Local investors were greeted by a sea of red at the opening bell after another rough session on Wall Street overnight.

The main theme on global markets this week has been a worrying rise in COVID-19 cases, with signs that the health systems of some major economies are again coming under pressure.

That worsening health outlook has been accompanied by a dose of political risk, which is back in play ahead of next Tuesday’s US election.

Recall that at the height of the March panic, the US Federal Reserve unloaded everything it had to stem the crisis — and markets still tanked.

It wasn’t until US Congress signed a historic $US2 trillion stimulus bill that things began to stabilise.

And with COVID-19 well and truly off the leash across America, markets were hoping for a further dose of ~$US2 trillion or something similar from the government before the election.

However, that scenario looks to be off the cards now. And local markets haven’t been immune to a discernible round of risk-off sentiment.

The ASX Emerging Companies Index is down more than six per cent since October 19, while the ASX200 is on track for its fifth loss in six days.

But as today’s (artfully decorated) picture indicates, for investors who think the market will navigate its way out of those near-term risk factors, it could be bargain hunting time.

WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Thursday October 29:

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

Stocks highlighted in yellow have made market-moving announcements

CODE NAME PRICE % CHANGE MARKET CAP
XPL Xplorewlth Limited 0.19 188 $ 19,637,392
ARN Aldoro Resources 0.2 111 $ 6,306,176
ANW Aus Tin Mining 0.0015 50 $ 3,651,996
CCE Carnegie Cln Energy 0.002 33 $ 16,712,179
SOR Strategic Elements 0.145 21 $ 34,365,587
BLG Bluglass Limited 0.12 20 $ 71,967,668
TMK Tamaska Oil Gas Ltd 0.006 20 $ 4,450,000
WBE Whitebark Energy 0.003 20 $ 10,157,814
VRX VRX Silica Ltd 0.2 18 $ 75,667,209
TTB Total Brain Ltd 0.4 16 $ 37,364,805
DRO Droneshield Limited 0.195 15 $ 65,993,592
CZL Cons Zinc Ltd 0.004 14 $ 11,097,364
XST Xstate Resources 0.004 14 $ 5,072,343
GLH Global Health Ltd 0.455 14 $ 16,839,328
KSS Kleos 0.83 14 $ 85,722,076
CGS Cogstate Ltd 1.17 14 $ 175,225,314
KIS King Island 0.096 13 $ 22,500,299
HXG Hexagon Energy 0.054 13 $ 14,036,803
BIQ Buildingiq, Inc 0.009 13 $ 2,989,384
FLC Fluence Corporation 0.23 12 $ 128,095,077
AKM Aspire Mining Ltd 0.077 12 $ 35,026,952
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B2B investment solutions platform Xplore Wealth Ltd (ASX:XPL) was the big winner in morning trade on the back of a takeover offer.

The company announced it’s entered into a binding Scheme Implementation Agreement with HUB24 Limited (ASX:HUB), for HUB24 to buy the business.

The deal values XPL at 20c per share — a premium of almost 200 per cent from their last closing price on October 27. HUB24 shares also rose by seven per cent following the announcement.

Also doubling up in morning trade was Aldoro Resources (ASX:ARN), after announcing it’s commenced exploration at its fully owned Narndee Igneous Complex project in WA’s Murchison Region.

ARN said the Complex has similar characteristics to Chalice Gold Mines’ (ASX:CHN) Julimar discovery.

Historic exploration shows a working sulphide mineral system with the potential for significant deposits of nickel, copper and platinum, the company said.

LOSERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Thursday October 29:

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

CODE NAME PRICE % CHANGE MARKET CAP
HNR Hannans Ltd 0.005 -29 $ 13,915,682
APG Austpac Resources NL 0.0015 -25 $ 5,668,004
CLZ Classic Min Ltd 0.0015 -25 $ 26,678,279
FGO Flamingo Ai Ltd 0.003 -25 $ 4,480,511
NPM Newpeak Metals 0.003 -25 $ 17,460,650
TGO Trimantium Growthops 0.04 -25 $ 8,053,074
TOU Tlou Energy Ltd 0.055 -24 $ 37,814,331
MLS Metals Australia 0.002 -20 $ 9,120,882
XPE Xped Limited 0.002 -20 $ 4,482,155
INP Incentiapay Ltd 0.021 -19 $ 18,673,971
BUX Buxton Resources Ltd 0.07 -18 $ 11,564,712
AQI Alicanto Min Ltd 0.145 -17 $ 49,133,632
GLA Gladiator Resources 0.0025 -17 $ 6,983,503
PRM Prominence Energy NL 0.005 -17 $ 2,940,432
XTC Xantippe Res Ltd 0.0025 -17 $ 12,223,693
TAS Tasman Resources Ltd 0.031 -16 $ 21,629,625
FAU First Au Ltd 0.021 -16 $ 13,452,116
MIL Millennium Grp Ltd 0.355 -15 $ 19,289,869
AYM Australia United Min 0.011 -15 $ 23,953,507
ASP Aspermont Limited 0.006 -14 $ 15,941,203
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