UK stocks rose in early trading on Tuesday, paring some of Monday's steep losses, as investors attempted to balance reopening optimism with an accompanying surge in coronavirus infections.At 8.30, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 1.2% at 6,923.64 points, having closed 2.3% lower on Monday, or so-called Freedom Day.Leading the charge were miners, oil producers and banks, all sectors highly...

Ariana Resources (AAU:AIM) reckons it could have up to2.7m ounces of gold and 16.1m ounces of silver in its Salinbas project in Turkey, which would represent one of the largest precious metal exploration assets of any miner on AIM.This is only a target at present and is dependent on lots of exploration drilling proving that the company's forecast is correct.The project is next to the high...

Fancy doubling your money in a year by investing in an exciting stock? Sounds great, doesn't it? It's harder than you think, but certainly not impossible.Over the past 12 months, robotic process automation specialist Blue Prism (PRSM:AIM) is up by 439%; online musical equipment retailer Gear4Music (GFM:AIM) has increased by 341%; and computer games service group Keywords Studios (KWS:AIM) is...

Do you see anything odd in the accompanying table? It shows the five best performing stocks in the FTSE 100 on 4 February 2016. All five stocks are mining companies and they've recorded between 10% and 20% share price gains in a single day.To the casual observer, the performance figures may imply the start of a recovery in the mining sector. I do not believe this is true as there is no...

'Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can't buy what is popular and do well.' Warren Buffett's famous quotation certainly resonates with gold mining equities. Five years ago you couldn't move for every Tom, Dick and Harry talking about the merits of the sector, giving you tips on hot prospects and everyone declaring...

London shares remain flat in early trade on Wednesday with miners acting as a drag and offsetting consumer products gains. Wall Street faded overnight, while Asian markets are mixed and European bourses mildly lower this morning. The UK benchmark FTSE 100 is up just a single point at 6,929, although once again midcaps perform far more strongly, the FTSE 250 index rallying 79 points, or 0.4%,...

One of the biggest hurdles in Ariana Resources' (AAU:AIM) career has been cleared as the miner finally securesa forest permit, enabling construction work to start on its Red Rabbit gold mine in Turkey. The shares respond favourably to the news, rising 53% to 1.3p.The £8.6 million cap has been waiting 13 months for the piece of paper, something that's historically been the hardest permit to...

Market commentators reckon Tesco (TSCO), Marks & Spencer (MKS), WH Smith (SMWH) and Debenhams (DEB) could be among the retailers with disappointing trading updates for the Christmas period. Marks & Spencer ran large promotions on its clothing lines in the run up to Christmas which implies that sales weren't good and action was needed to get the tills ringing. Marks & Spencer retreats 0.3% to...

A recurring theme among institutional investors in the wake of last week's Mines & Money conference in London is the lack of effort by miners to communicate with shareholders. Accusations abound that management teams would rather 'hide in the jungle' than do regular face-to-face meetings.With no sign of a strong recovery in commodity prices, it is not surprising to see investors demand more...

Aquarius Platinum (AQP) advanced 2.8% to 37p after extending a collaborative agreement with Anglo American Platinum on the Kroondal mine in South Africa. The two companies share revenues, costs and capital. The new agreement adds another three years to the mine life, meaning Kroondal will run for at least another nine years.But it wasn't good news at sector peer Eastern Platinum (ELR:AIM),...

Bradford-based supermarket group WM Morrison (MRW) nudged ahead 0.5% to 262.4p as investors responded to strategic developments. The fruit and veg seller is expected to unveil an online delivery service at full-year results (14 Mar), according to media reports. It has also bought 49 stores from defunct DVD retailer Blockbuster which will become 'Morrison M Local' convenience stores.Announcing...