Local stocks were trading flat at midday, with the ASX edging into positive territory shortly after 12pm EST.
The morning session was highlighted by a sharp selloff in gold, which collapsed from around US$1,760 to briefly fall below US$1,700/0z in Asian trade.
Benchmark US treasury yields are rising, which often acts as a catalyst to send gold prices lower (here’s why).
Traders have also flagged the effect of flows and market positioning as Asian traders arrived at the desk.
Whatever the cause, buyers stepped in once prices fell below $US1,700, and a short time ago the precious metal had stabilised above $US1,730.
Elsewhere, you may have noticed a fairly furious lithium rally taking place in ASX small caps. Well, that continued in morning trade, as investors stay in the hunt for the next big lithium winner.
WINNERS
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks in morning trade for Monday, August 9:
Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.
| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLZ | Classic Min Ltd | 0.0015 | 50.0% | 14672500 | $ 22,369,104.43 |
| WOO | Wooboard Tech Ltd | 0.0015 | 50.0% | 4055877 | $ 3,822,162.74 |
| HUO | Huon Aquaculture Grp | 3.85 | 38.0% | 694961 | $ 306,545,555.61 |
| ANL | Amani Gold Ltd | 0.002 | 33.3% | 514556 | $ 18,580,495.12 |
| PCL | Pancontinental Oil | 0.002 | 33.3% | 92513 | $ 9,010,073.23 |
| AXP | AXP Energy Ltd | 0.006 | 33.3% | 236896305 | $ 21,053,306.34 |
| KLR | Kaili Resources Ltd | 0.029 | 31.8% | 191500 | $ 3,242,807.99 |
| CHR | Charger Metals | 0.555 | 29.1% | 6091654 | $ 13,760,000.43 |
| ADV | Ardiden Ltd | 0.013 | 18.2% | 38863343 | $ 23,642,896.38 |
| KNM | Kneomedia Limited | 0.007 | 16.7% | 140722 | $ 6,580,079.97 |
| VRC | Volt Resources Ltd | 0.029 | 16.0% | 7447065 | $ 61,001,289.63 |
| 4DX | 4Dmedical Limited | 1.72 | 15.4% | 603898 | $ 308,757,066.92 |
| AAJ | Aruma Resources Ltd | 0.068 | 15.3% | 3197744 | $ 6,251,694.69 |
| MAY | Melbana Energy Ltd | 0.025 | 15.0% | 6874811 | $ 50,353,985.22 |
| HNR | Hannans Ltd | 0.008 | 14.3% | 5792379 | $ 16,519,840.34 |
| ARR | American Rare Earths | 0.12 | 14.3% | 4711308 | $ 36,152,374.23 |
| FZO | Family Zone Cyber | 0.67 | 13.9% | 10870325 | $ 256,689,157.89 |
| IKW | Ikwezi Mining Ltd | 0.33 | 13.8% | 8530 | $ 11,788,492.46 |
| MRD | Mount Ridley Mines | 0.0045 | 12.5% | 4048696 | $ 20,060,494.29 |
| 4DS | 4Ds Memory Limited | 0.24 | 12.0% | 10794194 | $ 284,003,914.82 |
| ATP | Atlas Pearls Ltd | 0.029 | 12.0% | 1513174 | $ 11,124,665.71 |
Oil & gas play AXP Energy (ASX:AXP) ticked higher on strong volumes, after flagging net revenues (after royalties) of $1.8m in July. The company said it also expects to exceed its Q2 totals in the September quarter.
Chairman Simon Johnson said the July revenue figures were the result of “improved operational performance and reliability from our core natural gas and NGL operations, rather than a reliance on a heavy sell down in oil inventory”.
4DMedical (ASX:4DX) was also on the winner’s list, after signing a deal with pharmaceutical company Novartis for the commercial use of its XV Lung Ventilation analysis software.
“Whilst the contract is not substantial in terms of revenue at this stage, it also represents the beginning of our commercial relationship with Novartis and expands our commercial product offering to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries,” CEO Andreas Fouras said.
LOSERS
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks in morning trade for Monday, August 9:
Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.
| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAS | Bass Oil Ltd | 0.002 | -20.0% | 251684 | $ 8,359,753.04 |
| GLE | GLG Corp Ltd | 0.285 | -19.0% | 7282 | $ 25,935,000.00 |
| AOA | Ausmon Resorces | 0.005 | -16.7% | 641666 | $ 4,263,956.06 |
| SHM | Shriro Holdings Ltd | 0.895 | -15.2% | 1211235 | $ 100,317,312.50 |
| BMN | Bannerman Energy Ltd | 0.135 | -12.9% | 5809406 | $ 184,316,355.59 |
| LCY | Legacy Iron Ore | 0.014 | -12.5% | 11967 | $ 102,475,816.27 |
| TMX | Terrain Minerals | 0.007 | -12.5% | 511875 | $ 5,886,088.07 |
| S2R | S2 Resources | 0.14 | -12.5% | 1487368 | $ 50,382,588.64 |
| ONX | Orminexltd | 0.038 | -11.6% | 1980001 | $ 23,559,464.53 |
| OBM | Ora Banda Mining Ltd | 0.12 | -11.1% | 1090604 | $ 131,374,746.32 |
| AVW | Avira Resources Ltd | 0.004 | -11.1% | 81250 | $ 6,187,680.00 |
| DDD | 3D Resources Limited | 0.004 | -11.1% | 1361112 | $ 17,461,674.41 |
| BNR | Bulletin Res Ltd | 0.058 | -10.8% | 99577 | $ 11,654,049.81 |
| CVV | Caravel Minerals Ltd | 0.34 | -10.5% | 723070 | $ 143,792,006.46 |
| YRL | Yandal Resources | 0.48 | -10.3% | 48067 | $ 53,735,374.86 |
| NAG | Nagambie Resources | 0.07 | -10.3% | 133904 | $ 38,994,722.99 |
| LNY | Laneway Res Ltd | 0.0045 | -10.0% | 3789758 | $ 19,520,329.67 |
| NWE | Norwest Energy NL | 0.009 | -10.0% | 4396232 | $ 51,166,148.36 |
| RIM | Rimfire Pacific | 0.009 | -10.0% | 700000 | $ 18,062,447.35 |
| TPD | Talon Energy Ltd | 0.009 | -10.0% | 9786414 | $ 60,167,895.25 |
| HPP | Health Plant Protein | 0.23 | -9.8% | 86666 | $ 31,319,288.19 |
Among stocks with announcements, textiles company GLG Corp (ASX:GLE) led the laggards after announcing the resignation of its chief financial officer, Victoria Yong, effective from today.
Kitchen appliances company Shriro Holdings (ASX:SHM) also dipped sharply after announcing it will transfer its BLANCO appliance and sink/tap distributions in Australia and New Zealand — which comprise around 10% of group revenues — back to BLANCO, which will take over all operations from May 1, 2022.