Are ASX Small Caps Slowing Down?

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Samso News theme banner. ASX Micro Caps and Small Caps. Is the Market Below A$150 Million Slowing Down?

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On Samso's numbers the small end of the ASX has slowed since early September 2026. We took the 1,004 ASX-listed companies with a market value below A$150 million and split them into three size bands. The median company's share price has fallen in all three bands since 10 September, and less money is changing hands than in the first half of the year. Larger companies fell as well, and one of our measures was lower in March and in June 2026 than it is now.

All prices in this piece are as at the close of ASX trading on 9 October 2026.

How Samso Measured ASX Companies Below A$150 Million

The market below A$150 million is where many mineral explorers are. Samso lists the daily movers in this group in ASX today [R6], where everything below A$150 million is called a micro cap. Some readers call the upper bands small caps. We use the dollar bands. More of these companies fell than rose on 19 of the last 21 trading days. Over the full year that happened on about 64% of days.

Market capitalisation, or market value, is the share price multiplied by the number of shares on issue. We took market values from the ASX company directory, downloaded on 11 October 2026. [R1] We took one year of daily closing prices and trading volumes from Yahoo Finance. [R2] That gave 1,607 companies with a market value and a recent trade. Of those, 1,004 were below A$150 million. Companies that left the ASX during the year, through takeover or failure, are not in our numbers.

We use the median and two other measures. The 50-day average is a company's average closing price over its last 50 trading days, and a share price above it is commonly read as a rising trend. Value traded is the dollar value of the shares that changed hands.

A company that falls can drop into a smaller band, and that would make the smaller bands look worse than they are. So we place each company by its market value on the day being measured. For a change over one month, the band is the one the company was in at the start of the month. The market values for earlier days are Samso estimates. They scale today's market value by the share price and do not allow for new shares issued since. A company that raised money during the year is shown as larger in the past than it was.

These are small and thinly traded companies. A 50-day average on a share that trades a few thousand dollars a day is a rougher guide than the same line on one of the largest ASX companies.

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One-Month Share Price Change in the Three Size Bands

From 10 September to 9 October 2026 the median company fell 5.6% below A$50 million, 7.3% from A$50 million to A$100 million and 6.3% from A$100 million to A$150 million (TABLE 01). About one in four companies rose in the two smaller bands, and about one in six rose in the largest of the three.

Larger companies fell as well. The median company above A$150 million fell 3.4% over the same month, and 27.0% of those companies were above their 50-day average at the last close. That share is about the same as in the three bands. The median fall was larger at the small end.

TABLE 01. The median company fell between 5.6% and 7.3% in each band below A$150 million from 10 September 2026 to 9 October 2026. The three one-month columns place each company by its estimated market value on 10 September 2026, when the three bands held 728, 164 and 86 companies. The other columns use the market value on 9 October 2026. Rose and fell do not add to 100% because some prices were unchanged. A one-year low is the lowest close since 9 October 2025, counted for companies with a full year of prices. Columns: Size band, Companies, Median change in one month, Rose, Fell, Above 50-day average, At a one-year low in the last five trading days. Size band Below A$50 million; Companies 755; Median change in one month −5.6%; Rose 24.9%; Fell 58.8%; Above 50-day average 28.6%; At a one-year low in the last five trading days 186 of 722. Size band A$50 million to A$100 million; Companies 153; Median change in one month −7.3%; Rose 26.2%; Fell 70.1%; Above 50-day average 30.9%; At a one-year low in the last five trading days 27 of 145. Size band A$100 million to A$150 million; Companies 96; Median change in one month −6.3%; Rose 16.3%; Fell 75.6%; Above 50-day average 26.3%; At a one-year low in the last five trading days 11 of 90. Size band Above A$150 million, for comparison; Companies 603; Median change in one month −3.4%; Rose 29.6%; Fell 67.8%; Above 50-day average 27.0%; At a one-year low in the last five trading days 94 of 584. Source: ASX company directory, downloaded 11 October 2026, and Yahoo Finance daily closing prices. Samso calculations. References R1 and R2.

ASX Companies Below A$50 Million

This is the largest group, with 755 companies. About 61% of them are in the materials and energy sectors, which hold the mineral explorers, the miners and the oil and gas companies.

