Last Orders: What you might have missed on the ASX today

Small caps have resumed their winning ways after yesterday’s losing session, rising for the eighth day out of the last nine trading sessions and managing to avoid their first losing week since October.

The Small Ordinaries index of 100 small cap companies finished Friday up 8.2 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 3,081.1, even as the ASX200 dropped 40.5 points, or 0.61 per cent.

For the week the index gained just 2.25 points, or 0.07 per cent, as Thursday’s 30.7 point, 0.99 per cent loss weighed on the rest of the gains.

The Emerging Companies micro-cap index gained 1.23 per cent on Friday to 1,911.2, finishing the week up 0.46 per cent.

Sectors were mixed, with tech, energy and mining companies gaining and the ASX’s eight other sectors falling. Healthcare was the worst hit, dropping 2.6 per cent.

Kingfisher Mining (ASX:KFM) had a successful debut on the ASX after a $6 million, 20-cent-per-share IPO. KFM shares closed Friday at 29.5c, a 47.5 per cent gain.

The junior explorer is focused on two copper-gold prospects in WA.

Elsewhere on the bourse:

Announcements

– Zip Co (ASX:Z1P) gained 1.8 per cent to $5.24 after the buy now, pay later company announced a partnership with Facebook in Australia. Small and medium-sized businesses will be able to use its Zip Business BNPL service to pay for Facebook ads.

– THC Global (ASX:THC) was up 3.6 per cent, to 28.5c, after the cannabis company announced that its Southport manufacturing facility had passed an audit by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the company’s CEO and COO had been able to visit it with the COVID-19 restrictions on interstate travel easing. THC also announced that in January it would ask shareholders to approve a change in the company’s name, to Epsilon Healthcare, given the perception that “THC” is related to the recreational cannabis market.

– Holista Colltech (ASX:HCT) gained 13.6 per cent to 7.5c after the natural wellness company announced it would offer a “List N” fogging solution to disinfect buildings and kill coronavirus. Products on List N are deemed by US regulators to kill SARVS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Holista is trying to get its own disinfectant on List N, but in the meantime it has secured supplies of another product.

– HSC Technology Group (ASX:HSC) advanced 5.6 per cent to 1.9c after the tech company formerly known as Homestay Care announced its New Zealand partner, Securely, had placed a $290,000 order for a range of medical and safety alarms.