Local markets have started the week on a bumpy note, rising quickly to +0.25% before sinking quickly back to zero just before 10.30am, as a trio of Large Caps went well into double-digit losses in time for morning tea.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll get into the details in a moment, but first there\u2019s news of an extraordinary court appearance in Dublin over the weekend that has set the bar pretty high for crazy outbursts from the dock.<\/p>\n
Joseph Davis, 51, made the appearance before Judge Marie Quirke at a weekend sitting of Dublin District Court, setting the tone of the session by turning up completely nude and refusing to wear clothes.<\/p>\n
Local media, as straight-faced as possible, described the scene thusly: \u201cMr Davis entered the stunned courtroom naked with his hands over his private parts, but within seconds he stood with arms outstretched to argue his case after rejecting the services of a lawyer, telling him to \u2018f*** off\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
As far as first impressions go, this probably isn\u2019t the best way to make one.<\/p>\n
Davis was appearing in court over a minor traffic offence, refusing to follow police instructions and for not \u201ckeeping his car stationary during an alleged incident on Friday evening\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, Mr Davis appeared unconcerned about the charges, and was mostly interested in the whereabouts of his emotional support cat, which he alleged had disappeared during his arrest.<\/p>\n
Acting for the police, officer Eva Mahedy did not object to Davis being released on bail with a \u20ac100 cash lodgement, prompting the judge to comment \u201cI don\u2019t see his wallet on him today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Local media reports that Mr Davis remained on his feet, naked as a jaybird, for the entirety of a nine-minute tirade, during which he claimed that had been bashed by police, and that he had been on his way to deliver documents pertaining to a different court case in the High Court \u2013 with his emotional support cat \u201cOliver\u201d \u2013 when he was stopped and arrested on Friday.<\/p>\n
Davis was led from the courtroom after pounding on the glass enclosure that surrounds the witness dock in the courtroom, demanding that the court return his cat.<\/p>\n
He was eventually released on bail, but will be required to attend court again on Tuesday to answer to the charges, but I can tell you that turning up naked to defend yourself rarely, if ever, works well\u2026 the last time I tried it, the judge seemed very disappointed that the evidence I was providing failed to stand up in court.<\/p>\n
(Ed: OBJECTION<\/em>)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Local markets were struggling a little this morning, with the needle wavering between 0 and +0.25% as the benchmark hunted for traction \u2013\u00a0and three Large Caps went deep into double-digit loss territory early in the session.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Chart via Marketindex.com.au<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Around the rest of the market, it looks like it\u2019s back to \u2018business as usual\u2019 \u2013 InfoTech (+1.42%) is soaring above everything else, and the goldies are staging yet another breakaway performance as well, surging +1.47%, despite gold dipping -0.9% to US$2,308.35 an ounce.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Chart via Marketindex.com.au<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As you can see, the Energy sector\u2019s doing it tough this morning, and \u2013 as you\u2019ll see in a minute or two \u2013 there\u2019s a pretty clear reason for that happening, so read on\u2026<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Chart via Marketindex.com.au<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Up the tubby end of town, there are three Large Cappers doing it tough today \u2013 let\u2019s start with Elders (ASX:ELD)<\/strong><\/a>, though, because there\u2019s a clear reason for it tanking this morning.<\/p>\n The company dropped an announcement this morning that set more than a few investors\u2019 pulses racing, but for all the wrong reasons \u2013\u00a0after Elders admitted that the first half of the financial year to September 2024 was \u201csignificantly below expectations\u201d.<\/p>\n From the announcement come the reasons:<\/p>\n Subdued client sentiment following an El Ni\u00f1o declaration by the Bureau of Meteorology, particularly impacting the first quarter. All that added up to a rapid-fire sell-off this morning, sending Elders down -24.7% in under 30 minutes.<\/p>\n Also on the chopping block was APM Human Services (ASX:APM)<\/strong><\/a>, and there\u2019s a bit to unpack here\u2026<\/p>\n APM had received a non-binding acquisition offer from CVC Asia Pacific a while ago, which looked to have fizzled out on 28 March when CVC indicated that it was going to be unable to proceed to finalise a transaction on terms consistent with the offer on the table.