Good day and welcome to Friday lunch wrap, (possible) World War III edition.

Markets are fairly manic, a common response if recent history is anything to go by, although stocks often find a way of bouncing back quickly from geopolitical risk.

Still, the broader strategic goals of Russia’s Ukraine-takeover play current leave more questions than answers on little issues like the strength of modern Europe, NATO and the post-WWII world order.

As happens when the human race slips into all-out war, reports from the front line are many, varied and often difficult to confirm for validity.

The latest appears to be that some strategic airports and military locations are still in play, while Russian forces make a multi-pronged move towards surrounding the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Ukrainian citizens are evacuating to NATO states on the country’s western border, while others take cover in underground train stations.

Among many crazy developments that will no doubt emerge, former world boxing champion and Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko has pledged to take up arms to defend the country:

The ASX 200 is higher on Friday, following a brutal selloff yesterday and a wild session on Wall Street overnight, where stocks slumped before a huge surge which saw the Nasdaq close more than 3% higher.

Here’s a quick recap of Russian assets:

Brent crude oil prices have dipped back to US$98/b, after eclipsing US$100/b overnight for the first time since 2014.

Gold stocks fell while ASX tech is the high-beta play. ASX tech names got smashed yesterday but the sector ripped higher this morning, led by a massive 35% surge for Afterpay owner Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) following the release of its quarterly trading update.
 

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for February 25 [intraday]:

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

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SQ2 skyrocketed after the US company reported gross payment volumes of US$46.3bn, slightly above analyst expectations.

Revenues matched expectations while earnings per share — adjusted for ~US$178m of share-based payments — also beat forecasts.

After slumping from $176 to $116 since listing on January 20, the ASX version of Block Inc recouped a lot of that in just one session to climb above $155 into midday trade.
 

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for February 25 [intraday]:

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

Wordpress Table Plugin

The ASX’s most high-profile ecommerce play, Kogan.com (ASX:KGN) continues to get smashed and has now lost ~80% from its post-COVID highs.

The company reported a 9.4% lift in half-year gross sales to $698.0m, but flagged ongoing margin pressures with an 8.1% drop in gross profit to $108.1m, and a statutory net loss of $11.9m.

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