Market Highlights and 5 ASX Small Caps to watch on Friday

ASX to fall as Meta crash derails Tech rebound

Local shares are expected to open lower this morning as a Meta (née Facebook) crash overnight derailed the Wall Street rebound.

Meta plunged by 26% after reporting a decline in daily active users from the previous quarter for the first time in its history.

The company is also forecasting revenue for the current quarter that’s well below analysts’ expectations, as it faces an ongoing threat from rival TikTok.

Statisticians are calling the Meta crash the biggest one-day wipeout in US stock market history for a single company, as US$230bn was vapourised in one session.

Meta’s rival Snapchat also plummeted 24% following the report.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.39%, losing half the gains it made over the last three days, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones lost 2.44% and 1.45% respectively.

Then, just when it looked like the tech rollercoaster was plummeting down hill, Amazon shares surged in after-hours trade after the company announced it will increase the cost of its Prime subscription from US$119 to US$139.

The Bank of England raised its rates by 0.25%, as UK became the first major country to adjust its monetary policy to combat inflation.

Sterling rose sharply after the announcement, but all major European stock markets lost around 2%.

In commodities, oil prices keep climbing higher by another 2% as Brent crude now trades just above US$91 a barrel.

Stockhead’s Bevis Yeo discusses where oil prices are likely to head from here.

To cryptos, where Bitcoin has fallen by 2% and below US$37k. At 8.30am AEDT, BTC is trading at US$36,887.

Some major countries and companies have been flip-flopping this way and that just lately. India, for instance, now seems to be on a cautious path to crypto legalisation… maybe.

Read the rest of the story here on Coinhead.

ASX 200 to open lower on Friday

The ASX 200 index looks set to open lower this morning, with futures markets (February contracts) pointing down by 1% at 8:30am AEDT.

Yesterday, local shares finished 0.14% lower as the Tech sector fell by 5% on the back of a selloff in ecommerce stocks following Paypal’s 25% drop the previous day.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said the national trade surplus narrowed to $8.4bn in December, as imports rose strongly in the Christmas run up.

In large caps news this morning, News Corporation (ASX:NWS)’s reported Q2 revenues of $2.72 billion, a 13% increase compared to $2.41 billion in the prior year. Revenues in the first half rose 15% year- over-year.

5 ASX small caps to watch today

Renergen (ASX:RLT)
The natural gas and helium producer announced the conclusion of a LNG supply agreement to Ceramic Industries, to commence in the first quarter of this year. The Phase 1 agreement spans five years, and will see Renergen supply up to 800 gigajoules of LNG daily at a fixed price, with annual escalation linked to CPI.

Piedmonth Lithium (ASX:PLL)
The company expects to double its US lithium hydroxide production to 60,000 tpy at its Carolina Lithium Project. Investments in strategic resources in Quebec and Ghana will also position Piedmont for future growth, the company says.

Strike Resources (ASX:SRK)
The Paulsens East Iron Ore Project Feasibility Study has now been updated to reflect a two-stage development that could optimise mining operations and reduces capex and opex, as well as improving the project economics based on current market price of iron ore. The company says the project economics continue to remain attractive if iron ore price is at US$110/t or above.

BPM Minerals (ASX:BPM)
BPM’s flagship Hawkins Project, located in WA’s Earaheedy Basin, has been granted. Acquired in May last year, Hawkins is the centrepiece of BPM’s entry to an emerging lead- zinc-silver Super Basin, with the Project located approximately 40km northwest of the Rumble Resources discovery.

Proteomics (ASX:PIQ)
The biotech company says it has identified and validated a panel of protein biomarkers, with potential to test for oesophageal adenocarcinoma, the most common oesophageal cancer. The research was part of a collaboration with QIMR Berghofer to develop a novel diagnostic test that studied more than 300 patients.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While BPM Minerals is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.