• Small caps and ASX 200 down 0.4% and 0.8% since Monday morn
  • Global markets mostly lower on inflation fears
  • Two local pot stocks make their mark

While the rest of the place came down like a tonne of emotional bricks in Bondi on a Tuesday, Aussie cannabis stocks came back this week, with two small caps making giant strides up a very volatile ASX.

Small caps were about 0.4% lower over a tough week on the bourse, while the benchmark ASX 200 closed about 0.8% down since Monday open.

Globally, share markets mostly fell over the last week on seemingly confirmed fears that still rising inflation will inspire faster central bank rate hikes and consequently something of a global recession.

That all seems pretty much on the money after US Inflation came in at another 40-year-high. That was Wednesday, and then the dominos fell – Bank of Canada hiked by a ballsy 1% taking it to 2.5%, with more hikes in the post. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised by another 50bps taking it to 2.5%.

The Bank of Korea hiked by 0.5% – the first time the BoK’s done two of those in a row. And The Philippines Central Bank hiked by 0.75%.

IPOs this week

I didn’t see any, although I was clutching my pants by the seat for most of the week.

 

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS:

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for July 11 – July 15:
Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Wordpress Table Plugin

This week, in some welcome bullish notes – cannabis was back on the menu, with a bullet.

Zelira Therapuetics (ASX:ZLD) rose and rose again this week after the company secured formal regulatory approval in Germany for its Zenivol cannabinoid-based insomnia medication.

It is up a stunning 180% or so.

ZLD said it’s a major milestone in its expansion to Germany, one of the world’s largest markets for cannabinoid-based medicines and Europe’s largest market.

“With formal regulatory approval for Zenivol now received in Germany, we continue to progress activities to license Zenivol into other global markets,” MD Dr Oludare Odumosu said.

A long way behind, but cut from the same hemp cloth,  Josh Fegan’s Althea Group (ASX:AGH) whicb flagged $22 million in receipts from customers for FY2022 – an increase of 113% from the previous year – along with $6.5 million in receipts from customers for the period ending 30 June 2022 which is an increase of 130% from the previous corresponding period.

AGH’s wholly owned subsidiary Peak Processing Solutions achieved a record $3.6 million in receipts from customers for recreational cannabis for the June quarter.

Plus, the company achieved $2.9 million in receipts from customers for pharmaceutical cannabis for the quarter.

“Althea continues to see very strong underlying demand for its cannabis-based medicines and aims this financial year to return to pre COVID-19 growth rates,” the CEO Fegan says.

And with a mere 80% rise – Arrow Minerals (ASX:AMD) –  which this week secured a non-binding term sheet to get its grubby mitts on 60.5% of the Simandou North Iron Project, located immediately north of the famous iron ore deposit, estimated to contain around 8.6Bt of high grade iron ore.

So really, move the hell over Rio Tinto, because the West African gold junior’s stunning play for the tenements adjacent to the the world’s largest and best undeveloped deposit of high grade iron ore is a go.

Described as the “Rolls Royce of iron ore” last year by Rio Tinto executive Bold Baatar, just Rio’s 45% share of two of the four blocks that comprise the Simandou project contains 2Bt at 65.5% iron.

In iron ore the higher the grade the higher the price, with Simandou rating beyond even the 65% index usually reserved for Brazilian ores, which typically attracts a major premium over the 62% Fe benchmark.

By contrast the Pilbara majors currently ship at an average grade of around 60-61%.

Simandou North is no simple nearology play. Historical work by BSGR and Vale from the early to mid 2000s confirmed the continuation of the iron hosting Simandou Group stratigraphy into the Simandou North permit.

“We are excited to be able to provide shareholders with exposure to this extraordinary opportunity,” Arrow managing director Hugh Bresser said.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS:

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for July 11 – July 15:

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

Wordpress Table Plugin

There’s no losers, only non-winners and we don’t have a chart thing for that yet.

Featured Companies

You might be interested in