Gem Diamonds soars 70% as first half swings to profit #
Let's take a closer look at some of Thursday's standout news.
Gem Diamonds (LSE:GEMD) rocketed 70.4% to 10.65p after half-year results showed revenue climbing to $59.7m from $45.4m a year earlier, with underlying EBITDA turning to $8.6m from a negative $2.6m loss in H1 2025. The company swung to an attributable profit of $0.6m against a loss of $11.7m a year ago, with cash on hand rising to $20.2m from $3.8m at the end of December and net debt cut to $0.5m from $20.1m.
Hilton Food Group climbed 14.42% to 722p after lifting its full-year adjusted profit guidance to a range of £66m-£71m from £60m-£65m, even as first-half adjusted profit from continuing operations fell 5.2% to £32.8m on weakness at its Foppen business. Panmure Liberum has reiterated its Buy rating with an 800p target, and AJ Bell (LSE:AJB)'s Russ Mould said the company has stabilised after a difficult 2025 by narrowing its focus to core red meat and convenience food operations, adding that the update shows robust underlying demand that reassures on the medium-term outlook.
Crest Nicholson (LSE:CRST) extended its slide, losing 10.28%, to 55p after it cut guidance earlier today.
Blackbird is up 14.95% after reporting net paid subscribers at elevate.io rose 75% in six weeks on renewed marketing drives, while Jangada Mines has gained 13.7% as investee companies Fodere Titanium and Axies Ventures both move toward IPOs.
Solvonis Therapeutics is up 10.64% on a patent allowance for its PTSD candidate SVN-114, and Frontier Developments (AIM:FDEV) has risen 7.32% after announcing a fully Frontier-funded development and publishing agreement with Disney (NYSE:DIS) for a new game.
Zinc Media (LSE:ZIN) added 6.19% after winning a $6.1m feature film commission in the Middle East, and East Star Resources (LSE:EST) is up 5.97% on geophysical survey results identifying a new chargeability anomaly at its Snowy epithermal gold target in Kazakhstan.
Futura Medical (AIM:FUM) remains down 15.15% at 0.28p despite confirming a £1.6m fundraise and the launch of a formal sale process alongside a retail offer via the BookBuild platform.
FTSE 100 turns positive as bond calm and softer oil steady the tape #
The FTSE 100 nudged into positive territory at 10,762, up 6 points.
It follows what AJ Bell (LSE:AJB)'s Russ Mould described as "a measure of calm in government bond markets and a slight moderation in oil prices" helping steady Asia overnight and setting London up for a flat-to-firm open, though he flagged that Middle East-related inflation and borrowing-cost risks continue to hang over the picture.
Gold meanwhile pushed on, reaching around $4,485, up 1.6%, and the precious-metals stock in London held gains.
Wheaton Precious Metals (LSE:WPM) is up 3.64% at 11,400p, while Greatland Gold (AIM:GGP) has added 3.34% to 620p..
M&G, Breedon, and Sunda Energy among early movers #
M&G has dropped 2.7p to 333.7p even as the insurer published its half-year results and confirmed the previously flagged 6.8p interim dividend, leaving the share among the session's sharper fallers.
Breedon Group (LSE:BREE) is down 4.46% to 325.8p, the heaviest faller on the FTSE 100 board this morning.
Wheaton Precious Metals (LSE:WPM) was up 3.64% gain to 11,400p, alongside Greatland Gold (AIM:GGP) up 3.34% to 620p, also Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV) added 1.51% to 4,638p.
Associated British Foods (LSE:ABF) and Airtel Africa (LSE:AAF) were up 1.72% and 1.56% respectively.
Sunda Energy (AIM:SNDA) is among the notable risers across the market, up 8.35%, after flagging a jump in prospective resources at its Halcon exploration prospect in the Philippines, tied to a partner update from Tetragon Energy showing gross resources now estimated at 8.0 Tcf.
FTSE 100 seen softer ahead of Thursday's open, gold jumps #
The FTSE 100 is seen softer ahead of Thursday's open, with IG's early pre-market quote marked at 10,752, down 6.5 points from Wednesday's close.
It comes after Wall Street finished higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones adding 293 points to close at 53,060.61, the S&P 500 up 0.45% at 7,665.46 and the Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.41% to 26,205.65.
Asia was weaker overnight, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down 496 points, or 0.77%, to 63,829.
The price of gold jumped 1.27% to $4,470 per ounce, extending its safe-haven bid even as the dollar index eased 0.2% to 99.394 and cable ticked up 0.08% against the greenback.
Brent crude oil eased 1.45% to $93.43 per barrel, while WTI was down 1.23% to $88.71 in early pricing.
Bitcoin is little changed at $77,406.8.
