• ASX 200 climbs despite weak US leads
  • Small caps crush it, up 1.45%
  • Iron ore futures dip as China find another COVID-zero scare

 

Local markets have defied weak leads out of the states on Tuesday to close unexpectedly higher.

The S&P/ASX Emerging Companies (XEC) index was well over 1.4% higher at the end of afternoon business while the benchmark ASX 200 also beat a path to a 0.7% gain on the back of some terrific strength in the volatility of global energy prices.

Overnight, the Dow Jones index ended 0.6% lower, the S&P 500 lost 0.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq feel 1% as US traders opened the week in anxious mode, still a bit brittle after the central bank excesses put on headline display at Jackson Hole.

The US Federal Reserve’s renewal of its aggressive posture on combatting inflation also played out in the bond market.

The US two-year bond yields topped a 15-year high smacking at the lips of 3.5%. The 10-year US bond yields rose to 3.11%.

But it’s the ferocity with which oil prices climbed overnight that’s hit the momentary reset button on Asian markets. Brent crude and the US Nymex both lifted over 4%.

At the same time the bottom has fallen out of the EU’s “unbearably high” gas prices. Germany says its storage facilities were filling up faster than expected, welcome news as Gasprom’s Nordstream connection is severed for a second time in lieu of maintenance checks.

Dutch front-month futures plunged nearly 20% according to NAB’s energy strategist Rodrigo Catril.

Meanwhile the iron ore price has lost between 3 and 5% on the Singapore and dalian futures boards. The plunge follows more crappy zero-COVID China news, this time the shutdown of Shenzhen’s quite incredibly large – possibly the biggest in the world – Hua Qiang Bei electronics and white good market, the centre of a COVID-19 outbreak.

The news has reportedly impacted rebar and steel prices on the Shanghai futures exchange.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, just round the corner from Shenzhen sank 1.5% with the key Hang Seng Tech Index well over 2% the worse.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:

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

Code Company Price % Volume Market Cap
AHI Adv Human Imag Ltd 0.245 96% 5,391,741 $21,031,173
KFM Kingfisher Mining 0.41 52% 6,611,608 $9,246,150
NTL New Talisman Gold 0.003 50% 1,003,317 $6,254,451
BYI Beyond International 0.46 48% 45,011 $19,014,460
AD1 AD1 Holdings Limited 0.025 47% 3,519,270 $11,488,844
FNX Finexia Financialgrp 0.07 40% 5,000 $8,105,355
WC1 Westcobarmetals 0.195 39% 2,308,873 $4,305,011
RR1 Reach Resources Ltd 0.006 33% 25,780,716 $8,595,228
GTR Gti Energy Ltd 0.021 31% 55,435,342 $24,087,737
WCN White Cliff Min Ltd 0.021 31% 23,022,065 $10,457,654
TPC TPC Consolidated Ltd 2.6 30% 14,947 $22,751,226
IND Industrialminerals 0.365 24% 109,079 $8,673,000
DM1 Desert Metals 0.27 23% 665,136 $10,558,200
THR Thor Mining PLC 0.011 22% 2,478,640 $9,680,080
E2M E2 Metals 0.165 22% 4,306 $26,882,864
EL8 Elevate Uranium Ltd 0.55 22% 1,590,280 $123,973,073
TPP Tempo Australia 0.055 22% 65,100 $16,386,098
AGE Alligator Energy 0.069 21% 45,056,958 $188,177,006
BMN Bannerman Energy Ltd 2.35 21% 1,554,325 $291,751,606
BIR BIR Financial Ltd 0.036 20% 7,011,994 $6,043,085
BUR Burleyminerals 0.12 20% 25,000 $3,432,305
CI1 Credit Intelligence 0.12 20% 157,122 $8,013,702
CT1 Constellation Tech 0.006 20% 564,000 $7,356,002
TSC Twenty Seven Co. Ltd 0.003 20% 8,577,818 $6,652,035
LER Leaf Res Ltd 0.031 19% 1,418,660 $29,711,487
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Advanced Human Imaging (ASX:AHI) has had its cracker run put on hold, screaming into a trading halt this morning at 24 cents a share.

AHI says there’s a looming announcement vis a vis an acquisition after the ASX slapped a pricing query on its shares after they escalated quickly, more or less doubling on Monday.

Shares in the company were paused by the ASX Tuesday morning before they were halted in response to a pricing letter.

Up well over 40% is the TV production company Beyond International (ASX:BYI) has had a cracker year off the back of growth in production fees and recoveries from joint venture productions, an increase in gross margins from the sale of previously written off programs (delivering 100% gross contribution) as well as an increase in copyright revenue.

And the BYI content outlook is quite good – some of the programs commissioned and in production in Australia for the world market in the 2022 financial year include: Matt Wright’s Wild Territory for Netflix and Network Nine, On The Record for Stan, The Invisibles Series 2 for Disney+/National Geography, Animals Aboard for the Seven Network and Beyond Rights and in some quite poignant timing, John Farnham – Finding The Voice for Sony Pictures Releasing and the Seven Network.

Shares in Desert Metals (ASX:DM1) soared this morning after follow-up drilling outlined an emerging rare earths system at its Innouendy project in Western Australia.

