Sir Michael Caine has revealed he tried not to blink for eight years because of a tip he read in an acting book.

“One thing that stuck in my mind was, don’t blink. You must never blink,” the Oscar winner said.

“For the next eight years, I walked around trying not to blink. People around me, my mother and everybody, thought I had gone nuts.”

Caine has since resumed blinking – he just tries not to while shooting scenes.

Just like fellow Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins, who reportedly didn’t blink while shooting the Silence of the Lambs to ‘keep the audience mesmerised.’

 

To Markets …

The ASX 200 was down 12.80 points or 0.17% at midday today to 7,478.40.

Iron ore lifted 2.6% to US$153.35 a tonne, but nickel fell 2% along with lead down 1%.

The big miners lagged the pack as BHP (ASX:BHP) dropped 0.44%, while Fortescue (ASX:FMG) fell 0.45%.

Global oil prices dipped by around 1.5% on renewed concerns over crude demand due to rising Covid-19 infections, and as Mexico restored some output after a fire disrupted supplies.

Woodside (ASX:WPL) felt the pressure, dropping 0.39% along with Santos (ASX:STO) who dropped 1.16%.

Market sentiment was also dampened by reports of airport explosions in Afghanistan with reports of US military and Afghan civilian casualties.

And according to Morningstar, investors turned cautious with comments from three of the US Federal Reserve’s non-voting regional Presidents – Esther George, Robert Kaplan and James Bullard – urging the central bank to start tapering its asset purchase program.

“(Kaplan’s statements) caused a little confusion about the taper timeline, but in my opinion the equity markets are focused on geopolitical issues,” Verdence Capital Advisors director of portfolio strategy Megan Horneman said.

“There’s a flight to safety during geopolitical tensions.”

“The expectation is that the Fed is unlikely tip its hand regarding the taper timeline when Chairman Jerome Powell ‘un-mutes’ and delivers his speech at Friday’s virtual Jackson Hole Symposium.”

 

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for August 27 [intraday]:

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

 

The biggest small cap winner today was Classic Minerals (ASX:CLZ) up 50% on news its extended the closing date for its $8.4 million share purchase plan to 6 September.

The company already extended the closing date earlier this month but apparently there’s been further delays with shareholders receiving their application documents.

CLZ intends to use the funds to accelerate exploration and production activities at its Kat Gap gold project in WA.

It was followed by Rhinomed (ASX:RNO) up 42% on completing development of the world’s first nasal swab designed for children.

Plus, the company has received Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approval to commence a clinical trial of the Rhinoswab Junior at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne.

And MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MXC) which jumped 41% after signing a US$24 million supply agreement for its phytomedicine products including CannEpil, CogniCann and CimetrA.

The agreement with AMC Holdings Inc, is the first dedicated supply agreement for the company’s products into the USA.

Next up, was Identitii Limited (ASX:ID8) which rose by 36%, along with Magontec (ASX:MGL) up 33% and Astro Resources (ASX:ARO) up 25% – all on no news.

And then there was Mad Paws (ASX:MPA) which lifted 20% after announcing FY21 revenue growth of 43%.

This was mainly due to increased Waggly and Dinner Bowl subscriptions, with the company reporting over 110,000 paying pet customers and 25,000 pet sitters now on its platform.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

 

The biggest loser today was Kuniko Limited (ASX:KNI) which dropped 26% today in the wake of yesterday’s parabolic rise.

The company said it doesn’t know what caused the spike but will keep the market informed of the results of exploration activities at its Skuterud Cobalt and Vangrøfta Copper Projects in Norway.

The drama was followed by Metals Australia (ASX:MLS) and Newpeak Metals (ASX:NPM) who were both down 25% on no news.

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