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Good morning everyone, and welcome to 27 May, 2024 – an important day in the history of trainspotting, board games and being hurled against your will into a whole new dimension to endure aeons of excruciating torture being meted out by a particularly malevolent six-legged Lovecraftian horror.

That’s because it was on this day in 1849 that fans of English railways celebrated the grand opening of the Great Hall at Euston station, in London – an event that wasn’t just great news for 19th Century anorak-clad train nerds.

It was also something of a boon for every family that owned the board game Monopoly, as prior to the station’s opening, the space that it occupies on the Monopoly board was a small, but incredibly powerful, void with enough gravitational pull to devour even the huskiest of children in less than 0.4 of a second.

Although the Parker Brothers, who first published the game, have kept the official death toll a closely guarded secret, it is believed to be “somewhere in the high 3,000s”.

And if you hold a copy of Monopoly up to your ear and listen carefully, the heartbreaking echos of the screams of those children lost to the void can still be heard, more than 180 years later – even when the lid is on the box.

Luckily for you, the information you’re looking for this morning lies on this side of that nightmarish portal, nestled against the comfort and safety of Stockhead’s digital bosom, eagerly waiting for you to read it.

Our amazing stories for the morning include Chedwards’ chat with lead author at Market Matters, James Gerrish, and despite the fact that I have spent the past five years of my life in a state of baffling sobriety, I still found the energy to pull together all the bits and bobs and data and digits below, so you can look super-duper-smart in front of your mates when the market opens this morning.

 

COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES

Gold: US$2,333.40 (+0.06%)

Silver: US$30.34 (+0.63%)

Nickel (3mth): US$20,318/t (+1.17%)

Copper (3mth): US$10,204.44/t (-0.84%)

Zinc: US$3,066.00/t (+0.11%)

Oil (WTI): US$77.80 (+1.21%)

Oil (Brent): US$82.16 (+0.98%)

Iron 62pc Fe: US$117.53/t (-0.11%)

AUD/USD: 0.6624 (+0.36%)

Bitcoin: US$68,709.10 (+0.24%)

 

WHAT GOT YOU TALKING

If you missed our wrap up of last week’s Small Caps action, fear not… for I have provided you with a fresh link to that story, which I promise you contains way, waaaay too many words.

 

 

FRIDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:

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

Wordpress Table Plugin

 

Friday’s Small Cap Winners included:

Strategic Energy Resources (ASX:SER) was once again at the top of the small caps heap on Friday morning, building on the previous day’s news that the company has raised a cool $2 million to explore the Achilles 1 polymetallic prospect in the South Cobar Basin. The placement, done at a small 8.3% discount to the last traded price, is cornerstoned by Datt Capital and Lowell Resources Fund (ASX:LRT).

Appen (ASX:APX) rose after telling investors at the AGM that generative AI will have a significant impact on its total addressable market. Appen also said it was aiming for breakeven on an operating basis sometime in FY24.

Keypath Education (ASX:KED) was up thanks to a merger and delisting deal signed with Sterling Partners, with an offer of $0.87 cash per share on the table that the Keypath board has grabbed firmly with both hands – it’s an 88.3% premium to the 6-month volume weighted average price (‘VWAP’) of Keypath CDIs prior to the announcement being made.

Adherium (ASX:ADR) jumped on Friday morning, on news that drug behemoth AstraZeneca has selected the company’s Hailie Smartinhaler platform for a clinical trial, with the contract valued at $1.1 million over the course of three years.

Lending platform Propell Holdings (ASX:PHL) was up in early trade, clearly enjoying significantly increased deal volumes in April and May that has seen average loan size continue to grow, reaching $82k quarter-to-date – a 20% uplift on Q3.

And Paterson Resources (ASX:PSL) got a shot in the arm on Friday after announcing the strategic sale of 100% of the issued capital of its wholly owned subsidiaries Burraga Copper, BC Exploration and Old Lloyds Mine – which bolt together like Voltron to form the basis of the Burraga Project in NSW.

 

FRIDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:

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

Wordpress Table Plugin

 

TRADING HALTS 

Forrestania Resources (ASX:FRS) – pending the release of an announcement regarding a potential acquisition.

Anagenics (ASX:AN1) – pending an announcement in relation to a recent announcement made by LSE-listed Roquefort Therapeutics.

Falcon Metals (ASX:FAL) – pending an announcement in relation to exploration results at its Farrelly Mineral Sands Prospect.

HMC Capital (ASX:HMC) – pending an announcement by HMC in connection with a proposed acquisition and an equity raising.

Cyclopharm (ASX:CYC) – pending the release of an announcement relating to the completion of a capital raising.

Intelligent Monitoring Group (ASX:IMB) –  pending an announcement in relation to two proposed strategic acquisitions, funded by proposed equity raising.

Asra Minerals (ASX:ASR) – pending the release of an announcement in relation to a material project acquisition and a proposed capital raising.

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