Market Highlights and 5 ASX Small Caps to watch on Friday

ASX to slip as US Fed signals faster rate hikes ahead
Tech stocks fell on the news, while bond yields surge

Wall Street slips as Fed signals faster rate cut

Aussie shares are set to follow Wall Street lower this morning, with the ASX 200 April futures pointing down by 0.83% at 8am AEDT.

Overnight, US stocks slipped after comments by Fed Governor Jerome Powell that suggested he would like to see a 50bp rate increase in May, and faster ‘front-loading” hikes after that.

“I would say that 50 basis points will be on the table for the May meeting,” Powell said.

“There’s something in the idea of front-end loading, so that points in the direction of 50 basis points being on the table”.

Axios: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Fed chair Jerome Powell walked out of a G20 meeting in Washington today when the Russian finance minister started speaking.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 20, 2022

US tech and growth stocks fell on the news, with the Nasdaq index falling by over 2%. The S&P 500 and the Dow index also slipped by more than 1% each.

Bond yields rose again; benchmark 10-year US bond yields almost hit 3% before easing back slightly, while the yield on 2-year bonds jumped to three-year highs.

Tesla meanwhile rose by another 3% after beating estimates with its Q1 trading update.

Tesla reported $18.8bn in revenue for Q1 of 2022, up 81% from a year earlier.

Elon Musk stole most of the financial headlines (again), with news that he’s rustled up US$46.5bn in funding to take Twitter private, including a US$12.5bn margin loan secured against his shares in Tesla.

Oil prices edged higher as European leaders “mulled a potential ban on Russian oil imports”, CBA economist Harry Ottley said, along with supply disruptions from Libya.

The base metals complex was mixed with no major changes, while the US dollar strengthened against most major currencies following the rise in bond yields.

Crypto markets came under some pressure, with Bitcoin falling back towards the US$40,000 mark in overnight trade.

5 ASX small caps to watch today

Neometals (ASX:NMT)
Neometals recycling joint venture, Primobius, has secured a commercial lithium battery recycling permit for its recycling facility in Germany. The Federal operating permit will enable the commencement of commercial operations in the country.

Mt Monger Resources (ASX:MTM)
Mt Monger has secured a key piece of ground at the company’s Ravensthorpe Project. The ground is a known nickel mineralisation area and contains ultramafic rocks interpreted to be the continuation of the Lake Johnston greenstone belt.

Future Metals (ASX:FME)
The platinum focused company reported further sample drills results at its Panton PGM Project in WA. Results include: 53.3m @ 1.74 g/t PdEq from 80m, and 12m @ 1.41 g/t PdEq from 142m.

Navarre Minerals (ASX:NML)
NML said reverse circulation and diamond core drilling has confirmed the “outstanding grade and continuity of the gold silver-copper rich mineral deposit” at its recently-acquired Mt Carlton United (MCU) deposit in Queensland. Managing Director Ian Holland said the results have to capacity to “significantly extend mine life at Mt Carlton”.

Corazon Mining (ASX:CZN)
Corazon says its has further progressed its rights to acquire 100% of the Miriam Nickel Sulphide Project near Coolgardie in WA’s Goldfields minerals district. The company advised it has successfully completed Stage 2 of the acquisition.