Lunchtime ASX small cap wrap: Who’s prepping for the endgame?

Pic: Rommel Gonzalez / EyeEm / EyeEm via Getty Images
It was ‘markets on steroids’ as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit new closing highs on Tuesday, fuelled by better-than-expected corporate earnings.
Of the 104 companies in the S&P 500 that reported quarterly earnings to April 18, 77.9% reported above analyst expectations, according to Refinitiv.
(Although this might just highlight just how bad analysts are at predicting the future.)
On Tuesday, global oil prices rose to six-month highs, iron ore was up again to US$94.20 a tonne, while base metals and gold prices fell.
In local news, the Federal Budget is in surplus for the first time in a decade – “nothing short of remarkable,” says Commsec chief economist Craig James.
But inflation came in this morning with a bad miss. The weakest quarterly increase on record has put the chance of a rate cut in May squarely on the table, and the Aussie dollar is getting hammered.
Unsurprisingly, it’s been a strong session for local small caps in morning trade.
The Small Ords tracked broader markets higher to rise by 26.3 points at 12pm AEST — a gain of 0.93 per cent. At 2,856, it’s marching steadily towards that 12-month high of 2,914 reached in August last year.
Check this out:

GOING UP
Small cap explorers led the charge, with Caeneus Minerals (ASX:CAD), Gladiator Resources (ASX:GLA), and VDM Group (ASX:VMG) all up 100 per cent in morning trade on no news.
And the ASX forced Consolidated Zinc (ASX:CZL) to retract a maiden ore reserve statement but it was too late – the stock surged 70 per cent in morning trade.
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm on Wednesday, April 24:
Ticker | Name | Price | % Chg | Market Cap | Volume |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CAD | Caeneus Minerals | 0.002 | 100% | $3,700,000 | 1.4M |
GLA | Gladiator Resources | 0.002 | 100% | $1,500,000 | 1.3M |
VMG | VDM Group | 0.002 | 100% | $12,600,000 | 1.1M |
CZL | Consolidated Zinc | 0.02 | 70% | $20,000,000 | 2.2M |
CLZ | Classic Minerals | 0.002 | 50% | $4,500,000 | 14.6M |
KLH | Kalia | 0.003 | 50% | $7,500,000 | 210.0k |
SKN | Skin Elements | 0.05 | 25% | $6,800,000 | 984.7k |
EPM | Eclipse Uranium | 0.003 | 25% | $2,900,000 | 27.8k |
NMS | Neptune Marine Services | 0.23 | 21% | $14,100,000 | 974 |
JXT | Jaxsta | 0.3 | 20% | $72,000,000 | 116.1k |
DHR | Dark Horse Resources | 0.006 | 20% | $11,900,000 | 1.0M |
PVD | Pura Vida Energy | 0.02 | 20% | $4,600,000 | 2.2M |
OCC | Orthocell | 0.13 | 18% | $15,700,000 | 5.0k |
TNY | Tinybeans Group | 0.8 | 17% | $27,300,000 | 99.3k |
AR9 | Archtis | 0.14 | 17% | $17,200,000 | 93.1k |
AMD | Arrow Minerals | 0.014 | 17% | $4,400,000 | 718.4k |
RFN | Reffind | 0.007 | 17% | $3,100,000 | 1.3M |
NET | NetLinkz | 0.14 | 17% | $187,900,000 | 10.1M |
N27 | Northern Cobalt | 0.06 | 16% | $3,500,000 | 50.0k |
PDN | Paladin Energy | 0.14 | 16% | $245,300,000 | 7.2M |
GOING DOWN
P2P Transport (ASX:P2P) is in strife. Yesterday, the company announced, amongst other things, that both its chairman and CEO, Matthew Reynolds and Tom Varga, have resigned effective immediately.
P2P banked $16.1 million in revenue for the March quarter, down from $20.1 million in the previous quarter.
Investors punished the company in morning trade, sending the stock down 25 per cent to 22c a share.
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm on Wednesday, April 24:
Ticker | Name | Price | % Chg | Market Cap | Volume |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LRS | Latin Resources | 0.001 | -33% | $3,400,000 | 500.0k |
AYR | Alloy Resources | 0.002 | -33% | $3,200,000 | 2.1M |
MLM | Metallica Minerals | 0.02 | -26% | $5,500,000 | 530.2k |
P2P | P2P Transport | 0.22 | -25% | $18,800,000 | 96.9k |
PNN | PepinNini Lithium | 0.003 | -25% | $2,900,000 | 83.5k |
AVW | Avira Resources | 0.003 | -25% | $3,000,000 | 10.7M |
MXR | Maximus Resources | 0.06 | -22% | $1,800,000 | 162.4k |
SGO | Stream Group | 0.01 | -20% | $1,800,000 | 22 |
MHC | Manhattan Corp | 0.004 | -20% | $3,000,000 | 1.2M |
IVO | Invigor Group | 0.004 | -20% | $10,600,000 | 5.9M |
ALT | Analytica | 0.004 | -20% | $13,300,000 | 140.3k |
VIC | Victory Mines | 0.004 | -17% | $3,100,000 | 150.0k |
E2E | Eon NRG | 0.005 | -17% | $3,800,000 | 408.3k |
MDI | Middle Island Resources | 0.006 | -14% | $6,300,000 | 887.0k |
FGO | Flamingo AI | 0.006 | -14% | $6,700,000 | 296.8k |
ADR | Adherium | 0.03 | -14% | $5,600,000 | 150.0k |
PIL | Peppermint Innovation | 0.013 | -13% | $13,800,000 | 468.9k |
And now for something completely different — using a drone equipped with flamethrower to clear some power lines. What could go wrong?
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