The coronavirus has upended everyone’s life, but there are tentative signs Australia is getting ahead of the curve — at least by global standards.

In a speech to parliament this morning, Scott Morrison thanked Australian citizens for their commitment to containing the spread of the disease.

Morrison said Australia is flattening the COVID-19 curve and “buying ourselves precious time”.

However, it wasn’t all good news as Morrison stressed all isolation efforts must be sustained. Eventually we’ll reach the other side, but he said it could well take longer than six months to get there.

While Australia is looking comparatively good on the health front, local stocks slipped this morning as markets assessed the outlook for bank dividends — usually a pillar of Australia’s financial system which top up the coffers of investors and super funds.

It followed a statement by bank regulator APRA that it expects companies to “seriously consider” deferring dividends. In response, UBS cut its first-half dividend forecast for ANZ, NAB and Westpac to zero.

The ASX200 fell by around 2 per cent at the opening bell but was gaining ground into midday trade, while the ASX Small Ords was 0.7 per cent lower at 2,175 points.

 

WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Wednesday April 8:

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CODE COMPANY PRICE % CHANGE MARKET CAP
AO1 Assetowl 0.021 425.00% $5.7M
BMG BMG Resources Ltd 0.002 100.00% $1.2M
TPD Talon Petroleum Ltd 0.002 100.00% $1.8M
SW1 Swift Networks 0.028 86.67% $5.4M
WBE Whitebark Energy 0.005 66.67% $15.2M
ANA Ansila Energy NL 0.01 42.86% $5.1M
NSX Nsx Ltd 0.125 38.89% $28.0M
MX1 Micro X Ltd 0.19 35.71% $47.5M
DRE Dreadnought Resources 0.004 33.33% $7.1M
TKL Traka Resources Ltd 0.004 33.33% $1.6M
BRK Brookside Energy 0.004 33.33% $4.0M
DW8 Dawine 0.008 33.33% $9.3M
LNU Linius Technologies 0.012 33.33% $11.8M
DVL dorsaVi Ltd 0.017 30.77% $3.9M
RES Resource Generation 0.063 26.00% $36.6M
CZR Coziron Resources Ltd 0.01 25.00% $23.9M
EUR European Lithium 0.05 25.00% $31.7M
BXN Bioxyne Ltd 0.01 25.00% $6.4M
LNY Laneway Resources Ltd 0.005 25.00% $18.6M
OSX Osteopore 0.48 21.52% $50.6M
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Assetowl (ASX:AO1)

As far as companies that are positively hitched to the COVID-19 pandemic, a company that offers virtual inspections for the real estate market probably fits the bill.

So it was the case for Assetowl this morning, which reported a recent surge in demand for its inspector360 software. By 12pm EST, shares in the company had posted an intra-day gain of more than 400 per cent.

The main focus of the product was to increase efficiencies around property management, with the virtual inspection tool included as an add-on feature.

However, the company said it’s now “uniquely placed in Australia to provide managers a tool to allow virtual inspections”.
 

LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Wednesday April 8:

Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.

CODE COMPANY PRICE % CHANGE MARKET CAP
EMU Emu NL 0.011 -47.62% $3.3M
ASP Aspermont 0.006 -33.33% $12.7M
LI3 Lithium Consolidated Mineral Explrtn 0.014 -22.22% $2.1M
AEE Aura Energy Ltd 0.002 -20.00% $3.5M
FIJ Fiji Kava 0.05 -19.35% $4.8M
88E 88 Energy 0.007 -16.67% $49.8M
TSC Twenty Seven 0.005 -16.67% $7.4M
MOH Moho Resources 0.08 -15.79% $3.9M
AGD Austral Gold Ltd 0.135 -15.63% $75.5M
VRX VRX Silica 0.06 -15.49% $26.7M
S2R S2 Resources Ltd 0.08 -14.89% $19.8M
CST Castile Res 0.09 -14.00% $17.0M
AMG Ausmex Mining 0.04 -13.04% $21.3M
CDY Cellmid 0.31 -12.68% $29.0M
PNX Phoenix Copper Ltd 0.007 -12.50% $17.8M
TYR Tyro Payments 2.56 -11.28% $1.3B
NUH Nuheara 0.016 -11.11% $17.3M
JRV Jervois Mining Ltd 0.13 -10.34% $83.4M
FAM Family Insights Group 0.026 -10.34% $1.7M
AYS Amaysim Australia Ltd 0.31 -10.14% $95.9M
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