Local markets have returned from the ‘unofficial’ summer break (Melbourne Cup to Australia Day), and stocks are down.

But most of the action is in the US, where a merry band of 2.1 million Redditors are putting some big instos to the sword.

At the front of the firing line is $US12.5bn investment fund Melvin Capital, which took a short position in games retailer GameStop (NYSE:GME).

GME still sells video games via a network of physical stores, which made it one of the most-shorted stocks on the market amid the post-COVID digital commerce boom.

But r/wallstreetbets has no time for fundamentals.

Instead, they’ve picked up the ball of post-COVID capitalism and ran with it — so far dishing out a lesson in positioning and capital flows.

Generating a community-led avalanche of buy calls in a particular stock is one thing.

But when it has the effect of squeezing major short positions at the same time, the result looks like this:

(Pic: Google)

At its last closing price of $US147.98, GameStop is now a big enough stock by market cap to be included on the S&P500.

Also, the party hasn’t stopped yet — GME shares surged above $US200 in after-hours trade and Elon Musk has weighed in.

Melvin’s billionaire founder Gabe Plotkin is on the ropes. The fund has already taken a $US2.75bn lifeline from Citadel and Point72 Asset Management to help cover its short positions.

Gabe and just about everyone else are now waiting to see what happens next if the stock keeps mooning.

‘Nearology’ is a common phrase in mining circles, but if you think it applies to r/wallstreetbets as well then GME Resources (ASX:GME) is up more than 15 per cent this morning on no news.

WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Wednesday January 27:

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
APG Austpac Resources NL 0.002 100 750,000 $ 3,165,663
MNB Minbos Resources Ltd 0.11 57 19,849,897 $ 25,876,053
LKE Lake Resources 0.39 54 39,079,790 $ 223,415,579
ANL Amani Gold Ltd 0.0015 50 19,670,180 $ 9,386,997
CYQ Cycliq Group Ltd 0.003 50 33,019,805 $ 4,607,385
AWN AWN Holdings Limited 1.45 42 140,200 $ 40,314,341
CCE Carnegie Cln Energy 0.002 33 291,558,517 $ 17,298,103
RNU Renascor Res Ltd 0.037 32 70,847,281 $ 46,639,875
BPH BPH Energy Ltd 0.125 32 47,514,506 $ 55,190,001
ELT Elementos Limited 0.014 27 42,668,090 $ 35,709,591
PLL Piedmont Lithium Ltd 0.795 27 16,828,518 $ 869,245,860
GRV Greenvale Mining Ltd 0.19 27 3,767,032 $ 51,214,441
CRS Caprice Resources 0.295 25 739,347 $ 15,530,759
ARO Astro Resources NL 0.005 25 1,300,000 $ 11,982,772
POW Protean Energy Ltd 0.02 25 13,281,987 $ 10,409,807
ROG Red Sky Energy. 0.0025 25 500,000 $ 4,863,844
AOU Auroch Minerals Ltd 0.31 24 5,136,361 $ 63,921,283
ANR Anatara Ls Ltd 0.24 23 554,163 $ 13,737,738
SES Secos Group Ltd 0.3 22 1,786,692 $ 130,714,081
QEM QEM Limited 0.15 20 849,748 $ 12,500,000
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Among stocks with announcements, resources companies topped the winner’s list with gains led by Angola-based explorer Minbos (ASX:MNB).

MNB said it’s now signed the Mineral Investment Contract with Angolan authorities to start exploring at its phosphate project in the country’s Cabinda Province.

Lithium developer Lake Resources (ASX:LKE) also jumped sharply after announcing it will close a new issue of 50,000 shares “forthwith”, after the offer was heavily oversubscribed.

Elsewhere, nanocap bike products manufacturer Cycliq Group (ASX:CYQ) ticked higher following the release of its December 4C filing. You can read up on other notable quarterlies in this Stockhead wrap.

LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Wednesday January 27:

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
DTR Dateline Resources 0.002 -20 620,589 $ 20,525,195
MLS Metals Australia 0.0025 -17 5,670,082 $ 12,572,711
AMA AMA Group Limited 0.62 -16 2,074,270 $ 549,097,981
SIH Sihayo Gold Limited 0.016 -16 404,960 $ 70,023,767
CM8 Crowd Media Limited 0.049 -16 12,626,126 $ 31,239,008
EMT Emetals Limited 0.042 -14 2,941,838 $ 19,609,800
BDG Black Dragon Gold 0.09 -14 539,543 $ 14,107,129
DDT DataDot Technology 0.006 -14 382,714 $ 8,693,086
DLC Delecta Limited 0.006 -14 1,464,217 $ 7,060,348
NPM Newpeak Metals 0.003 -14 2,709,152 $ 16,338,569
SRH Saferoads Holdings 0.24 -14 30,000 $ 10,489,299
DAV Davenport Resources 0.055 -14 3,099,826 $ 13,734,030
BSM Bass Metals Ltd 0.007 -13 67,676,409 $ 32,173,406
LNY Laneway Res Ltd 0.007 -13 3,836,302 $ 30,200,527
PWN Parkway Minls NL 0.021 -13 67,019,158 $ 45,618,096
WJA Wameja Limited 0.115 -12 2,900 $ 157,410,586
TPW Temple & Webster Ltd 11.93 -11 806,183 $ 1,620,091,882
BMN Bannerman Resources 0.12 -11 2,915,864 $ 145,105,028
FGO Fargo Enterprises 0.004 -11 23,050 $ 5,335,905
TEM Tempest Minerals 0.032 -11 75,938 $ 9,784,487
ERA Energy Resources 0.215 -10 485,009 $ 885,931,968
MCM Mc Mining Ltd 0.13 -10 6,666 $ 22,390,835
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