Advanced coating provider Hardide (LON: HDD) continues to win new business and this has sparked an upgrade in the forecast for 2025-26. The latest order is from a North American energy company, and it is worth $1m. This should be delivered in the second half. Cavendish has upgraded its earnings forecast by one-quarter to 1.9p/share on a £1m increase in forecast revenues to £9m. That shows the operational gearing of the business. The share price jumped 31.25% to 21p.

Xtract Resources (LON: XTR) has agreed a joint venture with Oval Mining and Cooperlemon Consultancy to develop the Silverking copper mining operations. This project is within three months of production commencing. The share price gained 31.3% to 1.05p.

Chesterfield Special Cylinders (LON: CSC) says the defence order book continues to strengthen following a new contract for specialised pressure vessels for French navy submarine. Management believes it could gain a major contract for hydrogen storage systems during this year. This year will be second half weighted and full year revenues are expected to be significantly higher. Revenues are forecast to be 18% ahead at £19.5m and the company should move close to breakeven. The share price improved 13.7% to 54p.

Energy efficiency services provider Earnz (LON: EARN) released a positive statement concerning the recent Government announcement of its Warmer Homes Plan. This covers solar panel, heat pump and batteries installations. Earnz says that there is increasing order activity from the social housing sector, which is seeking to access the £15bn of potential spending to make housing more energy efficient. The share price is 11.7% higher at 5.75p.

Cyber security services and software provider Shearwater Group (LON: SWG) has secured a three-year contract renewal worth £9m. This is an expansion of the previous contract and relates to email security and inside threat management. This helps to underpin the expectation of a pre-tax profit of £1.1m in the year to June 2026. The share price increased 8.51% to 51p. The shares are trading on eleven times forecast earnings and net cash of £7m is forecast for the end of June 2026.

FALLERS

Trellus Health (LON: TRLS), which has developed a digital platform to manage chronic health conditions, says it has enough funding for most of the first quarter of 2026, having reduced cash burn to $400,000/month, and it is in talks for additional funding. Revenues were $545,000 in 2025. Last year, the agreement with Pfizer to license patient support educational content for inclusion in Pfizer’s IBD digital application was renewed and it could be expanded this year. Trellus Health has begun launching the programme to support recruitment and enrolment optimisation for an ongoing mid-stage immunology and inflammation clinical trial sponsored by Takeda. The share price declined 29% to 0.675p.

Oil and gas producer Jadestone Energy (LON: JSE) averaged 19,829 boe/day, which was at the lower end of the guidance range. Production at Akatara was ahead of plan. Production costs fell from $282.8m to $243m. Revenues edged up from $395m to $408.1m after a 13% reduction in the realised oil price. Net debt was $89m  at the end of 2025. The lower oil price outlook will spark a non-cash impairment of assets in the 2025 accounts. The share price fell 7.48% to 23.5p.

Content creation and advertising services provider LBG Media (LON: LGB) increased revenues 10% to £92.2m in the year to September 2025. Pre-tax profit improved from a pro forma £20.3m to £20.8m. Zeus has upgraded its 2025-26 forecast revenues by 6% to £108m, while pre-tax profit is maintained at £21.7m because of the change in the mix of revenues. The share price slid 5.49% to 86p.

PACSCo (LON; PACS), formerly Agriterra, shares returned from suspension down 4.22% to 0.431p. This followed publication of full year and subsequent interim results. The main business has been sold, and the company is a shell.

The FTSE 100 touched a fresh intraday record high on Tuesday as gold and silver prices stabilised, but the gains evaporated as the session progressed, with RELX sinking 10%.

London’s leading index benefited from a rebound in diversified miners on Tuesday, as investors took a broad-brush approach to piling back into the sector.

The FTSE 100 touched fresh intraday highs of 10,373 before easing back. Gold was 4% higher at 4,920 at the time of writing.

However, mounting losses elsewhere eventually pushed the index lower, with sharp declines for RELX, Experian, and Pearson as a new AI tool potentially curbing demand for their services.

RELX was the FTSE 100 top faller after AI firm Anthropic revealed a new AI tool that threatens legal software providers.

Precious metals

Unsurprisingly, Endeavour Mining was top of the leaderboard again with a 5% rally while Fresnillo added 3% as gold and silver price firmed up.

“The sharp sell-off in gold over the past few days has encouraged investors to buy on the dip, scooping up the precious metal in their droves and making it sparkle again,” explained Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Gold has delivered such strong rewards to investors over the past year that many people will have treated the recent sell-off as a New Year’s sale, a chance to grab more metal at a discounted price. Gold bugs have doubled down rather than run for the hills.”

Anglo American and Antofagasta were 3% higher.

European stocks also received a boost to sentiment from a strong session in Asia after India struck a trade deal with the US.

