Having hit a new record high during yesterday’s session, the FTSE 100 today advances by a further seven points to 7,628. Miners and financial companies led the way including a 1.4% gain from Anglo American (AAL) and 1.1% hike from Old Mutual (OML).
There was a notable absence of trading updates and financial results from large and mid-cap stocks.
Among the select pieces of mid-cap news was further selling of Biffa (BIFF) stock by a divisional director, following some disposals before Christmas. Jeff Anderson, managing director of Biffa’s Industrial & Commercial division, sold £562,830 worth of shares in the waste management group.
Small cap news was dominated by the resources, engineering and tech sectors.
Oil and gas firm Providence Resources (PVR:AIM) said oil major Total had exercised its option to farm-in for a 35% interest and operatorship to the FEL 2/14 project off the south west coast of Ireland.
Furthermore, a period of exclusivity has been granted to a potential farm-in partner for the Barryroe project. It didn't reveal the identity of the potential partner, but said successful negotiations would deliver a multi-well programme.
The news pushed up shares in Providence by 8.5% to 6.38p. It also benefited Lansdowne Oil & Gas (LOGP:AIM) which owns 20% of the Barryroe field, sending its share price up by 75.8% to 1.45p.
Eqtec (EQT:AIM) jumped 37% to 3.42p after completing the acquisition of Eqtec Iberia SL, an engineering company specialising in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of power plants.
Chief executive Luis Sanchez said: 'Today marks a milestone in Eqtec’s development and is a transformational step for the company in refocusing its strategy into the energy-from-waste market in the UK and Europe.
'With our patented gasification technology, a strong pipeline of projects and relationships with some of the global market leaders in the energy sector, the board believes Eqtec is well positioned to become a leading player in creating electricity by converting waste into synthetic gas.'
Internet of Things investment company Tern (TERN:AIM) said its 56.8%-owned investee business DA had received commitment for a convertible secured loan of up to $1,688,684 from DA's existing shareholders, including Tern.
Tern has committed to contributing up to $721,162 to the DA Loan, which will be provided in two tranches. Its shares jumped 16.7% to 2.62p.
Life sciences company TyraTech (TYR:AIM) was lifted 10% to 2.75p after being given permission by its shareholders to sell its human lice products brand Vamousse to Alliance Pharma (APH:AIM). It will pay an initial cash consideration of $13m with further payments of up to $4.5m based on the achievement of agreed sales performance targets for Vamousse in 2019 and 2020.
Mining group Metals Exploration (MTL:AIM) bounced 6.5% to 4.12p as investors were relieved about talks to defer a loan repayment.
Retail sector software provider Oneview (ONEV:AIM) fell 4% to 11.88p despite reporting a 75% hike in half year revenue to $1.8m and a $2.7 pre-tax loss (2016: $2.4m loss). It said recurring revenue increased by 359% to $0.9m and the cash position at the period end (30 September 2017) was $0.6m.
