At lunch time in Sydney, the ASX All Ordinaries index was in the red to a tune of 75 points and was trading at 7,080 points.

The index is effectively back to where it started on Monday having given up all of its gains this week.

Bitcoin continues to make huge gains, and was trading Friday at $65,990 ($US51,300). A raft of other cryptocurrencies were also higher Friday.

The price of gold in US dollars fell nearly $US10 in early trade to $US1,765 per ounce ($2,274/ounce), and silver too was slightly lower at $US26.65 per ounce.

US 10-year bond yields were holding firm at a one-year high of around 1.29 per cent.

 

WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Friday February 19:

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

Stocks highlighted in yellow made market moving announcements
Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap
AQS Aquis Ent Ltd 0.5 335 8758069 $ 4,107,705.24
MGL Magontec Limited 0.035 133 6215961 $ 17,263,872.09
PUR Pursuit Minerals 0.057 54 182528514 $ 27,216,224.05
ANW Aus Tin Mining 0.0015 50 9675500 $ 7,962,318.38
CLZ Classic Min Ltd 0.0015 50 12290000 $ 17,034,968.31
SCU Stemcell United Ltd 0.035 40 47585405 $ 21,008,016.45
FPL Fremont Petroleum 0.004 33 1003345 $ 14,035,537.56
VPR Volt Power Group 0.004 33 2703000 $ 27,508,600.67
CXM Centrex Metals 0.04 33 1280571 $ 10,997,002.71
TTA TTA Holdings Ltd 0.033 32 272637 $ 3,435,585.25
NCL Netccentric Ltd 0.12 28 241123 $ 24,675,000.00
HMX Hammer Metals Ltd 0.115 26 8510614 $ 68,257,898.07
CCE Carnegie Cln Energy 0.0025 25 7156099 $ 24,116,699.84
GGX Gas2Grid Limited 0.005 25 2048222 $ 5,343,987.94
T3D 333D Limited 0.005 25 1486216 $ 5,508,621.10
IDZ Indoor Skydive Aust 0.016 23 2143156 $ 4,377,101.29
MXC Mgc Pharmaceuticals 0.115 21 80322253 $ 211,736,789.07
POW Protean Energy Ltd 0.018 20 13240049 $ 9,759,194.45
ENR Encounter Resources 0.15 20 90725 $ 39,445,462.88
SAN Sagalio Energy Ltd 0.024 20 13031 $ 4,093,202.60
VIC Victory Mines Ltd 0.003 20 1431682 $ 13,795,631.93
KAU Kaiser Reef 0.45 18 975749 $ 36,787,174.52
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Canberra casino operator Aquis Entertainment (ASX:AQS) rocketed 400 per cent after its release from a trading halt Friday and is up a frankly ridiculous 1,300 per cent since Monday.

Aquis told the ASX Thursday it was unaware of any company-related information that could affect its share price which had been performing strongly earlier in the week.

“Casino Canberra’s trading performance over the December quarter was strong and returned to approximately pre-COVID levels,” said the company in its latest trading update.

Aquis Entertainment may be benefitting from the difficulties of its close competitor Crown Resorts (ASX:CWN) which is the subject of government inquiries in NSW and WA.

Crown Resorts was officially told this week that the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority considered its Crown Sydney Gaming subsidiary, the operator of its $2bn Barangaroo casino, as “no longer a suitable person” to hold a Restricted Gaming Licence in NSW.

The company was also told in a letter from the NSW ILGA that it considered Crown Sydney Gaming had breached clause 14(a) of the VIP Gaming Management Agreement (VIP GMA) [and] has given Crown a notice to this effect”.

Another gambling regulator, the Gaming and Wagering Commission of WA, has informed Crown Resorts it has recommended the WA government start an independent inquiry into the company’s Crown Perth casino.

Meanwhile, magnesium alloy company Magontec (ASX:MGL) has seen its shares roar ahead Friday before going into a trading halt pending the release of a company announcement.