“With the sharp cut in US tariffs from 50% to 18% in the US-India deal, and with this coming shortly after India sealed a landmark Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, the timing alone could reset investor sentiment and growth expectations significantly after a weak 2025,” explained James Thom, Senior Investment Director of Asian Equities at Aberdeen Investments.

Improving sentiment helped lift cyclical sectors, with banks among the risers. Lloyds added 1.3% while NatWest gained 1.2%.

But for all the positivty the threat of an AI tool to London’s AI adopters cast a shadow over trade on Tuesday.

Advanced surface-coating specialist Hardide plc (AIM: HDD) has secured a substantial £1 million follow-on order from a key North American customer.

The order, from the same ‘major new North American customer’ revealed in the company’s 1 December announcement, is scheduled for delivery in the second half of Hardide’s financial year ending 30 September 2026.

The £1 million deal adds to an initial £1.75m deal announced in December last year.

In late January, Hardide announced its annual results, showing a 30% increase in revenue and a 50% jump in gross profit for the year to 30 September. These two orders ensure the firm is off to a good start this year, and management now expects FY26 financial performance to exceed previous forecasts.

The additional revenue will fund infrastructure upgrades at Hardide’s Martinsville plant. The improvements aim to boost operational efficiency and accommodate surging demand across North America. The company plans to finance the investment with proceeds from the latest order, along with existing resources.

Hardide shares were 20% higher at the time of writing.

Plus500, the global fintech group, has entered the American retail prediction markets segment through its US trading platform, Plus500 Futures. The new offering includes products from Kalshi Exchange, the first regulated event-based contracts exchange in the United States.

Prediction markets allow participants to trade contracts based on the outcomes of real-world events, functioning as a transparent, regulated mechanism for expressing views on future developments. These markets have grown increasingly popular amongst both retail and institutional traders in recent years.

Prediction markets such as Polymarket are regularly cited by political and financial commentators when discussing the likelihood of future events.

Through Plus500’s new platform, US customers can access prediction markets covering economic indicators, financial events, geopolitical developments, and other measurable outcomes. Plus500 clears the trades directly using its full clearing membership with Kalshi Klear LLC.

The move follows Plus500’s December 2024 appointment as clearing partner for CME Group and FanDuel’s prediction markets platform.

These partnerships provided the company with the foundation to develop proprietary technology and risk-management infrastructure to support the launch of the new US platform.

Defence and space technology specialist Filtronic has delivered half-year results in line with expectations whilst investing heavily for future growth, securing its largest-ever contract and entering H2 with a record order book.

Filtronic reported revenue of £25.3 million for the six months ended 30 November 2025, broadly flat compared to £25.6 million in the same period a year prior.

Adjusted EBITDA fell to £5.1 million from £8.7 million, with operating profit declining to £2.6 million from £6.8 million.

Profits were hit by investments in people, facilities, and product development, which should bolster the foundations for future growth. Despite lower profitability, cash generation improved slightly, with operating cash flow improving to £3.4 million from £2.1 million.

Filtronic shares were marginally lower on Tuesday, which is no surprise given results were in line with expectations and the stock has already added around 80% over the past year.

Strong order momentum

Although profits were lower in H1, there is a lot for investors to look forward to. The period saw significant contract wins, including Filtronic’s largest-ever order, a $62.5 million agreement with SpaceX. The company also secured a €7.0 million multi-year contract with a European space customer and a £13.4 million deal with a leading European defence prime, demonstrating accelerating customer diversification.

Filtronic has notably entered the second half with a record order book, with approximately 90% of FY2026 revenues now covered by contracted orders, providing strong visibility.

Following strong momentum in new business activity, the firm remains confident it will meet current market expectations for FY2026 revenues and EBITDA, supported by a record order book and growing customer diversification across core markets.

“The first half of the year demonstrated the strength of Filtronic’s positioning in markets where performance, reliability and security are mission critical,” said Nat Edington, Chief Executive Officer.

“Demand across our space, aerospace and defence markets remains robust, and our focus on high-frequency RF technologies continues to differentiate us with customers operating in the most demanding environments.

“With a record order book, increasing customer diversification and the business now operating at greater scale, we have entered the second half confident of continuing our planned growth.”

The FTSE 100 completed a notable reversal on Monday after starting the day deep in the red amid a metals selloff that hit precious metals and copper miners.

London’s leading index fell as low as 10,145 before rebounding to trade 0.35% higher at 10,258 at the time of writing.

“Commodities markets have experienced a significant shockwave, with metal prices down sharply. This has reversed a winning trade for the plethora of commodity producers on the FTSE 100,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Miners including Fresnillo and Antofagasta, and oil producers BP and Shell, were pulled into the red as investor sentiment towards their sectors wanes and earnings prospects are dampened as the prices of their goods have dropped sharply in a short space of time.

“Gold has now fallen 21% from its $5,594 per ounce peak on 29 January to an intraday low of $4,403 per ounce. Silver has fallen by more, down 32% since its year-to-date high less than a week ago. Copper and oil also fell in value.”

