It’s ‘aloha’ (allegedly) from ScoMo & Co, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison ducking off this week for a holiday with his family.
The decision has been met with criticism from some quarters — mainly because a fair chunk of the country is still on fire in one of the worst early bushfire seasons on record.
In fact, the main question circling yesterday was just where in fact the Prime Minister had actually gone, as there was no official word on his whereabouts. #wherethebloodyhellareyou started trending on Twitter (there’s speculation that he’s taken a quick island getaway to Hawaii).
While commentators questioned the optics of ducking out for a breather before the bushfire crisis has been contained, treasurer Josh Frydenberg went into bat for the PM, arguing he was on a “well deserved break” and would be “back shortly”.
As Stockhead readers know the markets never rest, although there wasn’t a tonne of action this morning as the ASX200 crept higher by 0.14 per cent to 6,856 points. The Small Ords followed suit with a gain of 0.16 per cent to 2,914 points.
GOING UP
Tech platform Mobilicom (ASX:MOB) posted a gain of 20 per cent into midday trade, after announcing its communications technology will be used in drones manufactured by Israel defence & security company Elbit.
The deal is expected to generate revenues of more than $2m for the company, and CEO Oren Elkayam said he hoped it would be a “stepping stone toward additional projects” with Elbit.
Enterprise software microcap AssetOwl Limited (ASX:AO1) also ticked higher in morning trade, one day after providing an update on commercial trials for its Inspector360 property management platform.
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Wednesday December 18:
Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.
| Code | Name | Price | % Chg | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AO1 | AssetOwl Ltd | 0.007 | +40.00% | $2.1M |
| ALT | Analytica Ltd | 0.004 | +33.33% | $14.1M |
| BSM | Bass Metals Ltd | 0.008 | +33.33% | $22.5M |
| PRM | Prominence Energy Ltd | 0.002 | +33.33% | $2.6M |
| AC8 | Auscann Group Holdings Ltd | 0.23 | +27.78% | $74.5M |
| BMG | BMG Resources Ltd | 0.005 | +25.00% | $2.9M |
| TSC | Twenty Seven Co Ltd | 0.005 | +25.00% | $6.1M |
| RFN | Reffind Ltd | 0.003 | +20.00% | $1.9M |
| RMX | Red Mountain Mining Ltd | 0.006 | +20.00% | $5.3M |
| MOB | Mobilicom Ltd/Australia | 0.12 | +20.00% | $31.0M |
| LIT | Lithium Australia NL | 0.06 | +18.18% | $34.7M |
| MRQ | MRG Metals Ltd | 0.014 | +16.67% | $14.3M |
| SVA | Simavita Ltd | 0.03 | +16.67% | $11.7M |
| VAL | Valor Resources Ltd | 0.0035 | +16.67% | $6.6M |
| TPP | Tempo Australia Ltd | 0.05 | +16.28% | $15.1M |
| PWL | Powerwrap Ltd | 0.19 | +15.63% | $38.1M |
| MLM | Metallica Minerals Ltd | 0.015 | +15.38% | $4.9M |
| MMM | Marley Spoon AG | 0.25 | +13.64% | $37.2M |
| MEI | Meteoric Resources NL | 0.03 | +13.33% | $38.1M |
| ID8 | Identitii Ltd | 0.34 | +13.33% | $18.5M |
GOING DOWN
Pharmaceutical research company Pharmaxis (ASX:PXS) slumped by 40 per cent after providing a business update, following a decision by Boehringer Ingelheim not to continue with studies of a drug treatment it purchased from Pharmaxis in 2015.
Scaffolding company Oldfields Holdings (ASX:OLH) also crashed, after providing an update on its share placement to EQM Holdings yesterday after markets closed.
The company said it received shareholder approval to issue shares equivalent to 51 per cent of the company’s outstanding capital at 6c per share.
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm Wednesday December 18:
Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.
| Code | Name | Price | % Chg | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OLH | Oldfields Holdings Ltd | 0.05 | -45.12% | $3.7M |
| PXS | Pharmaxis Ltd | 0.17 | -36.54% | $64.1M |
| VIC | Victory Mines Ltd | 0.001 | -33.33% | $3.0M |
| CCE | Carnegie Clean Energy Ltd | 0.001 | -33.33% | $11.1M |
| SIS | Simble Solutions Ltd | 0.02 | -28.13% | $3.9M |
| SMI | Santana Minerals Ltd | 0.003 | -25.00% | $8.1M |
| SHH | Shree Minerals Ltd | 0.003 | -25.00% | $1.8M |
| GLV | Global Oil & Gas Ltd | 0.0015 | -25.00% | $4.7M |
| MLX | Metals X Ltd | 0.08 | -22.45% | $70.3M |
| MGT | Magnetite Mines Ltd | 0.004 | -20.00% | $3.9M |
| MDI | Middle Island Resources Ltd | 0.004 | -20.00% | $4.7M |
| IVT | Inventis Ltd | 0.004 | -20.00% | $3.2M |
| AGE | Alligator Energy Ltd | 0.002 | -20.00% | $2.8M |
| RVS | Revasum Inc | 0.62 | -19.48% | $48.2M |
| AEV | Avenira Ltd | 0.011 | -15.38% | $4.8M |
| RDN | Raiden Resources Ltd | 0.006 | -14.29% | $2.6M |
| CZN | Corazon Mining Ltd | 0.003 | -14.29% | $6.1M |
| EAX | Energy Action Ltd | 0.26 | -13.33% | $6.7M |