The share of these companies above their 50-day average was about 50% at the start of September 2026 and reached 53.1% on 1 September, its highest since January. It was 28.6% at the last close (FIGURE 01). In the last five trading days, 186 of the 722 companies with a full year of prices closed at a one-year low at least once. Eleven closed at a one-year high. Over three months, the median company that was in this band on 14 July 2026 has fallen 3.4%.

On an average day in October, 27.8% of the companies in this band did not trade at all. In June the figure was 15.5%, and from January to May it ranged from 15.6% to 21.2%. On a typical day in October the median company traded about A$2,100 of shares, against about A$7,600 in June. In plain terms, shares in this band have been harder to buy and sell since July.

FIGURE 01. Line chart of the share of ASX companies trading above their 50-day average price, by size band, from late 2025 to 9 October 2026. The three bands below A$150 million were highest in January 2026, fell to a low in March 2026, fell again in June, rose to early September 2026 and have fallen since. The line for companies above A$150 million also peaked in January and fell to a low in March. At the last close the readings were 28.6% below A$50 million, 30.9% from A$50 million to A$100 million, 26.3% from A$100 million to A$150 million and 27.0% above A$150 million.

ASX Companies From A$50 Million to A$100 Million

This band holds 153 companies. It had the largest one-month fall of the three, with the median company down 7.3%. Of the companies that started the month in this band, 70.1% ended it lower.

The share above the 50-day average reached 64.5% on 31 August 2026, its highest since January, and was 30.9% at the last close.

Over three months, the median company that was in this band on 14 July 2026 has fallen 8.0%. What that means is this band has lost ground over one month and over three.

ASX Companies From A$100 Million to A$150 Million

This band holds 96 companies. It had the fewest risers. Of the companies that started the month in this band, 16.3% rose and 75.6% fell.

It also has the best three-month record of the three bands. The median company that was in this band on 14 July 2026 is unchanged over that time, and 47.6% of them have risen. The share above the 50-day average was 63.1% on 3 September 2026 and 26.3% at the last close. Put together, this band held its ground until September and has fallen since.

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Value of Shares Traded Below A$150 Million Since June 2026

The three bands are added together in FIGURE 02. Shares worth about A$64 million a day changed hands in June 2026. That fell to about A$38 million a day in July. September averaged about A$46 million a day, which is 28% below June. Lower share prices explain very little of that. Counting every day's shares at the 9 October price gives about the same fall. The first seven trading days of October averaged about A$38 million.

The months from January to May averaged between about A$53 million and A$63 million a day, so trading since July is lower on that comparison as well. All that means is trading since July has been at the low end of the past year's range.

FIGURE 02. Stacked bar chart of the average daily value of shares traded in ASX companies below A$150 million, by month from October 2025 to October 2026, split into the three size bands. June 2026 averaged about A$64 million a day, July about A$38 million, August about A$49 million, September about A$46 million and the first 7 trading days of October about A$38 million.

The ASX Small Ordinaries and Emerging Companies Indices

An index is a basket of shares tracked as one number. Two indices follow smaller ASX companies. The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries covers the companies ranked 101 to 300 by size. The S&P/ASX Emerging Companies index holds up to 200 companies ranked from about 350 to 600 by size, according to an ASX fact sheet. [R3] On the ASX directory figures, the company ranked 600 has a market value of about A$154 million, so both indices mostly track companies larger than our three bands.

The Small Ordinaries closed at 3,281.9. That is 4.1% lower than on 10 September and 17.8% below its closing high of 3,992.5 on 23 January 2026 (FIGURE 03). The Emerging Companies index closed at 2,930.7, which is 4.6% lower than on 10 September. The S&P/ASX 200, which tracks the 200 largest companies, fell 1.2% over the same period to 8,716.6. Both small-company indices fell more than the 200 largest companies over the month, which agrees with our band figures.

FIGURE 03. Line chart of the S&P/ASX 200, the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries and the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies index over one year, each set to 100 at 9 October 2025. At 9 October 2026 the S&P/ASX 200 was at 8,716.6, the Small Ordinaries at 3,281.9 and the Emerging Companies index at 2,930.7.

