Small caps have declined for the second trading day in a row amid jitters about coronavirus cases in Sydney.

The Small Ordinaries index of 100 small cap companies on Monday closed down 6.2 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 3,084.4, doing worse than the larger market.

The All Ordinaries was down 0.06 per cent, the ASX200 down 0.08 per cent and the ASX20 gained 0.14 per cent.

Every sector except consumer staples and mining were in the red, with the latter gaining 1.43 per cent as commodity prices rallied. Iron ore giant Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) gained 4.9 per cent to $24.04.

Gibb River Diamonds (ASX:GIB) was the worst performer, dropping 49.6 per cent to 9c after announcing drilling results at its Edjudina gold project in Western Australia.

On the flip side, Rincon Resources (ASX:RCR) has a successful listing, its shares closing at 30.5c, up 52.5 per cent from its IPO price. The company has three copper and gold projects in WA.

Announcements

– Next Science (ASX:NXS) gained 9.7 per cent to $1.30 after receiving CE Mark approval for BlastX, its antimicrobial wound gel. The approval means it can apply to sell the product in each market in the European Union and the UK. The product is currently sold in the US by 3M.

– City Chic Collective (ASX:CCX) gained 11 per cent to $3.52 after the plus-sized woman’s retailer announced that it had agreed to buy Evans, a plus-sized UK clothing brand, from the Arcadia group. City Chic is paying £23.1 million ($41 million) in cash for the business.

– Nyrada (ASX:NYR) gained 7.0 per cent to 23c after announcing that its possible cholesterol drug had proven highly effective in reducing high cholesterol in an animal study. The study used a specialised mouse model that been specifically generated to possess human-like characteristics concerning cholesterol metabolism and cardiovascular health, Nyrada says.

– Incannex Healthcare (ASX:IHL) announced that it had recruited the first patients to its phase 2b clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of its drug candidate IHL-42X on sleep apnoea. The drug candidate is a mix of THC and mineral supplements.

Trading halts

Tuesday: 

Pepinnini (ASX:PNN) – capital raising
HSC Technology (ASX:HSC) – capital raising
Blue Star Helium (ASX:BNL) – acquisition of mineral leases
Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) – exploration results

Wednesday: 

Australian Vanadium (ASX:AVL) – updated pre-feasibility study
Dubber Corporation (ASX:DUB) – acquisition
Rafaella Resources (ASX:RFR) – capital raising
BuildingIQ (ASX:BIQ) – receivership appointment
Douugh (ASX:DOU) – acquisition
Rex Minerals (ASX:RXM) – project update

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. Although Incannex Healthcare is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.

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