Market Highlights and 5 ASX Small Caps to watch on Monday

Wall Street slides again

Volatility was the theme of the week for US stocks, as a more hawkish central bank and Omicron virus weigh on investors’ minds ahead of the holiday season.

On Friday, all three major US indexes finished in the red again – with the Dow Jones falling by 1.48%, the S&P 500 by 1.03%, and Nasdaq by 0.07%.

All three were also down for the week, with tech heavy Nasdaq the worst performer, falling by 2.89%.

Rivian’s stock price plummeted 10% on Friday after the EV utility maker said supply chain constraints would cause its 2021 production to fall a few hundred vehicles short of the 1,200 planned.

In other markets, the spot iron ore price was up 3% and is now trading towards US$120/tonne at US$119.60. Oil prices were lower by 2-3%.

Bitcoin lost another 0.2% and at 8am AEDT this morning, is trading at US$46,835.

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has auctioned the first ever edit made on the free online encyclopedia, as an NFT. And it sold this week for a whopping US$750k via auction site Christie’s.

Read the rest that story here on Coinhead.

ASX 200 to open higher on Monday

The ASX 200 looks set to rise slightly at the open this morning, with futures markets (January contracts) pointing up 0.05% at 8:30am AEDT.

On Friday, the local index finished 0.11% lower, with BNPL stocks falling hard after the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced an inquiry into the industry.

The regulator specifically named five US players that include Afterpay, Zip Co, Affirm, Klarna, and PayPal.

On the IPO front, two stocks are set to make their debut today, according to the ASX.

BirdDog Technology (ASX:BDT). This is a developer and manufacturer of audio-visual and video technology, which enhances the quality, speed and flexibility of video through a range of solutions. The company raised $33m at 65c.

ChemX Materials (ASX:CMX). The company’s main business is the development of materials in the high demand sectors of renewable energy and technology markets. It raised $8m at 20c.

5 ASX small caps to watch today

HitIQ (ASX:HIQ)
The brain injury specialist has signed an exclusive partnership with Bupa Dental Care, Australia’s largest dental network, to offer HIQ’s concussion management technology. Under the deal, the HITIQ smart mouthguard technology will be offered exclusively for 12 months through Bupa Dental Care’s network and customer base.

Angel Seafood (ASX:AS1)
The organic oysters company received a takeover offer from Laguna Bay for 20c a share. The AS1 stock price closed Friday at 12c.

Antipa Minerals (ASX:AZY)
Forty-three drill holes (7,422m) testing at the Wilki Farm-in Project returned intersections including: 2.0m at 1.15 g/t gold, and 7.0m at 1.29 g/t gold.

Delecta Ltd (ASX:DLC)
Sampling results from DLC’s Rex Project in Colorado showed strong uranium-vanadium sampling. Sample results include up to 0.53% U3O8 and 3.32% V2O5.

GenusPlus (ASX:GNP)
GNP has acquired 50% of Blue Tongue Energy, and expands itself into the Australian renewable energy market worth ~$20bn. BT Energy is a WA-based hybrid energy generator with turnkey power plant capabilities ranging from the smallest 500kW, to 5MW Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

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