Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens

On Stockhead today, So far this year, the great majority of stocks on our 270-strong High Voltage list are down. 56 by almost a third, or more.

To cheer us up, Reuben reveals 5 outperforming ASX battery metal explorers with hefty market caps and good bone structure.

And c’mon Australia – forget dodgy pitches or bearish markets – Australia’s ETF industry just set a new record high for funds under management. The industry ended February with an amazeballs circa $140 billion in the kitty.

Nadine very sensibly asks what TF happened last month in the land of the lucky ETF?

Meanwhile, old energy always finds a new way to rise from the dead.

With prices at a tipping point, Josh asks, if thermal coal can once again prove the ultimate survivor?

But first, the day ahead…

TRADING HALTS

The following stocks went into trading halts and are expected out in the coming days:

Sultan Resources (ASX:SLZ) – Capital raising and material acquisition.

Kelsian Group (ASX:KLS) – Potential acquisition.

Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR) – Capital raising.

Olympio Metals (ASX:OLY) – Exploration results from the Eurelia Project in South Australia.

Patriot Battery Metals (ASX:PMT) – Capital raising.

Linius Technologies (ASX:LNU) – Capital raising.

Aeon Metals (ASX:AML) – Material resource estimates update.

IOUpay (ASX:IOU) – “Serious financial irregularities”.

IPH (ASX:IPH) – There’s been a “cyber incident”.

COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES

Gold: $US1,867.09 (+1.98%)

Silver: $US20.52 (+2.24%)

Nickel (3mth): $US23,269/t (-2.94%)

Copper (3mth): $US8853.50/t (-0.65%)

Oil (WTI): $US76.68 (+1.27%)

Oil (Brent): $US82.56 (+1.19%)

Iron 62pc Fe: $US130.50/t (1.16%)

AUD/USD: 0.6579 (-0.17%)

Bitcoin: $US20,584 (+2.43%)

WHAT GOT YOU TALKING?

Why Higginsville, of course!

– China could account for a third of the world’s supply of #lithium by the middle of the decade, @UBS says
– @VWGroup chooses Canada as the location for its first overseas #gigafactory
– A program of works approved at @ASXARE Higginsville project https://t.co/ZFtvnjrw4x #ASX

— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) March 14, 2023

Keep up to date with Stockhead coverage or you’ll miss gold like that EVERY DAY. Follow our Twitter page.

For all you crypto lovers Stockhead’s Coinhead Facebook group is the place to share your views, insights, tips and ideas.

Also, be sure to check in preopen each day for ‘Market highlights and 5 ASX small caps to watch’, and 10.30am for our daily ‘10 at 10’ column — a live summary of winners & losers at the opening bell.

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume	Market Cap
MEB	Medibio Limited	0.0015	50%	1,913,085	$4,150,594
PRM	Prominence Energy	0.0015	50%	270,000	$2,424,609
POL	Polymetals Resources	0.27	46%	152,691	$8,358,798
ADG	Adelong Gold Limited	0.01	43%	9,402,161	$3,736,756
INP	Incentiapay Ltd	0.004	33%	302,579	$3,795,191
HCT	Holista CollTech Ltd	0.019	27%	10,000	$4,182,001
NC6	Nanollose Limited	0.05	25%	85,972	$5,955,455
EMU	EMU NL	0.0025	25%	12,250,588	$2,900,043
HFY	Hubify Ltd	0.028	22%	298,948	$11,411,135
IS3	I Synergy Group Ltd	0.019	19%	3,000	$4,625,286
NIM	Nimyresourceslimited	0.235	18%	206,927	$13,553,760
EQS	Equitystorygroupltd	0.049	17%	140,521	$1,549,371
AR3	Austrare	0.28	17%	456,753	$22,848,372
TYM	Tymlez Group	0.014	17%	72,945	$13,106,344
CMG	Criticalmineralgrp	0.185	16%	146,047	$4,885,692
14D	1414 Degrees Limited	0.069	15%	185,443	$12,119,127
IVR	Investigator Res Ltd	0.041	14%	14,089,071	$51,737,892
B4P	Beforepay Group	0.33	14%	201,158	$10,105,577
TI1	Tombador Iron	0.025	14%	403,759	$47,013,612
PPK	PPK Group Limited	1.05	14%	252,597	$82,592,596
EMC	Everest Metals Corp	0.085	13%	212,257	$7,982,483
FODDB	The Food Revolution	0.09	13%	45,809	$18,935,233
AVE	Avecho Biotech Ltd	0.009	13%	1,322,897	$14,702,955
RR1	Reach Resources Ltd	0.0045	13%	540,197	$9,510,203
POD	Podium Minerals	0.1	12%	422,348	$29,953,744

Polymetals Resources (ASX:POL) closed Tuesday 46% higher, saying it’s set to finally acquire 100% of Orana Minerals, paying 52 million in stock to bring Orana and its SVP in as wholly-owned subsidiaries.

