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
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 |