Market highlights and 5 ASX small caps to watch on Friday

Volatility continues on Wall Street

The uncertainty surrounding inflation is continuing to cause volatility in the equities market, especially in tech and growth stocks.

Overnight, US stocks rallied after three consecutive days of being battered.

All major US indices rose – with the the Dow Jones rising by 0.55%, S&P 500 by 1.06%, and tech heavy NASDAQ by 1.77%.

Tech stocks like Microsoft, Apple, and Tesla, led the rebound.

Shares in Oatly, an oatmilk company backed by celebrities Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z, jumped by 30 per cent on its NASDAQ debut.

Elsewhere, the commodities market broadly fell for the second straight day, with iron ore falling by another 2% to US$211.85 a tonne, and Brent crude by 2.3% to US$65.13 a barrel.

US Fed about to weigh in on crypto market

The crypto market is trading steady, with Bitcoin now above US$40k again at US$40,700 at 8am AEDT, after the big plunge yesterday.

US Fed chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will release a research paper on digital currency in the coming months.

Bad news also for crypto traders, the US Treasury proposed that transfers of US$10k of cryptocurrency will have to be reported to the IRS.

Closer to home

The ASX 200 gained 1.27 per cent on Thursday, led by tech which rose by 4.3 per cent, and financials, which rose 1.9 per cent.

April retail sales are due to be released today.

Online retailer Kogan (ASX:KGN) has downgraded its earnings guidance for FY21, after saying the company is experiencing short-term supply chain and inventory challenges. Kogan estimated its EBITDA for the full year will now be in the range of $58 million to $63 million.

5 ASX small caps to watch today

My Food Bag (ASX:MFB)

The NZ-based online food delivery company reported a 24 per cent increase in full year revenue to $190.7 million, which beat its prospectus forecast. EBITDA came in at $29.0 million, up 78% on FY20. The company made its ASX debut in March.

DigitalX (ASX:DCC)

The blockchain investment company said that its board has resolved to double the company’s original investment of $750k in the DigitalX Digital Asset Fund. Original seed investment of $750k is now worth over ~$2.5 million at current market prices. The fund invests in emerging blockchain technologies and digital currencies including BTC.

Hiremii (ASX:HMI)

The AI-based recruitment company conducted an investor presentation this morning. Highlights include Hiremii’s corporate client base, which has risen from six in 2019 to 31 in 2021. The company also reiterated its 600 per cent revenue growth in the last 12 months.

Hiremii made its ASX debut earlier this month.

Tombador Iron (ASX:TI1)

The company announced that the Environmental Agency of the state of Bahia in Brazil has granted the company an operating licence for its Tombador Project for a period of five years. Mining production of high-grade hematite has now commenced at the Tombador mine site, and ore is being crushed and lump and fines products are being stockpiled .

Enegex (ASX:ENX)

The oil exploration company said that it is about to commence fieldwork on the South West Terrane Project in WA, and is targeting high-grade Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation across geology analogous with the Chalice Mining discovery, as well as Caravel style copper mineralisation and ion adsorption REE deposits.