As the FTSE 100 heads for its worst week since mid-April, small-cap stocks have enjoyed a more serene time of it.
A roiling bond market put a risk premium on blue-chips, so, flipping the usual playbook, investors sought out bargain-basement growth stocks.
The trickle-down, and it was a trickle, led to a 0.5% rise in the AIM All-Share, stemming weeks of selling.
Benchmarked against the Footsie, down 1.9% at the time of writing, that represented a solid start to the new quarter.
From here to Ethernity
Ethernity Networks climbed 217% this week, bumping against the price at which 14.9 billion (yes, billion) warrants can be exercised.
They briefly touched 0.0046p earlier on Friday before falling back.
The AIM-listed chip technology group issued the warrants at 0.004p alongside two February placings. Above that level, holders can exercise and sell at a profit, which tends to cap any rally.
Full exercise would raise £597,500, a lifeline for a company with £25,000 in cash at the end of June.
There has been no fresh news since interims flagged efforts to license seven US patents covering AI infrastructure technology.
Risers on the march
ProService Building Services Marketplace jumped 51% after shareholders gave the board the power to raise new investment quickly.
MicroSalt moved 39% higher after the low-sodium salt maker said it was confident of $15 million in sales for 2027.
Advanced talks with major food manufacturers could add $3.1 million this year, lifting full-year revenue to $4.5 million. Half-year revenue hit a record $1.4 million, up 67%.
Nativo Resources rose 37% after the gold developer secured a three-month repayment holiday on its £2.1 million unsecured loan.
Winding down
Litigation Capital Management crashed 75% after the litigation funder said it would wind down, with its lender first in line for any cash.
A strategic review ended without a deal, so LCM will make no new investments and will use case proceeds to repay lender Northleaf.
Metir shares fell 50% after the water testing technology group published its interim results. It has been a rocky period, which looks set to continue for the rest of the year.
The eye, however, was drawn to the going concern section, which is the accountants' unvarnished assessment of a company's prospects.
In it was this nugget: a fundraising "remains an acute priority". The inability to tap new investment would, investors were told, lead to an "insolvency process".
TomCo dropped 35% after it issued discounted, dilutive new shares to bring in £700,000 of new investment.
The oiler will use the funds to progress its ambitions in Utah, so this should be a case of short-term pain for backers in return for longer term gain.
Checkit sells software and sensors that replace clipboards and paper checklists for businesses with lots of staff on the shop floor rather than at desks.
After putting up the 'for sale' sign in March, the company has ended the process without finding a buyer willing to match its valuation. The stock slumped 28%.
A pat on the back from the pink 'un
And finally, Pathos Communications has won recognition that may at last prod the market into a more realistic appraisal of the public relations technology company's prospects.
The Financial Times named it the fastest-growing British business in its sector.
Founded by former BBC presenter Omar Hamdi in 2019, Pathos floated on AIM last December. It turns the traditional PR retainer on its head, charging clients only when an article appears in a named publication.
Two artificial intelligence tools, PathosMind and Pressella, research prospects, draft angles and sit in on client calls.
The FT nod lifted the shares 8% to 27p on Friday. Cavendish, its broker, has a 42p price target.
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