Last Orders: ASX small caps up as large caps lag

ASX small caps and large caps moved in opposite directions today.

The ASX Emerging Companies Index was up 0.29 per cent, closing at 2,119 points.

Meanwhile the Small Ords Index fell by 0.75 per cent to 3,199.8 and the ASX 200 fell 0.86 per cent to 6,821.

All large cap sectors were in the red, particularly financials with one standout laggard being Challenger (ASX:CGF) which dropped over 13 per cent after missing profit targets and cutting dividends.

Iron ore minnow Reedy Lagoon (ASX:RLC) was the ASX’s biggest winner today after announcing it had hired consultants to pursue “green iron” production.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Cannabis data stock Emyria (ASX:EMD) has expanded its clinical service into a second site in Melbourne. The company says this was a result of record patient appointments in January 2021.

Rare earths explorer Arafura Resources (ASX:ARU) was granted mineral leases for areas supporting its Nolans neodymium-praseodymium project. It will be for an initial term of 25 years and enable the construction, use and maintenance of a borefield to support the mine and processing plant as well as a water diversion channel around the mining area.

Aerial mapping company Aerometrex (ASX:AMX) has made inroads into the US market. It signed up its first US enterprise client, a leading defence contractor, and had made 3D captures of a handful of CBDs.

Drug maker Pharmaxis (ASX:PXS) has begun exporting its cystic fibrosis drug following US approval, triggering a US$3 million milestone payment from its US distributor Chiesi.

Buddy Technologies (ASX:BUD) gave shareholders guidance for its results for the second half of FY21. It ancitipates revenue between $24 million and $28 million and positive adjusted earnings.

Fintech Douugh (ASX:DOU) launched Autopilot, a new machine-learning driven feature in its App which allows users to budget, categorise and forecast their income, expenses and transactions.

Fellow fintech IOUpay (ASX:IOU) announced a distribution agreement for its BNPL payments solution with global ecommerce platform EasyStore. Investors approved, as IOU shares jumped sharply at the opening bell and held their gains to close 12.5 per cent higher. The Merchant Referral Agreement will see IOUpay’s BNPL service integrated into the EasyStore platform, which services more than 7,000 merchants across the major South-East Asian markets. EasyStore’s co-founder, Alan Kok Kim Lin, said IOUpay’s BNPL solution was a “natural value add” for its merchant clients.