Market highlights and 5 ASX small caps to watch on Tuesday

Global markets stay cool

US stocks edged higher overnight to post their fifth straight day of gains, as attention centred around geo-political concerns following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Dow Jones rose by 0.31%, and the S&P 500 rose by another by 0.26%, while the Nasdaq traded flat (+0.03%).

There were no major catalysts on global markets to start the week, with gold and oil little-changed from Friday while the Aussie dollar — a barometer for risk appetite — edged higher.

In cryptos, Bitcoin edged back from recent highs above US$47,000, and a short time ago was trading at $46,209.18.

ASX poised to open lower

Without a strong lead from Wall Street, the ASX 200 looks set to open in the red. A short time ago, futures markets were pointing to a ~0.4% drop.

The local index struggled for traction on Monday, dragged lower by energy stocks following a sharp fall in oil prices at the end of last week due to global demand concerns.

Headlining today’s reporting season activity will be full-year results from BHP (ASX:BHP) and Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL).

5 ASX small caps to watch today

AVITA Medical (ASX:AVH)

The regenerative medicine company, which is focused on its RECELL system that enables autologous skin restoration, announced it has received approval from the US FDA to change the parameters of its clinical trial evaluating safety and effectiveness. The company said its decision to pursue a single cell suspension formulation was based on other research that indicated testing for a multi-cell formulation was unlikely to be conclusive.

MoneyMe (ASX: MME)

The fintech lender announced a new partnership agreement with Platform Finance, a division of ASX-listed COG Financial Services Ltd, which will give MME’s Autopay vehicle finance platform new distribution channels through an expanded broker network.

Pharmaxis (ASX: PXS)

The clinical stage drug developer said it has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Aptar Pharma for its Orbital inhaler device, which delivers high-payload dry powder to the lungs. Aptar will pay PXS a US$250,000 fee up front to evaluate the option over a 12-month period, and a further US$2.5m if the option is exercised.

Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX)

The oncology company announced that its research partner, London-based Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), has been granted ethics approval to conduct a “Phase II academic study of Telix’s investigational product, TLX66 (90Y-DTPA-besilesomab), in children with high-risk leukemia”, TLX said. The study will test the safety and efficacy of TLX66 “as part of a reduced toxicity conditioning regimen” for children undergoing stem cell transplantation.

Anglo Australian Resources (ASX:AAR)

The junior explorer provided an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its Mandilla gold project, following assay results from an additional 7,700m of drilling. The company said its MRE had increased by another 164,000 ounces to 665,000, a gain of 33% from the previous estimate of 500,000oz.