<\/p>\n That notice coincided with the end of CVC\u2019s exclusivity period on the offer, and it looks like another group \u2013\u00a0Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP), which already holds a 29% stake in the company with three seats on the board \u2013 is ready to pounce with an offer of its own of $1.40 cash per share by way of a scheme of arrangement.<\/p>\n APM had previously formed an Independent Board Committee while all that was happening, and that IBC has said that the offer from MDP is \u201cdisappointing\u201d \u2013 hardly surprising considering that APM\u2019s price has been a lot higher in recent times, albeit a little on the volatile side.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Chart via Marketindex.com.au<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Last on the Large Cap sinkers list this morning was Beach Energy (ASX:BPT)<\/strong><\/a>, which shed as much as -19% on news that things aren\u2019t going very well at its Waitsia Joint Venture, in which it\u2019s got a 50-50 split with Mitsui E&P Australia.<\/p>\n Beach had been encountering issues during during pre-commissioning of systems at the Waitsia Gas Plant, including rebuilding compressors, and replacing valves and flanges \u2013 work which had been close to complete.<\/p>\n However, \u201cfurther quality issues are emerging as pre-commissioning activities progress\u201d, the company says\u2026 and the delays and remediation costs are really starting to bite.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is extremely disappointing to be continually encountering quality and execution issues given the late stage of the project,\u201d CEO and MD Brett Wood said.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving to redirect existing onsite labour to remedial works is slowing the progress of pre-commissioning activities, resulting in further delay and cost increases.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In the US on Friday, it was a festive end to the week, thanks to a shockingly large jump in employment figures that saw 303,000 jobs added in March 2024, far more than the expectations of 205,000, while at the same time, the US jobless rate slipped to 3.8% as participation rate rose.<\/p>\n The S&P 500 rose by +1.11% , the blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.80%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lifted by +1.24%.<\/p>\n In US stock news, Trump Media fell -12% on no news. I\u2019m shocked \u2026 shocked, I tell you \u2026 that a company that reported in a filing last week sales of just over US$4 million as net losses reached nearly US$60 million for the full year might have been egregiously overvalued at IPO, and that a lot of people are losing a lot of money as its prices sinks slowly into a bog, deep in the Florida swamps.<\/p>\n Tesla slumped further, this time by -3.6% after a report on Reuters suggested the company has scrapped its plans for a more affordable EV.<\/p>\n Krispy Kreme surged +7% after Piper Sandler upgraded its rating on the company from Neutral to Overweight, citing the recent partnership with McDonald\u2019s \u2013 proving that Earlybird Eddy Sunarto, who penned that sentence, is secretly a comedic genius.<\/p>\n In Asian market news, Japan\u2019s Nikkei is climbing this morning, up 1.45% while Chinese markets are making a muted return from an extended holiday period, leaving Shanghai markets down -0.06% and Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng up +0.25% in early trade.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for 08 April [intraday]:<\/strong><\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap NES Nelson Resources. 0.005 67% 19,465,510 $1,840,783 LNU Linius Tech Limited 0.003 50% 6,466,614 $10,393,481 VPR Volt Power Group 0.0015 50% 379,336 $10,716,208 CTN Catalina Resources 0.004 33% 250,000 $3,715,461 IEC Intra Energy Corp 0.002 33% 1,755,560 $2,536,172 LPD Lepidico Ltd 0.004 33% 10,580,450 $22,914,924 QOR Qoria Limited 0.405 29% 6,286,223 $369,131,455 BDG Black Dragon Gold 0.024 26% 1,705,601 $4,289,586 AIV Activex Limited 0.015 25% 7,216 $2,586,031 FFF Forbidden Foods 0.015 25% 64,357 $2,422,327 AD1 AD1 Holdings Limited 0.011 22% 1,447,778 $8,087,835 AQX Alice Queen Ltd 0.006 20% 11,878,850 $3,454,950 GES Genesis Resources 0.006 20% 20,000 $3,914,206 OSL Oncosil Medical 0.006 20% 177,034 $11,277,706 KNI Kuniko Limited 0.29 18% 131,087 $21,227,846 LDR Lode Resources 0.13 18% 224,884 $11,746,256 360 Life360 Inc 14.27 18% 1,181,495 $2,494,535,455 RTG RTG Mining Inc 0.027 17% 278,875 $24,958,094 NYR Nyrada Inc 0.14 17% 3,656,593 $21,529,044 TMK TMK Energy Limited 0.0035 17% 1,306,907 $20,267,144 SPL Starpharma Holdings 0.145 16% 1,757,575 $51,505,078 C7A Clara Resources 0.015 15% 255,589 $2,457,507 VN8 Vonex Limited 0.015 15% 62,828 $4,703,772 SPQ Superior Resources 0.0115 15% 5,237,149 $20,012,204 ANR Anatara Ls Ltd 0.039 15% 12,732 $5,708,387 <\/p>\n WordPress Table Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Linius Technologies (ASX:LNU)<\/strong><\/a> was climbing well on Monday morning, up +50% off the back off last week\u2019s news that the company had signed a new agreement to provide its sports solution, Whizzard, to the Lone Star Conference \u2013 one of the college-level football (the weird kind where you can throw the ball wherever you want) sporting associations in the United States.