Last Orders: The ASX took a 1.9 per cent tumble today

The ASX fell nearly 2 per cent in a broader equity market sell off.

The ASX 200 closed at 6,932, which was 1.9 per cent lower than yesterday although the ASX Emerging Companies Index only fell 0.58 per cent, closing at 2,085 points.

Every single sector was in the red with resources being the worst performer after falling over 3 per cent while the “best” was consumer staples, which was only down 0.71 per cent.

The drop on the ASX followed Wall Street as investors weighted up rising inflation and the prospect that stimulus may be tapered as well as the COVID-19 resurgence in India and the broader Asia-Pacific region.

However, there were a few winners on the ASX today with the biggest being BPM Minerals (ASX:BPM), which announced it was buying three projects in the Earaheedy Basin near the recent Rumble Resources (ASX:RTR) discovery.

New IPO Lithium Energy (ASX:LEL) took silver spot gaining nearly 90 per cent. The company boasts tenements in Argentina with its flagship project directly adjacent to Orocobre’s (ASX: ORE) Olaroz development that is producing 42,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate a year.

ANNOUNCEMENTS YOU MAY’VE MISSED

A number of ASX stocks were added to the MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International) Australia Micro-Cap Index. Two of these stocks were Digital Wine Ventures (ASX:DW8) and Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN) with the latter saying admission would provide broader exposure to global institutions and investment markets as well as increased liquidity and access to capital sources.

Kaolin play Corella Resources (ASX:CR9) has lodged an exploration license application. If granted it would represent a 108 per cent increase in the company’s land holdings at its flagship Tampu project.

IT and telco services provider Spirit Technology (ASX:ST1) gave a market update in which it revealed revenue had gained 150 per cent year on year. It also declared that it achieved 10 consecutive quarters of growth.

BNPL provider Laybuy (ASX:LBY) completed a $35 million capital raising, which it conducted to expand into the UK. The company also told shareholders it is on track for Gross Merchandise Value exceeding NZ$1 billion and for revenue to grow between 90 and 100 per cent in FY22.

Digital bank BNK Bank (ASX:BBC) announced an in principle agreement on an alliance with Goldman Sachs with an intent to originate, fund and securitise residential mortgages in Australia – funded by Goldman but originated, serviced and trust managed by BNK.

SME-focused fintech lender Prospa (ASX:PGL) surpassed $2 billion in lending having originated $41.5 million in lloans during April 2021. This was up from just $2.9 million in April 2020 and the company estimates this has supported 114,000 jobs and added $8 billion to GDP.