Market highlights and 6 ASX small caps to watch on Thursday

Wall Street bounces back

All major indices in the US have bounced back, after falling the previous day.

Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 rose by 0.93%, while tech heavy NASDAQ also rose by 1.19%.

It was a broad-based increase across all sectors, except for utilities.

Netflix was the outlier, falling by another 7%, after a 10% fall the previous day.

In other markets, iron ore has retreated from its 10-year high, falling by 0.7% to US$188.23 a tonne.

Oil has dropped another 2%, after falling by 1.5% the previous day.

Bitcoin has fallen to the US$54,000 level at 8am AEDT, from the US$57,000 level yesterday.

Closer to home

Futures point to the ASX 200 opening higher this morning on the back of global equities, after falling by 0.29 per cent yesterday.

AMP (ASX:AMP) says that its Australian wealth management’s assets under management (AUM) increased by $1.6 billion to $125.7 billion during Q1 21, reflecting improved investment markets. However, AMP Capital’s AUM was reduced by 1.7 per cent to $186.5 billion.

6 ASX small caps to watch today

Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT)
The CEC (Clean Energy Council), Australia’s peak body for the clean-energy sector, has approved Soluna Au’s 10K Pack HV pre-assembled battery systems for residential applications. Soluna has also finalised a national distributor agreement with Legend Corporate Services. Soluna is an incorporated 50%-50% joint venture between Lithium Australia and DLG Energy (Shanghai), that aims to supply energy storage solutions within Australia and beyond.

Pointerra (ASX:3DP)
Geospatial data tech company, Pointerra, reported record quarterly cash receipts from customers of $1.37 million, up from $0.64 million in Q2 FY21. Cashflow for the quarter also came in positive from operating activities.

Impedimed (ASX:IPD)
The medtech company is set to rise, after announcing that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared ImpediMed’s SOZO device to include a heart failure index (HF-DexTM), as a monitoring tool for patients living with heart failure.

Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX)
Telix is set to advance this morning, after saying that it has enough cash in hand to fund the commercial launch of its drug Illuccix. Telix says it held cash reserves of $61.42 million on 31 March 2021, compared $77.95 million held on 31 December 2020.

Whispir (ASX:WSP)
Cloud-based SaaS company, Whispir, announced that its Q3 FY21 recurring revenues have grown by 20.3 per cent to $50.3 million. Its customer base is also up by 34 per cent since IPO, to 750 customers.

Vysarn (ASX:VYS)
The hydrogeological and dewatering company said that its wholly owned subsidiary, Pentium Hydro, has received a contract from Australian Potash (ASX:APC). The scope of work includes the drilling, installation and development of brine bores across Australian Potash’s Lake Wells Sulphate of Potash Project. Total revenue is based on the number of bore holes to be drilled as advised by the client, with two rigs estimated to be approximately $13 million.