Better news from Inspiration Healthcare (LON: IHC) and the share price rebounded 50.4% to 20.3p. A $6m contract has been won by the Neonatal division and the core business is doing well. However, there are further delays to the Middle East contract – the first shipment is awaiting custom clearance – and revenues in the year to January 2025 were £38.3m, rather than the £40.9m forecast. Underlying revenues were 0.8% better than expected, though. The loss was more than £2m. Most of the £1.25m of annual cost savings will come through this year when there should be a return to profit.

Media marketing platform developer SEEEN (LON: SEEN) says 2024 revenues grew from $2.1m to $3.2m following a strong second half. This suggests that the business is gaining momentum and the current annual run-rate for revenues is $5m, which is in line with forecasts. A large publisher has contracted SEEEN to manage its video library on YouTube. SEEN has IP that can maximise the income from these videos. Revenues were below forecasts but the positive outlook meant that the share price still jumped 46.2% to 4.75p.

Invinity Energy Systems (LON: IES) has signed a partnership with Frontier Power and it will provide the partner with flow batteries for potential projects supported by the UK’s long duration cap and floor mechanism, where applications should commence in the summer. Frontier Power has reserved up to 2GWh of manufacturing capacity to underpin its bids. There will be an upfront fee when projects have been won. There could also be international opportunities. The share price improved 8.33% to 13p.

Oil and gas explorer Corcel (LON: CRCL) has raised £2.72m at 0.16p/share, which was a premium to the previous closing price. The cash will be invested in increasing the stake in the Kwanza Basin and on studies ahead of a new seismic campaign in Angola, which should happen before the end of the year. There are warrants attached to the placing shares that could raise up to £3.8m if exercises. The share price rose 6.67% to 0.16p.

FALLERS

Serica Energy (LON: SQZ) says that problems caused by storm Eowyn have led to the shutting down of production from the 46%-owned Triton FPSO in the North Sea. The operator Daba identified damage to equipment. Repairs are underway and production should restart before the end of March. Serica Energy is likely to downgrade its full year production guidance from the current level of 4,000boe/day. The share price slipped 13% to 125.35p.

Transense Technologies (LON: TRT) reported interim figures showing revenues 36% ahead at £2.46m, although pre-tax profit was 13% lower at £550,000. Hiring is going on to build up the business to cope with further growth and this is holding back short-term profit. Full year pre-tax profit is expected to edge up to £1.6m this year, before slipping back to £1.3m in the year to June 2026. It should then return to growth. The company recently secured a new distribution agreement with Haltec Corporation, a US tyre valve company focused on mining, truck and aviation sectors. Cash was £1.19m at the end of 2024, but it rose to £1.87m at the end of January 2025. The share price declined 11.2% to 134.5p.

Katoro Gold (LON: KAT) plans to acquire 31 Explore, which has mining claims in Ontario, Canada. The mining claims include lithium bearing pegmatites and rare earth elements. There have been additional claims staked next to the Pearl lithium project since the announcement of the acquisition, which requires shareholder approval of resolutions at a general meeting to be held on 28 February. The consideration for the acquisition is 375 million warrants exercisable at 0.1p each and 375 million warrants exercisable at 0.15p each. Katoro Gold is raising £317,500 at 0.05p/share and another 38 million shares will be issued to pay fees. The par value of shares has to be reduced so that the shares can be issued at this price. The share price fell 5% to 0.0475p.

The FTSE 100 was trading in a holding pattern on Tuesday after positive UK jobs data helped fuel positive sentiment, but recent strength in the pound capped gains.

Much of the FTSE 100’s rally to all-time highs in the early weeks of 2025 can be attributed to a weakening pound and the support it provides for overseas earners. Now that the pound is strengthening, this support has morphed into a headwind which is weighing on the index.

“Strength in sterling is typically bad news for the UK’s flagship index because it hits the relative value of its constituents’ dominant overseas earnings,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

From a macro perspective, investors will have one eye on the beginning of Trump’s effort to bring the Ukraine war to an end, which has so far had a positive impact on European stocks.

Antofagasta shares gained on Tuesday after the copper miner said it was working towards increasing production amid rising copper prices.

“‘Doctor Copper’ gets its nickname because the industrial metal’s many uses mean it can be a good guide to global economic health, so it is encouraging to see both the commodity and the share price of major producer Antofagasta start 2025 on an upward trend after last year’s dip,” Russ Mould explained. 

Mould continued to explain how falling interest rates have provided support for the copper price and reignited interest in Antofagasta after a challenging 2025.

“The copper price slid in summer 2024, amid worries about China in particular, as the world’s second-biggest economy grappled with a real estate bust and a slowdown in growth. But interest rate cuts worldwide, and the application of fiscal and monetary stimulus by Beijing to try and boost growth, are helping the industrial metal build some price momentum in 2025, a trend which Antofagasta will welcome,” Mould said.

BT was the top faller, sinking 6%, on the news it had been downgraded by Citi.

