Wall Street mixed to end a volatile week
The three US stock marker benchmarks finished the week in mixed territories on Friday, after a volatile week of trading.
The Dow Jones rose by 0.1%, S&P 500 by 0.15%, but the tech heavy Nasdaq slightly fell by 0.03%.
Nike was the main drag for the US bourse, dropping 6% after downgrading its sales forecast due to delays in global supply chains.
In other markets, global oil prices lifted by 1% as Brent crude reached a 3-year high.
Spot iron ore is stabilising and gained 1% to now trade at US$110.15.
Meanwhile, the Chinese financial regulator has once again sent a strong message to local banks, ordering them to avoid all cryptocurrency-related transactions.
The entire cryptos market cap took a bit of a beating on the news, and was down 4.6 per cent at US$1.97 trillion.
Bitcoin is trading at US$43,700 at 8:00am AEST this morning, from US$45,500 on Friday.
ASX 200 to open higher on Monday
The ASX 200 may edge higher at the opening, with futures markets (December contracts) pointing up by 0.02% at 8:30am AEST.
On Friday, the Aussie benchmark closed 0.37% lower, and was down 0.65% for the week.
After some nerves and wobbles on Monday, ASX stocks have largely moved on from the prospect of tighter monetary policy and debt-ridden Chinese property developers.
On the IPO front, set to list at 11am AEST today is Pacific Edge Limited (ASX:PEB), a developer of specialist cancer diagnostics tools.
5 ASX small caps to watch today
ImpediMed (ASX:IPD)
The company says the inaugural SOZO Heart Failure Program has been established at the Advocate Health Care’s Heart Institute in Chicago. The Institute consists of 26 hospitals and over 500 sites of care. SOZO meanwhile, is a noninvasive bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) device that could deliver a precise snapshot of fluid status and tissue composition in less than 30 seconds.
Fleetwood Ltd (ASX:FWD)
The accomodation solutions company has secured a major contract for the new 1000-bed Centre for National Resilience in Melbourne, worth approximately $32 million for FY22. Under the deal, Fleetwood will utilise its manufacturing facilities in Victoria and Queensland to build modular accommodation units, and will deliver the first 500 beds by the end of 2021.
AVZ Minerals (ASX:AVZ)
The company has secured a cornerstone investor, Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies, to support the development of its Manono Lithium and Tin Project. CATH will pay US$240 million cash for a 24% equity interest in the project, with further amounts to be paid as its pro rata portion of funding to develop the mines.
Argosy Minerals (ASX:AGY)
The company says its Rincon Lithium Project in Argentina will be able to connect directly to the adjacent 208MWp Altiplano 200 solar power plant. This means the power plant can power the 10,000 tpa expansion operation at Rincon, and provide the project with a renewable power energy source.
Lithium Energy (ASX:LEL)
The company says its Burke Graphite Deposit is one of the highest-grade graphite deposits globally, making it particularly attractive for use in Lithium-ion batteries. Upon completion of test work, LEL says it will re-engage with Chinese and Japanese parties who have previously expressed a strong interest in the graphite from the Burke Project.
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