An upbeat start to trade on Wall Street helped provide some direction to an otherwise listless UK market where traders were clearly undecided as to which way they should jump in the wake of the latest round of political turmoil. By the bell, the AIM index had advanced more than five points from session lows, although that was still only sufficient to nudge it into black ink for the day, closing at 786.16.
- Baron Oil +72%
- Plexus +37%
- IOG +33%
- MobilityOne -24%
- GB Group -19%
Baron Oil LON:BOIL is back on the list for a third day, with the pace of gains accelerating. Today’s 72% uptick means the underlying price has close on quadrupled in just over a week whilst around 10% of the total shares in issue appear to have changed hands. The question now will be even if the long term outlook warrants this, is it too much too soon?
Plexus Holdings LON:POS added 37%, with the stock bolstered by news that additional financing had been secured by the company through the issue of a CLN. This helps shore up recent losses for the share price, but it’s worth noting that this only takes the valuation back to where it sat at the end of August.
IOG LON:IOG had a somewhat better day that it did yesterday, reversing some of those losses after being shaken down by investors and getting the notable mention. Critically a financial update published mid-session reassured investors that despite a dip in production, the company still had sufficient liquidity to avoid any cash calls. That reassured the market leaving the stock some 33% higher at the bell.
Mobility One LON:MBO found itself at the foot of the table today, down some 24% although that needs to be taken in the context of yesterday’s bumper gains off the back of that JV and disposal news.
GB Group LON:GBG was in second to last place, although downside here was a modest 19%. A half year trading update clearly left investors jaded and volumes were once again elevated. The stock has now lost well in excess of 40% since the start of the month.
