Local markets have closed out the week with two straight days of relatively sanguine trade, as investors look for a catalyst to prompt the next leg higher (or lower).

For now, global markets largely appear to have digested recent scares stemming from high energy prices and stubbornly high inflation prints.

Those concerns were offset by a round of bumper profits for high-profile US companies as investors responded positively to Q1 earnings season on Wall Street.

On the ASX, Q1 reporting season highlights included a strong set of results from a nanocap honey exporter, and a number of tech/healthcare plays looking to convert their post-COVID boost into sustainable long-term growth.

Key data next week will be highlighted by Australia’s quarterly inflation print on Wednesday.

CBA forecasts the trimmed mean measure of core inflation will rise by 0.5%, pushing the annual rate up to 1.8%.
 

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for October 15 – October 22 [intraday]:

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

Code Company Price ReturnWRoll% MktCap$
VIA Viagold Rare Earth 2.000 244.8 $ 166,624,808.00
OAK Oakridge 0.002 100.0 $ 3,439,292.92
PVW PVW Res Ltd 0.330 100.0 $ 20,435,203.13
AQC Auspaccoal Ltd 0.225 73.1 $ 11,106,658.20
VIC Victory Mines Ltd 0.003 66.7 $ 16,375,631.93
NVA Nova Minerals Ltd 0.175 59.1 $ 322,206,760.26
CNR Cannon Resources 0.440 57.1 $ 28,572,154.53
NPM Newpeak Metals 0.002 50.0 $ 6,827,435.15
PBX Pacific Bauxite Ltd 0.003 50.0 $ 1,189,842.10
STK Strickland Metals 0.091 44.4 $ 97,184,872.18
GEV Global Ene Ven Ltd 0.118 43.3 $ 50,288,685.37
HNR Hannans Ltd 0.033 43.0 $ 70,799,315.76
RVS Revasum 0.765 41.7 $ 83,444,430.19
BMN Bannerman Energy Ltd 0.380 40.7 $ 481,927,111.20
DDT DataDot Technology 0.014 40.0 $ 16,170,303.06
CPN Caspin Resources 0.990 39.4 $ 65,631,467.40
SHP South Harz Potash 0.130 38.3 $ 53,012,280.13
CXO Core Lithium 0.565 37.8 $ 882,308,658.96
SPN Sparc Tech Ltd 0.860 37.6 $ 47,543,120.10
AMO Ambertech Limited 0.440 37.5 $ 34,384,800.77
CZL Cons Zinc Ltd 0.033 37.5 $ 8,136,660.95
RAS Ragusa Minerals Ltd 0.125 37.4 $ 13,572,613.15
WLD Wellard Limited 0.130 36.8 $ 63,750,037.44
HZR Hazer Group Limited 1.325 36.6 $ 219,956,505.78
LIO Lion Energy Limited 0.053 35.9 $ 16,446,947.45
CAE Cannindah Resources 0.190 35.7 $ 93,398,756.58
RHT Resonance Health 0.115 35.3 $ 50,693,717.91
VMY Vimy Resources Ltd 0.270 35.0 $ 278,647,144.64
A8G Australasian Gold 0.585 34.5 $ 17,983,993.44
COB Cobalt Blue Ltd 0.390 34.5 $ 113,428,801.86
INF Infinity Lithium 0.148 34.1 $ 54,393,465.06
KEY KEY Petroleum 0.004 33.3 $ 7,871,712.50
AQI Alicanto Min Ltd 0.140 33.3 $ 44,397,107.24
RVR Red River Resources 0.220 33.3 $ 111,469,864.92
KGL KGL Resources Ltd 0.680 32.0 $ 270,697,358.28
CRM Carbon Minerals Ltd 0.330 32.0 $ 6,205,152.69
FRS Forrestaniaresources 0.415 31.7 $ 10,518,750.00
SVY Stavely Minerals Ltd 0.480 31.5 $ 129,175,918.74
CKA Cokal Ltd 0.190 31.0 $ 163,989,404.78
LPI Lithium Pwr Int Ltd 0.380 31.0 $ 134,276,391.48
PH2 Pure Hydrogen Corp 0.275 31.0 $ 84,746,483.01
ARV Artemis Resources 0.110 31.0 $ 121,734,772.15
Wordpress Table Plugin

Phosphate producer Centrex Metals (ASX:CXM) was the weekly leader, surging on Thursday after announcing its subsidiary, Agriflex, had signed a multi-year offtake agreement with Samsung C&T, one of the world largest fertiliser traders.

