ASX Small Cap Lunch Wrap: Who’s got some extra risk appetite today?

As Victoria goes into lockdown, local markets started strongly today as the ASX rose by more than 2 per cent at the opening bell.

By 1pm AEST those gains had eased back slightly, but the local index was still on track to book its biggest increase since July 21.

The catalyst for the move was a bumper session on Wall Street to start the week, with the usual suspects — big tech giants — pushing the NASDAQ to another record high.

Risk appetite appeared to get a boost from some positive economic data, as manufacturing activity in the US bounced back in June for its biggest monthly gain since March 2019.

The belleagured US dollar also found some more momentum, which in turn pushed the AUD back down towards the US71c mark.

While gains in the major banks and miners helped drive gains at the big end of town, the Small Ords Index also outperformed to climb by around 1.6 per cent in morning trade.

SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Tuesday August 4:

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

Dual-listed biotech stock Alterity Therapeutics (ASX:ATH) (NASDAQ:ATHE) led the pack in morning trade, after announcing that its lead drug candidate ATH434 (formerly PBT434) has been selected for presentation at two key industry events — the 2020 International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, and the American Neurological Association’s 2020 Annual Meeting.

The company said it would present “new clinical and experimental pharmacology data” in connection with ATH434, which independently confirmed the treatment assists to preserves neurons and improve motor performance.

Also holding its gains into midday trade was subscription membership platform MSL Solutions (ASX:MSL), which jumped by more than 20 per cent on the back of an exclusive partnership with buy now, pay later (BNPL) company OpenPay (ASX:OPY).
 

SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Tuesday August 4:

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