Closing Bell: ASX dives below 8000, Nasdaq corrects, Bitcoin slips on Strategic Reserve news

The ASX slid below 8000 on Friday, with tariffs rattling the market, while Goodman, CBA, and tech stocks took a hit.

ASX dives below 8000 as tariffs send shockwaves. Picture via Getty Images

• ASX drops below 8000 as tariffs send shockwaves

• Goodman, CBA and tech stocks take a beating

• Bitcoin drops back down under US$88k

The ASX took a pretty heavy hit on Friday, sliding down by 1.8% to its lowest point since September. For the week, the benchmark ASX 200 index was down over 2.5%.

A few things stirred the pot, but the biggest culprit was tariffs – spooking investors left, right and centre. 

Nasdaq was down by 2.6% last night and is officially in correction territory. The broad-based S&P 500 index also gave up its post-election gains.

Back home, the ASX slipped under the 8000 mark today, which is a crucial psychological level  for investor sentiment.

This came after a number of blue chip names took a beating. Real estate giant Goodman Group (ASX:GMG), for example, sank by 4.5% today. 

The financial sector wasn’t much better, with banks like Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) losing 3%. Westpac (ASX:WBC) dropped 2.2%  after its retail banking boss, Jason Yetton, jumped ship.

Elsewhere, tech stocks were also sold down heavily.

“I am not sure about 'buying the dip' in the tech stocks just yet,” said Moomo’s Jessica Amir.

“I'll revisit that next week after the US employment data is out and Australian business confidence has been released.”

But it wasn’t all bad news.

The consumer staples sector, the more defensive side of the market, had a good run, with Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE) ticking up.

This is where we stood leading up to Friday’s close:

Source: Market Index

Source: Market Index

In the large caps space, Insignia Financial (ASX:IFL)saw some serious action with a 10% jump. Private equity firms Bain and CC Capital have tossed in higher bids for the wealth manager, pushing the stock to new heights. 

PolyNovo (ASX:PNV) found itself in hot water after a bullying scandal involving its chairman and CEO, sending its stock down by over 10%. 

Meanwhile,  Bitcoin has slipped to around the US$87,000 mark after the US government put the brakes on its plans to create a strategic reserve of Bitcoin. 

This move disappointed many in the market who were hoping for some big government buy-ins. Ether, XRP, and Solana weren’t spared, all slipping as well.

It seems that Trump's executive order, promising to stockpile Bitcoin, is now being seen as less exciting after news broke that it would rely mainly on Bitcoin seized in civil and criminal cases, rather than new government purchases. 

Just a few minutes ago, President Trump signed an Executive Order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

The Reserve will be capitalized with Bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings. This means it…

— David Sacks (@davidsacks47) March 7, 2025

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Today’s best performing small cap stocks:

Code	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
JAY	Jayride Group	0.003	50%	200,000	$477,158
EGN	Engenco Limited	0.295	40%	1,441,332	$66,358,499
CTO	Citigold Corp Ltd	0.004	33%	11,890,327	$9,000,000
MMR	Mec Resources	0.004	33%	579,915	$5,549,298
SFG	Seafarms Group Ltd	0.002	33%	771,020	$7,254,899
TOU	Tlou Energy Ltd	0.016	33%	391,689	$15,583,012
GES	Genesis Resources	0.012	33%	659,932	$7,045,572
NUC	Nuchev Limited	0.190	31%	65,163	$21,219,199
LIO	Lion Energy Limited	0.014	27%	563,188	$4,973,845
SKK	Stakk Limited	0.007	27%	3,560,982	$11,412,938
AAJ	Aruma Resources Ltd	0.010	25%	1,646,661	$1,776,465
RNX	Renegade Exploration	0.005	25%	545,889	$5,136,014
TAS	Tasman Resources Ltd	0.005	25%	107,930	$3,220,998
CRI	Criticalim	0.018	20%	13,213,186	$40,326,729
ALM	Alma Metals Ltd	0.006	20%	100,000	$7,931,727
HLX	Helix Resources	0.003	20%	1,383,334	$8,410,484
IRX	Inhalerx Limited	0.032	19%	138,750	$5,763,102
ZAG	Zuleika Gold Ltd	0.013	18%	1,249,000	$8,160,679
STN	Saturn Metals	0.235	18%	188,844	$61,776,977
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.007	17%	37,010	$7,068,458
APC	APC Minerals	0.014	17%	522,156	$1,406,077
DTR	Dateline Resources	0.004	17%	262,000	$7,696,706
MRQ	Mrg Metals Limited	0.004	17%	246,419	$8,179,556
TMK	TMK Energy Limited	0.004	17%	3,178,480	$27,976,695
RTG	RTG Mining Inc.	0.029	16%	9,225,220	$27,091,138

Elph Investments, part of the Elphinstone Group, has made a cash offer to buy all shares in engineering company Engenco (ASX:EGN) for $0.305 per share, representing a significant premium of up to 63% above the recent share price. Elph already owns over 68% of Engenco and believes there’s strong potential for synergies by fully integrating Engenco into its operations.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Today’s worst performing small cap stocks:

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
ERG	Eneco Refresh Ltd	0.009	-36%	980,000	$3,813,017
FAU	First Au Ltd	0.002	-33%	6,571,416	$6,215,980
BP8	Bph Global Ltd	0.003	-25%	228,222	$2,433,233
NRZ	Neurizer Ltd	0.002	-25%	4,285,145	$6,716,008
PRM	Prominence Energy	0.003	-25%	22,500	$1,556,706
SKN	Skin Elements Ltd	0.003	-25%	673,500	$3,424,611
HPC	Thehydration	0.008	-20%	864,624	$3,049,131
TSL	Titanium Sands Ltd	0.004	-20%	112,982	$11,683,736
RWL	Rubicon Water	0.225	-20%	5,119	$67,394,627
EMN	Euromanganese	0.037	-20%	380,751	$9,561,749
ARI	Arika Resources	0.024	-17%	8,466,278	$18,371,751
CMO	Cosmometalslimited	0.015	-17%	50,177	$2,357,872
LOM	Lucapa Diamond Ltd	0.015	-17%	2,564,977	$8,286,696
ASR	Asra Minerals Ltd	0.003	-17%	170,000	$7,119,380
SER	Strategic Energy	0.005	-17%	13	$4,026,200
YAR	Yari Minerals Ltd	0.005	-17%	2,140,596	$2,894,147
BTC	BTC Health Ltd	0.055	-17%	50,001	$21,471,338
GLH	Global Health Ltd	0.110	-15%	58,977	$7,546,440
EME	Energy Metals Ltd	0.066	-14%	50,607	$16,145,615
AVE	Avecho Biotech Ltd	0.006	-14%	12,645,321	$22,185,079
GR8	Great Dirt Resources	0.120	-14%	10,927	$4,109,176
SPQ	Superior Resources	0.006	-14%	111,111	$15,189,047
TYX	Tyranna Res Ltd	0.006	-14%	715,112	$23,015,477
HE8	Helios Energy Ltd	0.013	-13%	581,012	$39,060,742

BPH Global’s (ASX:BP8) seaweed research is showing promising results, with gold and copper found in the seaweed grown in clean, filtered seawater from Sentosa Island. Initial tests revealed gold levels up to 14.85 mg/kg and copper at 10.88 mg/kg, adding to previously identified cobalt and silver. The next phase of the research will test seaweed grown in polluted waters in Malaysia to see if it absorbs more minerals, like a “sponge” effect.

BPH is keen to explore this potential further. The idea behind finding gold, silver, and other metals in seaweed is based on the way certain types of seaweed can absorb metals from the surrounding water. This is called “bioaccumulation”.

Arika Resources (ASX:ARI) shares dipped despite its Pennyweight Point's gold discovery getting bigger, with step-out drilling extending the mineralised zone to over 350m long and 180m deep. The Phase 2 drilling program found thick gold zones, and confirmed the ore-hosting structure is still open in all directions.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Hillgrove Resources (ASX:HGO) achieved a record monthly copper production of 1105t at its Kanmantoo mine in South Australia in February, processing 116,000 tonnes of ore at a grade of 1.01% copper and a 94.2% recovery rate. The company also recently raised $16 million to develop the Nugent deposit, which will boost production and reduce overall costs.

Pursuit Minerals (ASX:PUR) has successfully commissioned its 250tpa pilot plant and begun lithium carbonate production, marking a significant step toward scalable, commercial production at its Rio Grande Sur project in Argentina. With global lithium demand showing signs of recovery, Pursuit is well-placed to scale up production while benefiting from its counter-cyclical strategy, particularly as majors like Rio Tinto continue to invest in the region.

Petratherm (ASX:PTR) has secured $8.1 million to expedite exploration drilling at its Muckanippie titanium HMS project in South Australia. Phase 2 drilling will begin in mid-March, targeting extensions of high-grade mineralisation at the Rosewood prospect.

New World Resources (ASX:NWC) has received $14 million in firm commitments to advance its Antler copper project in Arizona towards a final investment decision. The funds will support federal and state permitting, exploration, and the definitive feasibility study, following promising pre-feasibility results.

Ora Banda (ASX:OBM) has strengthened its balance sheet with a $50 million syndicated revolving credit facility from ANZ and CBA for an initial two-year term. The company has also secured put options for 100,000 oz of gold in FY26 at $4400/oz, ensuring cash flow stability while retaining upside exposure.

Cannindah Resources (ASX:CAE) has appointed Cameron Switzer as technical advisor and exploration manager. With over 35 years in the industry and a strong track record in porphyry copper-gold systems, he’s set to play a key role in driving the Mt Cannindah project forward.

Medical device company ReNerve (ASX:RNV) has received an additional $139,537 in R&D tax incentive refund, bringing its total refund to $516,606. The company is advancing its portfolio of peripheral nerve repair solutions and is preparing to launch its next product, the NervAlign Nerve Conduit, while also developing a full suite of nerve repair and replacement technologies.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Hillgrove Resources, Pursuit Minerals, Petratherm, New World Resources, Ora Banda Mining, Cannindah Resources and ReNerve are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as Closing Bell: ASX dives below 8000, Nasdaq corrects, Bitcoin slips on Strategic Reserve news