Intercontinental Hotels shares fell 3% despite the group announcing a 7% increase in full-year revenue and 10% jump in operating profit. Shareholders were more concerned about the $110m splurge on the Ruby hotel brand, which operates 20 hotels across Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

“Intercontinental Hotels Group has beaten analyst expectations this morning, with its biggest region, the United States performing particularly well. China continues to lag but despite this the group is continuing to add units in the country,” said Adam Vettese, market analyst at eToro.

“Ordinarily this, alongside a new $900m buyback programme as well as a 10% dividend hike might have seen shares bid well, but they are slightly off this morning as investors digest the relatively chunky outlay for the acquisition of Ruby hotels. There also may be an element of profit taking in play as shares have soared over 40% since the beginning of last year. Shareholders will now hope IHG can deliver more of the same and keep the growth trajectory up.”

Anglo American is ramping up efforts to streamline its business amid takeover pressure from BHP with the sale of its nickel business.

Mining giant Anglo American has struck a deal to sell its Brazilian nickel business to Asian metals group MMG Limited in a transaction worth up to $500 million.

The sale, announced today, will see MMG acquire Anglo American’s two operating ferronickel facilities in Brazil—Barro Alto and Codemin—along with two undeveloped projects, Jacaré and Morro Sem Boné.

Under the terms of the agreement, Anglo American will receive an initial payment of $350 million when the deal completes. The company could earn an additional $100 million through a price-linked bonus scheme, whilst a further $50 million may be paid if MMG proceeds with developing the greenfield projects.

News of the nickel sale comes a day after Anglo American outlined the timeline for the listing of its platinum business.

“The sale of our nickel business after a highly competitive process marks a further important milestone towards simplifying our portfolio to create a more highly valued copper, premium iron ore, and crop nutrients business,” said Duncan Wanblad, Chief Executive of Anglo American.

“Today’s agreement, together with those signed in November 2024 to sell our steelmaking coal business, is expected to generate a total of up to $5.3 billion of gross cash proceeds, reflecting the high quality of our steelmaking coal and nickel businesses. MMG is well-respected as a safe and responsible operator and we believe our agreement represents a strong outcome not only for our shareholders, but also for our employees and Brazilian stakeholders. We will work together to ensure a successful transition.

“Anglo American’s portfolio focus, exceptional asset quality and growth options offer a differentiated investment proposition for investors. We are unlocking the inherent value of all of Anglo American as we create a much simpler, more resilient and agile business that will enable full value transparency in the market.”

Assura plc has unanimously rejected a takeover proposal from private equity firm KKR, declaring that the offer “materially undervalued” the healthcare property company and its future prospects.

The proposal, which was submitted to Assura’s board on 13 February, outlined a non-binding cash offer of 48 pence per share for the company. KKR has not submitted any revised offers since the rejection.

KKR has already submitted four offers, and one would think they’ll be back again before long with a refreshed bid.

Assura shares are down heavily over the past two years and trade at just 12x earnings with a 7% yield. There’s still plenty of wiggle room for KKR to snap up Assura at bargain prices.

In a related development, USS Investment Management Limited (USSIM), acting on behalf of the Universities Superannuation Scheme, announced it would not pursue an offer for Assura, either independently or as part of a consortium with KKR. This decision is binding except under specific circumstances detailed in USSIM’s separate announcement.

The FTSE 100 rallied on Monday amid a broad European rally driven by defence stocks sparked by positioning for greater defence spending.

Donald Trump’s approach to Ukraine peace negotiations has strengthened the argument that Europe must bolster its armed forces with investors quickly buying up defence shares, including London’s BAE Systems and Rolls Royce.

“European markets pushed ahead on Monday amid talk of greater defence spending, M&A activity and a series of important political meetings,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Ukraine peace talks topped the agenda, while Chinese president Xi Jinping undertook a rare meeting with some of China’s biggest tech firms to boost business sentiment.”

BAE Systems was the top FTSE 100 riser as investors tweaked their portfolios to reflect a possible increase in defence spending.

“Comments by secretary general Mark Rutte that NATO members will have to boost their defence spending by ‘considerably more than 3%’ of GDP put a rocket underneath defence stocks. BAE Systems jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 risers list as investors hoped its earnings prospects would be greatly improved. Mid-cap defence player Chemring also enjoyed a boost.

BAE Systems shares surged by 7% while Rolls-Royce gained 3%, reaching an all-time record high.

Away from the defence sector, Barclays and NatWest enjoyed buying pressure following a bout of profit-taking last week. Both banks dipped after releasing their results, but the weakness proved short-lived, with investors piling back in and sending the pair higher by more than 3%.

Barratt Redrow added 1%, and Persimmon was flat after Rightmove said house prices showed signs of slowing, although sales remained robust.

“UK asking prices rose modestly from January to February, slightly below the typical seasonal gain, with the year-on-year increase also slowing according to data from Rightmove,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Despite this, sales activity remains solid, with strong buyer demand and an uptick in new sellers. After a tough 2024, housebuilders have generally been upbeat about the outlook for 2025, and the steady market activity supports some cautious optimism.”