April was a good month, but the first day of May has brought a cold dose of reality to markets.
Volatility returned as the ASX fell by more than three per cent in midday trade.
It followed what turned out to be a record month in April, as the ASX200 posted its biggest monthly gain since 1987 (+8.8 per cent) while the Small Ords Index rallied by more than 14 per cent.
Those gains followed the March horror show, when stocks collapsed before markets responded to unprecedented levels of government stimulus across major western economies.
Overnight, US stocks fell back as another 3.8 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits. That saw the total number of jobless claims since lockdowns commenced in mid-March climb above the 30m mark.
Across the pond, GDP figures showed economic output across the 19 countries that make up the Eurozone falling by 3.8 per cent — the largest decline since records began in 1995.
Oil prices rallied amid a slower-than-expected increase in storage demand — a sign that pockets of economic activity may be normalising.
But with major economies expected to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 impact in Q2, the near-term valuation outlook is becoming increasingly complex.
Just after midday, the ASX had slumped by almost four per cent, while the Small Ords Index was around three per cent lower.
WINNERS
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Friday May 1:
Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.
CODE COMPANY PRICE % CHANGE MARKET CAP FAM Family Insights Group 0.05 138.10% $1.4M CLZ Classic Minerals Ltd 0.002 100.00% $7.4M OVT Ovato 0.031 93.75% $11.7M LRS Latin Resources Ltd 0.004 33.33% $1.1M IDZ Indoor Skydive AUS Group 0.005 25.00% $1.4M PGX Primero 0.275 25.00% $37.9M AZI Alta Zinc 0.005 25.00% $11.0M SOR Strategic Elements Ltd 0.061 22.00% $17.2M TYM Tymlez Group 0.024 20.00% $3.6M GUL Gullewa Ltd 0.054 20.00% $8.4M KMT Kopore Metals 0.006 20.00% $3.9M FRN Fraser Range Metals 0.027 17.39% $8.9M GMR Golden Rim 0.007 16.67% $8.6M TRL Tanga Resources Ltd 0.015 15.38% $1.4M 1AD Adalta 0.07 14.75% $11.5M OPY Openpay 0.945 10.53% $91.9M VKA Viking Mines Ltd 0.008 14.29% $2.5M ESH Esports Mogul Asia Pacific Ltd 0.008 14.29% $16.3M KOR Korab Resources Ltd 0.008 14.29% $2.6M BEM BlackEarth Minerals 0.033 13.79% $3.8M SNS Sensen Networks 0.11 13.40% $49.2M
Tech platform Family Insights (ASX:FAM), which makes an app that allows parents to monitor internet usage and track GPS patterns, was the big winner in morning trade.
The stock jumped more than 100 per cent before going into a trading halt at 10:54am EST. Yesterday the company announced that frugl, its grocery store price comparison app, is now market-ready.
FAM also announced a company restructure where it reduced headcount by more than 50 per cent and cut admin costs — moves the company says are expected to save it around $93,000 per month.
Elsewhere, OpenPay (ASX:OPY) was the only member of the buy now, pay later cohort to post a gain amid today’s market selloff. The stock rose by almost 20 per cent following the release of its quarterly trading data yesterday.
LOSERS
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Friday May 1:
Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.
| CODE | COMPANY | PRICE | % CHANGE | MARKET CAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTE | Great Western Exploration | 0.001 | -33.33% | $1.3M |
| MCT | Metalicity | 0.002 | -33.33% | $2.2M |
| XST | Xstate Resources Ltd | 0.001 | -33.33% | $1.4M |
| SMP | SmartPay | 0.325 | -26.14% | $76.5M |
| FUN | Funtastic | 0.014 | -22.22% | $4.3M |
| PNN | Pepinnini Minerals Ltd | 0.002 | -20.00% | $2.9M |
| BRK | Brookside Energy | 0.004 | -20.00% | $5.0M |
| FEL | Fe Ltd | 0.009 | -18.18% | $5.4M |
| ASB | Austal | 2.74 | -18.45% | $1.2B |
| FAR | FAR | 0.014 | -17.65% | $169.6M |
| LSR | Lodestar Minerals Ltd | 0.005 | -16.67% | $5.1M |
| RDN | Raiden | 0.005 | -16.67% | $2.6M |
| ALY | Alchemy Resources Ltd | 0.01 | -16.67% | $6.6M |
| EPM | Eclipse Metals Ltd | 0.005 | -16.67% | $7.9M |
| LAA | Latam Autos Ltd | 0.015 | -16.67% | $10.6M |
| TMX | Terrain Minerals Ltd | 0.005 | -16.67% | $4.3M |
| HYD | Hydrix | 0.105 | -16.00% | $10.0M |
| ERL | Empire Energy | 0.215 | -15.69% | $7.2M |
| PIN | PINCHme.com | 0.085 | -15.00% | $14.1M |
Merchant payments business Smartpay (ASX:SMP) fell by more than 20 per cent, after announcing that the agreement for the proposed sale of its New Zealand business and assets to Verifone had been terminated.
Smartpay said the key condition left unmet the deal’s failure to get clearance from the New Zealand Commerce Commission in time. Verifone made a revised offer, however SMP “did not consider the revised terms currently proposed by Verifone to be acceptable”.