ASX200 opened flat before falling again, while the microcap Emerging Companies index is treading water after posting its biggest daily fall since March 4.

That followed another rocky night on US markets, as tech stocks crashed again before buyers stepped in before the closing bell.

Inflation jitters are back (bad for tech) but the non-linear reopening trade is still on (with plenty of supply-chain gaps to boot).

In other words, the commodities party is in full swing and if you’re not attending, you just should probably just invite yourself.

Stockhead’s Reuben Adams has the details on the latest round of marquee resources strikes as copper and iron ore prices surge.

WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks to 11:30am on Wednesday, May 12

Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.

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When it comes to intraday small cap gains, there’s almost nothing like a big resources hit and Helix Resources (ASX:HLX) felt the love this morning after a big copper strike at its Canbelego joint venture project in central NSW.

HLX’s latest drill program intercepted 29.5 metres of copper sulphide mineralisation, which CEO Mike Rosenstreich said was “very encouraging” for the establishment of a high-grade copper zone once further assays come in.

Outside of resources, early stage investment firm Powerhouse Ventures (ASX:PVL) also rose sharply after flagging the sale of its interest in agri-tech business Orbis Diagonostics, which was spun out of the University of Auckland.

From its initial investment stake of NZ$50,000, PVL flagged proceeds from the sale of NZ$360,000, which will be allocated to general working capital.

LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks to 11:30am on Wednesday, May 12

Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.

Wordpress Table Plugin

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