Closing Bell: ASX falls despite flurry of merger and acquisition action

While US markets rose after the Fed outlined plans to gradually withdraw stimulus, our markets did not follow suit even amidst a sea of deals.

Leading the charge today was IGO (ASX:IGO) which after months of negotiations looks to have inked a deal to acquire fellow nickel miner Western Areas (ASX:WSA) for $1.1 billion.

Qantas (ASX:QAN) confirmed it was going with the Airbus A220 and Airbus A320 to replace its current domestic fleet, at a price worth tens of billions of dollars.

Other stocks announcing deals included Sims (ASX:SGM), which was buying US metal recycler Atlantic Recycling Group, Hotel Property Investments (ASX:HPI) and MA Financial (ASX:MAF), which announced separate pub acquisitions as well as Credit Clear (ASX:CCR) which is buying debt recovery solutions provider ARMA Group.

The ASX 200 finished 0.43% lower, closing at 7,296 points. Healthcare stocks plunged 5% and energy fell 1.17% although tech gained 2.07%.

TODAY’S BIGGEST SMALL CAP WINNERS

(Stocks highlighted in yellow rose after making announcements during the trading day).

Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort.

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume
ANL	Amani Gold Ltd	0.002	100	4718499
NTL	New Talisman Gold	0.0015	50	2953992
VPR	Volt Power Group	0.003	50	68270
OEX	Oilex Ltd	0.004	33	35777285
A8G	Australasian Metals	0.505	29	820717
BIT	Biotron Limited	0.1	27	15655336
CGB	Cann Global Limited	0.0025	25	2792376
T3D	333D Limited	0.0025	25	2495593
TSC	Twenty Seven Co. Ltd	0.005	25	1443317
ENR	Encounter Resources	0.16	23	1357451
TNY	Tinybeans Group Ltd	0.67	23	36475
XPN	Xpon Technologies	0.245	23	4293339
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.445	20	680969
LCT	Living Cell Tech.	0.006	20	12367691
ROO	Roots Sustainable	0.006	20	1617272
CBL	Control Bionics	0.475	17	3201
REZ	Resourc & En Grp Ltd	0.058	16	736734
REC	Rechargemetals	0.19	15	72500
ADO	Anteotech Ltd	0.195	15	4484249
CZR	CZR Resources Ltd	0.008	14	2497253
GML	Gateway Mining	0.016	14	4602914
POL	Polymetals Resources	0.16	14	199407
OVTDA	Ovato Limited	0.25	14	60000

Oilex (ASX:OEX) jumped after announcing it had received a court order in India which removed the imposition of production curtailment at its Cambay field.

In tech, family-focused photo sharing app Tinybeans (ASX:TNY) also rose strongly, after a trading update where the company said it’s on track for a record quarter in December.

Biotron (ASX:BIT) rose after an update on its HIV and COVID-19 clinical programs. The company said its Phase II trial against HIV had been extended to include a second site in Australia.

Rising on its ASX debut was XPON Technologies (ASX:XPN), which provides cloud-based marketing technology solutions.

In resources winners included Encounter Resources (ASX:ENR) and Ozaurum Resources (ASX:OZM) with exploration results.

TODAY’S BIGGEST SMALL CAP LOSERS

(Stocks highlighted in yellow fell after making announcements during the trading day).

Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort.

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume
IDT	IDT Australia Ltd	0.29	-40	8697663
NPM	Newpeak Metals	0.0015	-25	250000
SCT	Scout Security Ltd	0.029	-22	3346010
AGS	Alliance Resources	0.145	-22	3750
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.013	-19	338500
M2M	Mtmalcolmminesnl	0.115	-18	686842
AIR	Astivita Ltd	0.65	-16	1467
PRS	Prospech Limited	0.063	-15	36138
SBW	Shekel Brainweigh	0.205	-15	168010
AJM	Altura Mining Ltd	0.012	-14	80285063
IVT	Inventis Limited	0.095	-14	277878
KLR	Kaili Resources Ltd	0.027	-13	119000
RNX	Renegade Exploration	0.007	-13	1146269
PXX	Polarx Limited	0.032	-12	1286391
CCR	Credit Clear	0.475	-12	402698
PNN	PepinNini Minerals	0.41	-11	543100
MMC	Mitremining	0.18	-10	277410
RCR	Rincon	0.135	-10	176307
ARO	Astro Resources NL	0.0045	-10	1000000
BUY	Bounty Oil & Gas NL	0.009	-10	9209150
TRU	Truscreen	0.072	-10	203100
JAY	Jayride Group	0.19	-9.5238	38579

ANNOUNCEMENTS YOU MAY’VE MISSED

Arena REIT’s (ASX:ARF) estimates that since June 30, its total property has grown 13.9% to $154 million. It credited macroeconomic drivers in the early learning sector, which it services through a portfolio of properties hosting childcare centres.

Fellow REIT Auctus (ASX:AVC) unveiled plans to spin out its US college student housing assets into its own ASX entity. It plans to list in February next year with a $45 million IPO and will consist of 11 properties with a fair value of US$189 million.

Suncorp (ASX:SUN) won a ratings upgrade from S&P Global Ratings. It has moved from A+ to AA- with a stable outlook, a move S&P said reflects the group’s business diversity and earnings resilience.

Cronos (ASX:CAU) sealed a deal to merge with CDA Health. The move has resulted in the replacement of four directors as well as $5 million in cash and 403.55m shares being issued to CDA Health which now owns 73.6% of the group.

Two days after plunging due to Novartis walking away from a partnership, Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) got positive feedback from the FDA on its Phase 3 program of rexlemestrocel-L in patients with chronic lower back pain due to degenerative disc disease.