PPK (ASX:PPK) jumped almost 20% on news it’s entered a series of conditional deals to acquire a ‘material interest’ in the lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) maker PowerPlus Energy, ‘Australia’s largest privately-owned lithium battery manufacturer.’

Elsewhere, Critical Minerals Group (ASX:CMG) rose 15.6% on Monday’s release that the final 23 core holes of its latest exploratory drill program all intersected shallow vanadium and alumina in oxidised mineralised zone at its Lindfield project.

The exploration program shows consistent thicknesses and grades across the deposit, with standout higher grade V2O5 assays including:

Hole LIND011 15.89m – 16.22m @ 0.70% V2O5,
Hole LIND016 6.50m – 6.90m @ 0.62% V2O5 and 6.90m–7.05m @ 0.65% V2O5.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks::

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume	Market Cap
C29	C29Metalslimited	0.14	-35%	2,731,639	$8,893,885
MCT	Metalicity Limited	0.002	-33%	4,043,000	$10,513,618
PHL	Propell Holdings Ltd	0.033	-27%	98,781	$4,775,995
CLE	Cyclone Metals	0.0015	-25%	2,519,939	$13,483,474
SIX	Sprintex Ltd	0.03	-23%	50,000	$9,919,819
CARRA	Carsales.Com Ltd. - Rts23Mar23 Forusdef	1.7	-21%	6,090	$53,666,402
WC1	Westcobarmetals	0.096	-20%	129,714	$10,366,049
S66	Star Combo	0.1	-20%	1,000	$16,885,373
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.004	-20%	5,089,881	$4,372,235
IEC	Intra Energy Corp	0.004	-20%	748,800	$3,528,908
MTL	Mantle Minerals Ltd	0.002	-20%	1,438	$13,364,013
THR	Thor Energy PLC	0.004	-20%	3,045,091	$7,390,564
AX8	Accelerate Resources	0.021	-19%	130,000	$9,817,646
MYG	Mayfield Group Ltd	0.275	-19%	325	$30,799,204
ICN	Icon Energy Limited	0.009	-18%	1,352,186	$8,448,150
BTE	Botalaenergyltd	0.095	-17%	30,000	$6,131,417
OLI	Oliver'S Real Food	0.019	-17%	885,324	$10,136,834
VAR	Variscan Mines Ltd	0.019	-17%	191,467	$6,134,837
M2R	Miramar	0.048	-17%	287,742	$4,099,541
YAL	Yancoal Aust Ltd	5.71	-17%	7,270,354	$9,058,214,538
NES	Nelson Resources.	0.005	-17%	6,451,538	$3,531,566
OAU	Ora Gold Limited	0.0025	-17%	103,110	$11,810,775
PIL	Peppermint Inv Ltd	0.005	-17%	1,200,000	$12,227,141
TKL	Traka Resources	0.005	-17%	400,000	$4,336,647
VRC	Volt Resources Ltd	0.01	-17%	8,453,653	$47,273,087

WHAT GREGOR SAW: TUESDAY ON THE ASX

Some Very Grim News from BNPL player IOUPay (ASX:IOU) which has had trading halted because somebody’s allegedly been a very naughty boy.

Yesterday, IOUPay announced to the market that its Chief Financial Officer, Kenneth Kuan Choon Hsuing, had been forcibly ousted from his position following “a preliminary review by the Executive Chairman of cost levels and financial performance in the company’s Malaysian business”.

Well, it turns out that it didn’t take long for that “preliminary review” to take on a much more solid form – the company has announced today that it has “discovered serious financial irregularities in its Malaysian business”.

That’s as much detail as I’ve managed to confirm at this stage, but it’s interesting to note the revelations come just five days after IOUPay’s Executive Chairman Isaac Chong Kwong Yang, who led the investigation, was elevated to the role from his previous position as plain ol’ Chairman.