The company said mid-week that Chinese industrial companies are looking to acquire its 30 per shareholder Qinghai Salt Lake Magnesium (QSLM).

Magontec has partnership agreements with QSLM which operates a magnesium smelter in China’s Qinghai province that has a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year.

“Chinese industrial companies are looking to acquire QSLM and competing purchase proposals have been submitted to the creditors group and other interested parties including the provincial Qinghai government, and a decision is likely to be announced in the period after Chinese New Year,” said Magontec.

 

LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Friday February 19:

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

Stocks highlighted in yellow made market moving announcements
CODE NAME PRICE % CHANGE VOLUME MARKET CAP
ANL Amani Gold Ltd 0.0015 -25 12279686 $ 18,773,993.49
IP1 Int Payment Tech Ltd 0.046 -25 57285407 $ 69,937,774.53
CCA Change Financial Ltd 0.135 -21 13635196 $ 68,468,285.40
EVZ EVZ Limited 0.13 -19 160779 $ 15,378,677.44
GRV Greenvale Mining Ltd 0.135 -18 1288614 $ 56,335,884.66
EGR Ecograf Limited 0.665 -18 8386139 $ 294,829,282.08
MNB Minbos Resources Ltd 0.095 -17 4069081 $ 42,510,658.16
9SP 9 Spokes Int Limited 0.0275 -17 46575982 $ 49,280,128.69
GLV Global Oil & Gas 0.026 -16 28278835 $ 23,362,368.99
AUH Austchina Holdings 0.006 -14 486919 $ 11,438,870.53
GBE Globe Metals &Mining 0.052 -13 172498 $ 27,955,342.38
BMN Bannerman Resources 0.12 -13 8744276 $ 145,105,028.37
UUV UUV Aquabotix Ltd 0.0035 -13 17952012 $ 9,553,499.24
ARO Astro Resources NL 0.004 -11 100000 $ 13,480,618.55
FGR First Graphene Ltd 0.25 -11 5461026 $ 149,460,276.00
VRC Volt Resources Ltd 0.017 -10 7273109 $ 41,093,733.92
A3D Aurora Labs Limited 0.135 -10 503660 $ 22,934,470.50
ADX ADX Energy Ltd 0.009 -10 24306959 $ 24,651,476.68
CIO Connected Io Ltd 0.009 -10 6012228 $ 4,451,560.32
DDD 3D Resources Limited 0.0045 -10 1118570 $ 18,101,860.46
QXR Qx Resources Limited 0.018 -10 150000 $ 10,675,246.44
VAR Variscan Mines Ltd 0.027 -10 100000 $ 6,389,460.72
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Electronic payments company Integrated Payment Technologies (ASX:IP1) which runs the Clicksuper platform for superannuation payments, sagged in early Friday trading.

The company, which is going through a merger with Comply Path, said in a statement Monday it was unable to offer any explanation for recent changes in its share price.

Integrated Payment Technologies has developed a new payroll management system, ClickVu, that is to be rolled out mid-year.

The merged entity will have annual revenue of $2.2m.

Shares in Greenvale Mining (ASX:GRV) tumbled Friday after it announced a $3m capital raising to fast track development of its Alpha torbanite project in Queensland.

Torbanite is a type of fine-grained black oil shale named after Torbane Hill in Scotland, and is an intermediate mineral between oil shale and coal that is 90 per cent carbon.

The Alpha project has the only remaining Australian deposit of torbanite from which high-value hydrocarbon products bitumen, light crude and activated carbon can be made.

Torbanite can also be used in road-building, and Australia currently imports 800,000 tonnes per year of road surfacing material.

The share placement is priced at 13 cents per share, representing a 19.6 per cent discount to its volume-weighted market price over the past week.

“The proceeds will put us in a very strong position to complete the pre-feasibility study, engage with customers, secure off-take agreements and move rapidly to final investment decision on what we believe will be an exceptional development opportunity with low capital intensity and outstanding financial and economic returns,” managing director, Neil Biddle, said.