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

The ASX has snapped a five-day winning streak, but at least small caps haven’t lost as much ground as their blue chip counterparts.

The Small Ordinaries index of 100 small-cap companies closed down eight points, or 0.3 per cent, to 2,938.7. The ASX20 index of Australia’s biggest 20 companies was down 0.6 per cent, while the ASX200 dropped 0.5 per cent and the All Ordinaries fell 0.5 per cent.

The energy, mining, industrial, financial, utilities and property sectors all fell while consumer discretionaries, staples, health care, tech and telecom rose.

Crater Gold Mining (ASX:CGN) was the biggest gainer, soaring 345 per cent to 4.9c. In a response to an ASX price query, Crater had no explanation other than its announcement that drilling at its polymetallic project in North Queensland had found indium, a rare metal used in the semiconductor industry.

Elsewhere on the ASX…

– Rhythm Biosciences (ASX:RHY) soared 37.5 per cent to 38.5c after the Melbourne biotech announced it had completed its prototype rapid blood screening tool for bowel cancer, and a preliminary test on 200 blood samples showed it outperformed the faecal tests that are now standard. The company is now looking to transfer its design to a high-volume manufacturer for production and more testing.

– MedAdvisor (ASX:MDR) dipped 1.1 per cent to 39c after completing a $35 million institutional placement to raise funds for the acquisition of US-based Adheris Health. The takeover would make MedAdvisor a leader in direct-to-patient medication adherence programs in the USA, the company says.

– Cazaly Resources (ASX:CAZ) announced it had has bought out its joint venture partner 3D Resources (ASX:DDD) of its 80 per cent interest in the Halls Creek copper project, giving Cazaly a 100 per cent stake. Cazaly is initially paying $250,000 for 3D’s stake, with another $250,000 due upon commercial production of minerals.

– Aroa Biosciences (ASX:ARX) rose 1.9 per cent to $1.32 after a study published in the Journal of Wound Care further validated its skin-graft product Myriad. The study found 100 per cent healing after eight surgical reconstructions to address severe cases of the inflammatory skin condition known as HS.

– Tesserent Limited (ASX:TNT) was flat at 36c after creating a joint venture company with Optic Security Group to enter the New Zealand cybersecurity market. Tesserent currently provides enterprise-grade cybersecurity to mid-market companies across Australia.

– Proteomics International Laboratories (ASX:PIQ) fell three per cent to 48.5c after signing an agreement to bring its diabetic kidney disease test to Israel. The agreement is with medical distributor Zotal, giving Zotal the right to sell Proteomics’ immunoassay biomarker test kit to clinical laboratories across the country. The kit can analyse hundreds of blood samples as part of a panel of routine blood tests.