Interest Rates, Resources and the Limits of the Data

The numbers do not give a reason for the fall. The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its cash rate target by 0.25 of a percentage point to 4.60%, effective 30 September 2026, according to the Reserve Bank's cash rate table. [R4] The cash rate is the interest rate on overnight loans between banks, and the Reserve Bank sets a target for it. We can probably safely assume that higher interest rates are part of the reason. The share of companies above their 50-day average had been falling for four weeks before that decision. Share prices often move before a rate decision, when investors come to expect it. Our numbers cannot separate the two.

Resources were the weakest group in every band. The median materials or energy company fell 7.7%, 8.6% and 7.7% over the month in the three bands. The median company in all other sectors fell 3.2%, 5.5% and 4.9%. Above A$150 million the gap was wider. The median materials or energy company fell 10.7% and the median company in other sectors fell 1.5%. We read this as a fall in resources shares across every size of company.

Our data covers one year, from one price source. On the 50-day measure March 2026 was weaker than now, and so was June. The share above the 50-day average fell to between 9.2% and 16.8% in the three bands on 23 and 24 March. All three were above 50% on 1 September.

Companies were still raising money. Small Caps, a news site, listed placements of A$25 million and A$10 million in its wrap of the week to 9 October. [R5] A placement is a sale of new shares to selected investors. Samso has not read the ASX releases for those placements.

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Samso Concluding Comments

Our reading is that the small end of the ASX has slowed. Share prices have fallen since the start of September 2026. In all three bands the median company is down between 5.6% and 7.3% in a month. Fewer than one company in three is above its 50-day average. Trading has been lower since July than in the first half of the year. Larger companies fell too, and resources shares fell the most at every size.

On the 50-day measure the three bands were weaker in March 2026 and again in June 2026 than they are now. Both times the reading later rose.

Liquidity is how easily a share can be bought or sold. It is low below A$50 million, where many explorers are. In a thin market a small order can move the price. An explorer usually funds its work by issuing new shares. The lower the share price at the next raising, the more shares it has to issue to raise the same amount.

Samso Take

The market below A$150 million has been slowing for about five weeks, in all three size bands and most of all in resources. The numbers do not say how long it will last. Samso will keep measuring the share of companies above their 50-day average and the daily value traded. In March that share turned up from below 17%. Will it turn from about 30% this time?

The other way to read this

One month is a short period. The band from A$100 million to A$150 million is flat over three months, and close to half of its companies have risen in that time. The Emerging Companies index is 9.5% above its lowest close of the past year. Placements were still being announced in the week to 9 October. A reader could fairly call this a pullback after the rise in July and August.

Vocabulary

Market capitalisation. The share price multiplied by the number of shares on issue. It is the market value of the whole company.

Micro cap. Samso uses this for a company with a market value below A$150 million.

50-day average. The average closing price over the last 50 trading days. Technical traders call it the 50-day moving average.

Value traded. The dollar value of the shares that changed hands in a day. It is also called turnover.

Liquidity. How easily a share can be bought or sold without moving its price.

Index. A basket of shares tracked as one number, such as the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries.

Cash rate. The interest rate on overnight loans between banks. The Reserve Bank of Australia sets a target for it.

Placement. A sale of new shares by a company to selected investors.

References and Sources

Each source has a marker such as [R1]. The same marker appears in the text where that source is used. Market figures are Samso calculations from the sources below and are stated as at 9 October 2026. The three figures and the table are original Samso illustrations of sourced data.

[R1] ASX company directory, market capitalisation of listed companies. Downloaded 11 October 2026. asx.com.au.

[R2] Yahoo Finance, daily closing prices and volumes for ASX-listed companies, and daily closing levels for the S&P/ASX 200, the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries and the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies index, 9 October 2025 to 9 October 2026. au.finance.yahoo.com.

[R3] ASX, S&P/ASX Emerging Companies Index fact sheet. Read 12 October 2026. asx.com.au.

[R4] Reserve Bank of Australia, Cash Rate Target table. Read 12 October 2026. rba.gov.au.

[R5] Small Caps, weekly wrap for the week ending 9 October 2026. smallcaps.com.au.

[R6] Samso, ASX today, Friday 9 October 2026. samso.com.au.

Cover photo: The building described on Wikimedia Commons as the ASX head office at 39 Martin Place, Sydney, photographed in September 2025 by Klauskazamias. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. The photograph is cropped. It is shown under the Samso News blue glass on the article cover.

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