ASX stocks fell again this morning following some more volatility in the $US21 trillion US treasuries market.

Benchmark US 10-year bond yields rose back above 1.5 per cent (yields rise when bonds are sold), and the bond sell-off extended to European and UK markets.

In addition, the five-year break-even inflation rate — a measure of medium-term inflation expectations by the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis — hit 2.5 per cent for the first time since 2008.

Explainer: What does higher inflation mean for the stock market?

Big US tech stocks appeared to be more sensitive to the bond market ructions, as the NASDAQ slumped by almost three per cent compared to a milder 0.4pc drop on the broader Dow Jones index.

The ASX stayed on its recent see-saw, with the ASX200 on track to alternate between a daily gain and a daily loss for nine straight sessions.

Losses this morning were felt more keenly at the small end of town, as the ASX Emerging Companies index fell by more than one per cent.

Among the big ASX tech names, BNPL leader Afterpay (ASX:APT) fell sharply at the open before quickly clawing back ground for a gain of one per cent heading into midday trade.

WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Thursday March 4:

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CODE NAME PRICE % CHANGE VOLUME MARKET CAP
TAS Tasman Resources Ltd 0.1 85 29,262,455 $33,002,222
ANW Aus Tin Mining 0.0015 50 20,442,525 $8,062,318
VMY Vimy Resources Ltd 0.12 26 11,937,429 $73,973,372
CYQ Cycliq Group Ltd 0.0025 25 520,000 $4,607,385
UUV UUV Aquabotix Ltd 0.003 20 2,800,000 $5,970,937
YPB YPB Group Ltd 0.003 20 1,208,666 $11,802,628
TSC Twenty Seven Co. Ltd 0.007 17 357,142 $12,757,925
RFR Rafaella Resources 0.1 16 1,328,512 $10,999,879
CG1 Carbonxt Group 0.195 15 399,920 $24,109,362
KEY KEY Petroleum 0.004 14 500,000 $6,887,748
DME Dome Gold Mines Ltd 0.16 14 1,000 $41,665,555
LIN Lindian Resources 0.024 14 7,302,738 $15,028,982
NZS New Zealand Coastal 0.025 14 733,139 $13,098,808
PKO Peako Limited 0.025 14 1,900 $4,225,192
ADY Admiralty Resources. 0.017 13 462,540 $17,387,020
A1M Aic Mines Ltd 0.35 13 153,578 $21,301,656
TRN Torrens Mining 0.185 12 1,351 $10,969,932
WSI Weststar Industrial 0.019 12 3,443,015 $16,583,101
A3D Aurora Labs Limited 0.15 11 902,172 $20,641,023
NCR Nucoal Resources Ltd 0.01 11 50,305 $6,917,511
RIM Rimfire Pacific 0.01 11 10,530,304 $16,256,203
AZS Azure Minerals 0.305 11 607,057 $84,723,573
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Resources player Tasman (ASX:TAS) led the pack, almost doubling after announcing the results of a drilling program carried out by iron ore major Fortescue (ASX:FMG).

Through a farm-in and joint venture agreement, FMG owns a 51 per cent interest in Tasman’s Lake Torrens project, situated 30km north of BHP’s Olympic Dam mine in South Australia.

Tasman said the drilling program intersected hematite breccia at substantial widths, which is “often a significant host to mineralisation in iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits”, the company said.

Not many other stocks made material gains on market-moving announcements, although engineering services firm WestStar Industrial (ASX:WSI) rose by more than 10 per cent after announcing its contractor business SIMPEC had landed at $15m deal with Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) to develop its processing facility.

LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Thursday March 4:

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

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