Initial XRF and visual observations – while no replacement for laboratory analysis – are encouraging and suggest that an extensive, near surface REE system hosted in clay is present.

This is particularly encouraging for as the clays which host the mineralisation have been intersected up to a thickness of 80m in some parts.

Step out drilling traverses across 20km of strike length have intersected both thick clays and large volumes of mafic and ultramafic rock though lab analysis will be required to determine whether these units host significant mineralisation.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:

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

Code Company Price % Volume Market Cap
MEB Medibio Limited 0.001 -33% 400,000 $4,980,891
ICN Icon Energy Limited 0.017 -26% 3,763,808 $17,359,710
JTL Jayex Technology Ltd 0.007 -22% 465,895 $2,243,057
ADS Adslot Ltd. 0.011 -21% 1,192,215 $30,862,701
SBR Sabre Resources 0.0055 -21% 83,895,715 $19,528,117
AVW Avira Resources Ltd 0.004 -20% 1,866,450 $10,593,950
CCE Carnegie Cln Energy 0.002 -20% 401,173 $37,756,434
MCT Metalicity Limited 0.004 -20% 2,735,486 $17,293,530
AFL Af Legal Group Ltd 0.31 -19% 1,593,888 $29,387,393
HHR Hartshead Resources 0.038 -19% 16,892,505 $87,174,290
MYE Metarock Group Ltd 0.365 -19% 309,206 $58,946,646
IEC Intra Energy Corp 0.009 -18% 51,114 $6,663,597
GRE Greentechmetals 0.23 -18% 454,366 $8,758,400
CTT Cettire 0.72 -18% 5,327,808 $333,583,443
AMS Atomos 0.235 -18% 4,226,225 $63,370,202
NRX Noronex Limited 0.048 -17% 10,269,267 $9,886,668
LNY Laneway Res Ltd 0.005 -17% 4,234,417 $39,228,098
ROG Red Sky Energy. 0.005 -17% 1,000,864 $31,813,363
SYN Synergia Energy Ltd 0.0025 -17% 1,212,510 $25,253,372
TTB Total Brain Ltd 0.04 -17% 660,424 $6,418,614
VTG Vita Group Ltd 0.165 -15% 3,509,901 $34,295,007
EMU EMU NL 0.011 -15% 2,628,296 $7,147,588
BTR Brightstar Resources 0.018 -14% 55,000 $13,584,078
KWR Kingwest Resources 0.056 -14% 754,792 $18,312,243
KSS Kleos 0.32 -14% 363,115 $66,054,574
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WHAT YOU MAY’VE MISSED TODAY

We’re all still neck deep in companies crowing about their FY22 wins (or making shaky excuses like “there was a pandemic” or “the pigs ate the accountant” if things went south), but there are some quickies in amongst it all this arvo you might have missed.

That includes WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC), which noted that there’s been a certain amount of speculation in the media (those gossipy old ratbags…) about a possible acquisition.

Wisetech’s announcement says “As stated in the recent results announcement on 24 August 2022, part of the Company’s strategy is to continue to expand through tuck-in acquisitions and potential strategically significant acquisition opportunities. Consistent with this strategy, WiseTech continues to evaluate a number of opportunities. WiseTech will continue to keep the market informed in line with its continuous disclosure obligations”.

Which is a lot of words for “Shut up, we’ll tell you when we’re ready.”

Meanwhile, Security Matters (ASX:SMX) has asked for an extension on its homework, needing a few more days to get things ready to reveal the Appendix 4D and half-year accounts.

No doubt these things are complicated enough at the best of times, but the company is also trying to coordinate with their people in the US, which means at least two more days of arguing over using “Australian English” or “American English” spelling in the reports.

Carnavale Resources (ASX:CAV) chief executive officer Humphrey Hale says the digger’s wrapped up its third aircore drill program which was aimed at closing up the drill spacing at its Ora Banda South gold project near Kalgoorlie.

The program of 105 holes totalling 8,885m follows on previous wide-spaced drilling which returned significant, shallow bedrock results which confirmed the presence of a gold-bearing systems over a strike length of 15km.

Drilling targeted the Highlander and Carnage prospects which have strike lengths of 2.5km and 2km respectively and widths of up to 500m and 400m.

Hale says the latest drill program tightened up the line spacing on the substantial anomalies.

“We have demonstrated that the system is gold bearing, now we have to zoom in on the highest grade so that we can target the fresh rock source with RC drilling,” he added.

 

TRADING HALTS

MONEYME (ASX:MME) – MONEYME is, as its name implies, starting a capital raise.

Dicker Data (ASX: DDR) – Dicker’s looking to engorge its bottom line, with a capital raise.

Bod Australia (ASX:BOD) – Bod is getting into a capital raise, possibly expanding the business into a Dad Bod.

Alicanto Minerals (ASX:AQI) – And please give Alicanto a warm welcome to the Capital Raise Club.

Nitro Software (ASX:NTO) – There’s a heads-up from Nitro that they’re expecting an invitation in the mail that could mean a change of control transaction.

Advanced Human Imaging (ASX: AHI) – News of a material acquisition. See above for the deets.

West Cobar Metals (ASX:WC1) – price query