FTSE 100’s rebound on Monday was fuelled by the buying of heavily hit miners and overseas earners, including AstraZeneca, Unilever and GSK.

InterContinental Hotels Group was the top riser, adding 2.7%.

Endeavour Mining was the top faller at the time of writing, down 3%, but was well off the lows of the session. The same could be said of Fresnillo that was down 2.7% at the time of writing.

Housebuilders were marginally higher after Nationwide said UK house prices rose 1% in the year to January.

“Today’s modest rise in UK house prices points to underlying resilience, but momentum remains constrained by affordability pressures and a ‘higher for longer’ interest rate backdrop,” said Daniel Austin, CEO and co-founder at ASK Partners.

“While recent rate cuts signal easing inflation, they are unlikely to transform market conditions overnight. Mortgage pricing has improved, yet buyer and developer confidence remains fragile following a Budget that offered little direct stimulus for housing.”

Persimmon rose 0.7% while Barratt’s added 0.1%.

Continued volatility

One would expect the session to remain choppy, with markets still pondering the implications of Kevin Warsh taking over from Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, and Trump’s nominee set to shake up traditional thinking on the central bank’s approach to monetary policy.

“Markets tend to talk about new Fed chairs in terms of “hawk versus dove,” but that framing misses the shift a Warsh Fed would represent,” explained Lale Akoner, global market analyst at eToro.

“This wouldn’t be a tightening shock, nor a return to ultra-easy policy. Rates could still move lower, with one or two cuts likely, but the bigger change would be in how support is delivered. A Warsh Fed would rely less on balance-sheet expansion and heavy forward guidance, and more on market pricing, private capital, and fundamentals.”

In addition to considerations around the new Fed chair, geopolitical risks haven’t gone away and are likely to drive trade later in the week.

Blue Star Capital (LON: BLU) investee company SatoshiPay’s Vortex fiat-to-crypto infrastructure platform processed more than $10m of transactions in January, more than double the level in December. There are plans to expand in the US. The share price jumped 41.2% to 12p.

Healthy snacks supplier Tooru (LON: TOO) says that free-from OAF has increased the number of products in Tesco and the number of stores they are sold in. Three more products will be added after Easter. Asda will start selling OAF products in April. The share price rose 17.4% to 0.27p.

Localisation and digital media services provider Zoo Digital (LON: ZOO) is seeing signs of recovery in activity and has received initial orders from two studios. Gillian Wilmot and Mickey Kalifa are stepping down from the board after many years and Nathalie Schwarz will replace Gillian Wilmot as chair. Two new non-executive directors will be appointed. The share price increased 16.2% to 10.75p.

Full year revenues at restaurants operator Various Eateries (LON: VARE) were in line with expectations at £52.4m, but margins were better that expected and the loss was lower than expected at £2.4m. There was 2% like-for-like growth in revenues and there was a strong performance over the Christmas period. Zeus has reduced its 2025-26 loss estimate to £1m with forecast net cash of £1.9m. The share price gained 11.4% to 12.25p.

Tungsten West (LON: TUN), which owns the Devon-based Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine, has published an updated project value on the back of strong metals prices. The NPV7.5% has increased from $190m to $1.7bn. The debt financing discussions are continuing with multiple lenders. Important equipment is being ordered as the company seeks to restart operations at the mine. The share price improved 8.31% to 21.5p.

FALLERS

Image Scan (LON: IGE) says a major defence contract that was going to use the company’s ThreatScan® portable X‑ray systems has been terminated. The was a 36-month programme that would have been a major contributor to 2026-27 and 2027-28 revenues. The termination reduces the order book from £4.67m to over £1m. The share price slumped 31.7% to 1.4p.

Ethernity Networks (LON: ENET) has raised £367,500 at 0.004p/share. This will repay short-term debt and provide working capital. Warrants are being issued and could raise a similar amount, and this could provide enough cash for most of 2026. In 2025, revenues were $1.03m and they could be more than $1.7m this year. The share price declined 21.4% to 0.0044p.

At the weekend Serabi Gold (LON: SRB) reported a fatality at the Palito complex in Brazil. This relates to a traffic accident underground. Production in the area has stopped but it should resume in a few days. This is the second fatality in one week. The other was at the production face of the Coringa mine. The authorities are investigating both deaths. The share price fell 20.6% to 260p.

Bars and escape rooms operator XP Factory (LON: XPF) had a weak Christmas trading period at Boom Battle Bars, where like-for-like revenues were 7.2% lower. Escape Hunt trading has held up with like-for-like growth of 6.4%. The pace of new openings will slow because of the weaker trading environment. Net debt is higher than expected at £5.6m. Cavendish expects a pre-tax loss of £1.3m this year and £1.5m next year. The business is still cash generative. The share price fell below 12p early in the day, but it has recovered some of the loss and is down 3.57% at 13.5p.