Shares in CXM eased back slightly on Friday after the company issued a clarification announcement on details of the deal, which will require final approval from both the board of Agriflex and Samsung C&T.

Three other companies posted triple-digit percentage gains during the week on market-moving announcements — all in resources and energy.

Recent ASX debutante Lode Resources (ASX:LDR) was one of them, after announcing it had struck “significant sulphides” of zinc, lead and copper in maiden drilling at the ‘Webbs Consol’ silver project in NSW.

Consolidated Zinc (ASX:CZL) also ripped higher on an offtake agreement of its own. The Mexico-based company secured a deal to sell a year’s worth of zinc concentrates to MSE-listed Industrias Penoles — one of the world’s leading refiners of zinc and the largest global refiner of silver.

And shares in US-based oil & gas explorer AXP Energy (ASX:AXP) climbed strongly all week, after the company advised on Friday night that it’s received approval from the WA Supreme Court to recommence trading on the ASX.

It followed an “inadvertent administrative oversight” from the company, which meant it didn’t lodge a “compliant cleansing notice or prospectus pursuant to sections 708A(6) and 708A(11) of the Corporations Act, for various share issues”.

Since 2013.

During the time AXP was prevented from trading, oil prices rose to multi-year highs with Brent crude now increasingly tipped to reach US$100/barrel.
 

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for October 15 – October 22 [intraday]:

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

Code Company Price % 1 Week MktCap$
SKN Skin Elements Ltd 0.056 -44.0% $ 26,426,863.23
TOM Tomizone Limited 0.002 -33.3% $ 850,401.35
SE1 Sensera Ltd 0.0165 -31.3% $ 6,623,943.09
KEY KEY Petroleum 0.003 -25.0% $ 5,903,784.38
PCH Property Connect 0.0015 -25.0% $ 1,028,795.21
WOO Wooboard Tech Ltd 0.0015 -25.0% $ 7,644,325.48
YPB YPB Group Ltd 0.003 -25.0% $ 14,975,461.55
MHI Merchant House 0.1 -23.1% $ 12,254,644.48
GSM Golden State Mining 0.105 -22.2% $ 8,724,238.43
AIQ Alternative Invest 0.11 -21.4% $ 36,565,714.90
HHR Hartshead Resources 0.026 -21.2% $ 48,094,075.28
OLH Oldfields Holdings 0.06 -21.1% $ 10,062,391.62
RD1 Registry Direct 0.028 -20.0% $ 9,866,452.85
BMG BMG Resources Ltd 0.063 -19.2% $ 19,839,482.80
AHQ Allegiance Coal Ltd 0.505 -18.5% $ 161,110,061.56
LCT Living Cell Tech 0.009 -18.2% $ 6,424,661.03
RCR Rincon 0.185 -17.8% $ 7,152,217.92
ADY Admiralty Resources. 0.015 -16.7% $ 19,553,687.30
AUH Austchina Holdings 0.0075 -16.7% $ 12,582,670.53
IDT IDT Australia Ltd 0.55 -16.7% $ 128,325,190.95
VPR Volt Power Group 0.0025 -16.7% $ 28,033,600.67
WLD Wellard Limited 0.1 -16.7% $ 53,125,031.20
SMN Structural Monitor. 0.81 -16.5% $ 95,006,952.30
GRV Greenvale Mining Ltd 0.285 -16.2% $ 113,129,275.41
OEQ Orion Equities 0.235 -16.1% $ 3,677,568.58
SHN Sunshine Gold Ltd 0.048 -15.8% $ 22,119,491.04
CXU Cauldron Energy Ltd 0.027 -15.6% $ 13,756,221.64
Wordpress Table Plugin