With the AIM All Share index up by more than 10 points since we last filed two weeks ago, I’m thinking perhaps we should take a break more often… Wednesday’s session got off to a good start but that fractionally hotter than expected CPI data from the US is causing unease over how quickly rate cuts will now be seen. Gains had been in excess of five points before the release but around half of that had been given back by 3pm, when the index stood up just over two points at 753.41.
- Harvest Minerals +88%
- IQE +28%
- LoopUp Group +27%
- Byotrol -33%
- Chamberlin -24%
Harvest Minerals LON:HMI was topping the board by a significant margin, trading 88% higher at copy time. The company published two updates this morning, one relating to fertiliser sales although the more interesting piece was the discovery of potential rare earth elements at its Arapuá project in Brazil. Further study is needed here and the spread is a wide 13% but the news did briefly take the stock to levels not seen since late last summer.
IQE LON:IQE was in second place, up 28% off the back of full year numbers, along with news that an existing supply partnership was to be expanded. The semiconductor industry has been through a sluggish spell but momentum does now seem to be accelerating, leaving the stock trading up 28% by late afternoon.
LoopUp Group LON:LOOP gets the notable mention, adding 27% on its final day of trading as the company prepares to migrate its listing onto JP Jenkins. There’s quite a wide spread being quoted however and the stock is well down since the delisting announcement was made.
Byotrol LON:BYOT was the day’s worst performer, off 33% at the time of writing. This is however a minnow of a stock trading on an extremely wide spread, with today’s losses simply reversing some of the gains seen earlier in the week.
Chamberlin LON:CMH was in second to last place, off some 24% in the wake of a trading update. Demand was below management expectations, with those subdued sales impacting both profitability and working capital. A reversal has been seen as Q4 gets underway but investor conviction here appears lacking, despite optimism over improvements in near term performance.
