Wall Street retreats from record levels

All major US indices finally retreated from record levels set last week, as earnings season continues.

The Dow Jones fell by 0.36%, S&P500 was down by 0.53%, while tech-heavy NASDAQ also slipped by 0.98%.

Tesla was the biggest drag on the NASDAQ, down 3.4%, after an autopiloted Model S crashed into a tree and killed two passengers.

Coca Cola rose 1% after trouncing quarterly profit estimates. United Airlines, however, missed expectations, announcing its quarterly results after the bell.

In other markets, oil rose by 0.5%, iron ore rose by nearly 2% to $US181.80 a tonne, while the 10-year benchmark Treasury yield was slightly higher at 1.60%

Bitcoin is holding steady this morning at 8am AEDT, trading at the US$56,400 level, after crashing 15% yesterday.
 

Closer to home

Consumer lender Latitude Financial (ASX:LFS) will join the ASX today. Its shares will start trading at $2.60, valuing the company at $2.6 billion. The company is already profitable, with more than 2.77 million customers and a focus on interest free instalments and lending, mainly in Australia and New Zealand.

Afterpay (ASX:APT) reported that its Q3 sales were up by 104 per cent on the prior corresponding period. Based on this performance, the company says that North America is now the largest contributor to underlying sales.
 

4 ASX small caps to watch today

Volpara Health (ASX:VHT)
The medtech company has just recorded its largest quarterly increase in net new Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of US$1.1 million. The company now has an ARR of ~US$18.6 million, which includes a 20% organic year-on-year increase.

Magnum Mining (ASX:MGU)
The company is set to rise this morning, after announcing that it will accelerate the development of its magnetite mine, and compressed its project timeline by signing an exclusive green hydrogen supply agreement with AVF Energy Inc. AVF has agreed to fund and build a commercial scale green hydrogen plant on the Magnum site in Nevada. The agreement provides Magnum with green hydrogen, at a 10% discount to market rates, for the manufacture of ‘green friendly’ products for supply to the US domestic steel market and battery industry.

LiveHire (ASX:LVH)
The recuitment company has delivered a 64 per cent increase in Q3 revenue to $398k, compared to Q2. The solid result came as a leading staffing industry analyst, SIA, reports that within two years, 60 per cent of companies expect to have a direct sourcing program in place.

Little Green Pharma (ASX:LGP)
The cannabis play is set to rise this morning, after agreeing to a Danish distribution agreement. It’s a five-year distribution agreement with Denmark-based Balancial for the supply of medicinal cannabis oil and flower products at a fixed price. The company says the deal is another milestone in its strategy of growing market share in key European medicinal cannabis markets.