Local stocks have taken the lead from Wall Street on Thursday, which rose overnight as investors adjust to the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Meanwhile, Australia heads to a federal election by May 18, which means more (probably cringeworthy) campaign ads.

But it’s a safe bet nothing will match the…weirdness of this campaign video by US Democrat Alex Walker:

Walker is challenging representative Lauren Boebert in the 3rd Congressional District of Silt, Colorado.

To sum up his views on Boebert as an elected offical, he put together a well-edited video of cow turds (epithet: bullsh*t) raining down on people’s heads.

Walker’s goal is to unseat the incumbent Republican, who is well-known for her pro-gun rights stance.

Back on markets, ASX microcaps are still pushing higher as the Emerging Companies index stays on track for its fifth straight winning session.

The Russia-Ukraine crisis has served to stoke the commodities rally, as oil prices surge and ASX Energy stocks again leading the market.

The ASX mining sector also posted strong gains, while uncertainty stemming from Russia’s invasion also appears to have eased the pressure on the other elephant in the room — rising interest rates.

Overnight, the big news story was that US Fed chair Jerome Powell confirmed the central bank will only hike by 25 basis points in March, after pre-conflict pricing was geared towards a double-shot 50bp hike.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for March 3 [intraday]:

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Reconstituted energy company Frontier Energy (ASX:FHE) rose in morning trade, after rejoining the ASX boards with an $8m capital raise that will be used to fund a a large-scale solar energy project south of Perth.

Formerly known as Superior Lake Resources, the recapitalised group’s Bristol Spring’s solar project has received development approval, with “an electricity connection application in progress and world class supporting infrastructure ensuring rapid advancement towards production”, Frontier said.

Also posting strong gains was Lodestar Minerals (ASX:LSR), as investors took the view that the lithium explorer might be onto something at its ‘Coolgardie West’ project in WA.

“The next phase of exploration at Coolgardie West represents an exciting progression designed to provide robust, walk-up drill targets for both lithium and gold that can be rapidly tested on grant of the tenement,” managing director Bill Clayton said.

Resources stocks dominated the Thursday winner’s list, and another market leader with news was South America-based copper play Hot Chili (ASX:HCH).

HCH announced an Offtake Agreement with global commodities giant Glencore — which is also its largest shareholder — for future copper concentrate production from the company’s Costa Fuego copper-gold project in Chile.

Get the full resources wrap here.

Elsewhere, there was a move higher in Zebit (ASX:ZBT) as the embattled BNPL/Ecommerce stock gets set to depart the ASX boards, after flagging it needs more money to stay operational and is unlikely to find that funding from ASX investors.

Zebit now trades at 5.5c, after raising $35 million in October 2020 at $1.58 per share.

And the ASX’s largest sports-betting stock, PointsBet (ASX:PBH), has had a volatile week with three straight double-digit percentage moves (two up, one down) — today gaining by almost 15% on no news.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for March 3 [intraday]:

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

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