Last Orders: The ASX loses ground after strong start to trading

The ASX gained as much as 1 per cent in the first hour of trade but gave up the gains into the afternoon.

The ASX 200 finished the day down 0.40 per cent at 6,762 while the ASX Small Ords lost 0.49 per cent to close at 3,136 and the ASX Emerging Companies Index fell 0.47 per cent to 2,029.

All sectors were in the red except financials and consumer staples. The biggest laggards were energy and resources.

However, 2 stocks gained over 100 per cent today – investment company Mariner Corporation (ASX:MCX) from no news and Queensland focused gold explorer Cannindah Resources (ASX:CAE), which rose from exploration results.

Today saw the IPO of additive manufacturer 3D Metal Forge (ASX:3MF) which rose 40 per cent on.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ResApp (ASX:RAP) has won CE Mark certification for its wearable device that can diagnose respiratory disease using cough audio.

Valor Resources (ASX:VAL) hired consulting company TerraLogic Exploration to help it with its Hook Lake and Cluff Lake uranium projects in rural Canada.

Nutritional Growth Solutions (ASX:NGS) partnered with child celebrity and social influencer Gavin Thomas to promote its Healthy Height products in China.

Silica sands play Metallica Minerals (ASX:MLM) upgraded its Resource Area by 298 per cent from 12.85 million tonnes to 38.3 million tonnes at 99 per cent silica.

Complii Fintech (ASX:CF1) was chosen by the Australian Investment Exchange as its risk and compliance management platform provider. The deal will reap approximately $400000 in implementation costs and $300,000 in ongoing license and hosting fees.

Osprey Medical, Inc. (ASX:OSP) has announced the further expansion of its national sales footprint in the US today, signing three new Independent Sales Agency (ISA)agreements with Access Medical Inc., Consolidated Medical Supplies Inc. and DriKot Medical Inc. The new agreements extend the distribution reach of Osprey’s DyeVert technology into an additional seven states in the US currently outside of their existing direct salesforce coverage.