Last Orders: Small caps snap three-day winning streak

Small caps have snapped their three-day winning streak, declining along with the rest of the Australian market.

The Small Ordinaries gave up two thirds of yesterday’s gains on Thursday, finishing down 33.1 points, or 1.04 per cent, to 3,157.9.

The ASX200 dipped slightly less, finishing down 0.87 per cent, or 59.1 points, to 6,765.5, although the nano-cap Emerging Companies index managed to avoid the drop, climbing 0.07 per cent.

Looking on the bright side, the Small Ords is still up 2.5 per cent for the week, putting it on pace for its third-best week since August. Since the start of 2021, it’s up 2.2 per cent.

Losses were across the board sector-wise, with financials and tech the least hit – both dropped 0.4 per cent – and property the worst damaged, falling 2.4 per cent.

ASX small cap news

Global Oil & Gas (ASX:GLV) with the biggest gainer, rising 66.7 per cent to 3.5c after the $16 million helium and hydrogen explorer announced it had received a Sacred Site Clearance Certificate for a geochemical survey at its tenement in the Northern Territory.

Field Solutions (ASX:FSG) gained 7.1 per cent to a three-year high of 7.5c after winning $2.1 million in capital funding from the Western Australia government to expand its rural fixed wireless network.

King Island Scheelite (ASX:KIS) rocketed 58 per cent to 24.5c, two days after the $47 million junior explorer announced it had won a $10 million loan from the Tasmanian government for development of its tungsten project on King Island, Tasmania.

Cannabis companies ECS Botanics (ASX:ECS), THC Global (ASX:THC) and Roots Sustainable Agriculture (ASX:ROO) were all up from 10 to 12 per cent to two-month highs, possibly buoyed by three Democrats in the US Senate pledging to try to legalize weed at the federal level.

Volpara Health Technologies (ASX:VHT) gained 7.4 per cent to a one-year high of $1.66 following broker upgrades after its $23 million acquisition of a Massachusetts breast screening technology company.

Tombador Iron (ASX:TI1) gained 41.9 per cent to 10.5c after the Brazil-focused iron ore explorer announced it had signed a binding offtake agreement with a commodity trading and logistics company, Trafigura.