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Lepidico (ASX:LPD)<\/strong><\/a> rose sharply after announcing that eligible directors and key management confirmed they will participate in an Entitlement Offer.<\/p>\n Qoria (ASX:QOR)<\/strong><\/a> surged after knocking back a takeover proposal from K1 Investment Management that it received late last week, which had K1 offering $0.40 cash per Qoria share for 100% of the company. No prizes for guessing that Qoria has since climbed in value to just over that offer amount.<\/p>\n Mining minnow Alice Queen (ASX:AQX)<\/strong><\/a> was up +20% on news that its largest shareholder, Gage Resource Development, has agreed to invest a further $3.6 million to help advance its gold exploration activities. Gage currently holds an 18.67% stake in the company.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the most-worst performing ASX small cap stocks for 08 April [intraday]:<\/strong><\/p>\n Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap TD1 Tali Digital Limited 0.001 -33% 299,435 $4,942,733 APM APM Human Services 1.155 -29% 2,517,217 $1,495,006,572 ARC ARC Funds Limited 0.1 -26% 38,830 $5,075,384 ERL Empire Resources 0.003 -25% 6,141,601 $4,451,740 MRQ MRG Metals Limited 0.0015 -25% 5,000,000 $5,050,237 ELD Elders Limited 7.465 -24% 3,218,095 $1,546,947,375 ADO Anteotech Ltd 0.027 -23% 15,041,546 $76,875,485 ECT Env Clean Tech Ltd. 0.004 -20% 246,426 $14,321,552 OAR OAR Resources Ltd 0.002 -20% 1,700,000 $6,633,277 ROG Red Sky Energy 0.004 -20% 11,715,083 $27,111,136 8CO 8Common Limited 0.03 -19% 405,136 $8,291,511 MSG Mcs Services Limited 0.005 -17% 3,000,000 $1,188,598 ODE Odessa Minerals Ltd 0.005 -17% 478,122 $6,259,695 TYX Tyranna Res Ltd 0.01 -17% 212,664 $39,449,104 BPT Beach Energy Limited 1.5975 -16% 23,833,733 $4,323,127,278 RGS Regeneus Ltd 0.011 -15% 618,625 $3,983,680 BFC Beston Global Ltd 0.006 -14% 498,558 $13,979,328 CDT Castle Minerals 0.006 -14% 4,967,356 $8,571,451 GTR Gti Energy Ltd 0.006 -14% 170,201 $14,349,630 LML Lincoln Minerals 0.006 -14% 250,715 $11,928,317 TAR Taruga Minerals 0.006 -14% 6,632 $4,942,187 TNY Tinybeans Group Ltd 0.12 -14% 33,544 $11,814,228 OAK Oakridge 0.055 -14% 54,640 $1,126,362 ENV Enova Mining Limited 0.019 -14% 8,959,553 $15,061,112 NAG Nagambie Resources 0.013 -13% 639,133 $11,949,535 <\/p>\n WordPress Table Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n GCX Metals (ASX:GCX)<\/strong><\/a> is pleased with the progress of its maiden reverse circulation program at the Dante copper, gold and PGE project in Western Australia and has moved to expand the program from 30 holes to 47 holes.<\/p>\n Samples from the first 17 holes have been dispatched to the laboratory for assaying and the remaining 30 holes will be drilled across four priority prospects.<\/p>\n Drilling has started at the Cronus magmatic copper-gold sulphide target before moving to the Crius copper, gold, PGE reef and the Hyperion copper, gold, PGE reef, where the field team have identified a new gossan near planned drilling.<\/p>\n Ora Banda (ASX:OBM)<\/strong><\/a> has settled its dispute with Greenstone Resources (ASX:GSR)<\/strong><\/a> relating to their 2007 joint venture by forking up $3.4m in cash and $3m in OBM shares.<\/p>\n This dismisses all proceedings brought by Greenstone, Riverina Resources and Abbotsleigh while granting the company all nickel rights. Importantly, it paves the way for OBM to complete its $16m joint venture with Wesfarmers Chemical, Energy & Fertilisers (WesCEF).<\/p>\n Western Yilgarn (ASX:WYX)<\/strong><\/a> has remobilised its auger drilling geochemistry team to continue Phase IV field activities focused on prospective copper-nickel sulphide targets identified in previous phases at its Ida Holmes Junction project.<\/p>\n The first three phases had produced 24 copper-nickel-PGE and lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatite targets across the project.<\/p>\n Notable examples include two high-priority nickel-copper-PGE targets close to the Ida Fault and Holmes Dyke Junction that were followed up by previous explorers BHP\/Nickel West in 2011 and St George Mining in 2015.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While GCX Metals, Ora Banda Mining and Western Yilgarn are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post ASX Small Caps Lunch Wrap: Who\u2019s made an epic first impression in court this week?<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TO MARKETS<\/h2>\n
\nLower crop protection prices compared to the prior corresponding period, impacting sales revenue and margin.
\nCattle and sheep prices significantly below the 10-year mean, particularly impacting the first quarter.
\nSubdued trading in March due to a later start to winter crop in Western Australia which is a key broadacre market.
\nMargin pressure evident in some key agricultural chemical products.<\/p>\nNOT THE ASX<\/h2>\n
ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
ICYMI \u2013 AM EDITION<\/h2>\n