Gloomy economic data did little to suppress London stocks this week, as a bumper performance across the board saw a heap of winners emerge on AIM.
Several companies racked up triple-digit percentage gains on the junior market, headed by Fiinu PLC and its even more impressive quadruple-digit percentage surge.
Shares in the fintech skyrocketed 1,560% to reach 8.3p come Friday, boosted by Wednesday’s unveiling of a first deal for its flagship product with an independent UK bank.
Plugin Overdraft, Fiinu’s AI white-label Banking-as-a-Service platform, would be incorporated into the bank's treasury, regulatory reporting and accounting systems, it said.
Once launched, Fiinu would receive royalty fees from the bank's audited profits, with chief executive Marko Sjoblom flagging the strategic collaboration as “a pivotal step”.
News of a collaboration also saw Trellus Health PLC shares soar, this time by 199% to 2.36p over the week.
In partnership with Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc, its digital platform, Trellus Elevate, would be piloted in the US.
Patients with moderate to severe inflammatory bowel disease would be supported via the platform, which integrates data analytics with personalised resilience programs to aid against emotional and physical challenges of chronic conditions.
In turn, Trellus was set to receive an upfront licensing fee and a fixed monthly management fee during the one-year trial.
Quantum Blockchain Technologies PLC was among the triple-digit risers too, jumping 122% to 1.75p after gracing investors with an update on its Bitcoin mining technology.
Method C AI Oracle was now capable of real-time mining on current blockchain blocks, it announced Friday, with the technology having previously been trialled with historic data.
“Following almost three years of R&D efforts, the AI team working on Method C has delivered its first irrefutable result,” chief executive Francesco Gardin noted.
Outperformance in terms of energy consumption and an acceleration in mining speeds was recorded, equating to a 30% improvement versus standard mining technology.
Bumper week in London
It was a broadly strong week for London-listed companies, as albeit sluggish economic data but news of subsiding inflation fuelled bets for a February interest rate cut.
Office for National Statistics data on Wednesday showed headline inflation subsided from 2.6% to 2.5% in December.
Figures on Thursday then showed the UK economy grew slower than expected by 0.1% in November.
Though continuing to paint a dreary picture, the figures aligned to open the door for a Bank of England rate cut next month, which analysts said was all but set in stone.
Equities rallied as a result, with the FTSE 100 heading towards the weekend 2.9% higher and reaching a new all-time record intraday high of 8,489 on Friday morning.
Mid-caps enjoyed an even stronger showing, with the FTSE 250 up 4.3%, while the junior market also surged as the AIM 100 gained almost 1.0% and All-Share index added 0.7%.
Other movers
Hoards of risers on the junior market saw several rack up hefty gains, not least Celadon Pharmaceuticals PLC with a 60% increase to 28.8p.
Celadon flagged a supply deal with Denmark’s Valeos on Thursday, paving the way for it to meet a German medical cannabis contract signed just over a year ago.
Some £26 million in revenue was expected from the three-year German contract, coming in the nick of the time after Celadon in January said it only had a cash runway until March.
T42 IoT Tracking Solutions PLC was among others, soaring 52% after the global shipping containers monitoring firm unveiled a US$5.2 million contract in Latin America.
Resolution of a long-standing dispute with the Department of Health and Social Care over lateral flow tests saw Cambridge Nutritional Sciences PLC gain almost 24%.
Blue Star Capital PLC was also the week’s biggest rises at 7.32p and up 202%, though it said Monday this was for reasons unbeknown to the investment firm.
Sirius Real Estate Ltd shares picked up 7.4% in the meantime after it pointed to robust investor support for a €350 million bond issuance.
Elsewhere, Futura Medical PLC climbed 6.7% on positive results from a sensory study of WSD4000, its gel treatment for female sexual dysfunction.
AIM still faced its share of pressure though, after having grappled with an exodus of company departures last year, with Deltex Medical Group PLC dropping 41% as it became the latest to signal plans for an exit on Thursday.
Gift wrap and greeting card maker IG Design Group headed the junior market’s fallers in the meantime, sliding 60% on a Friday profit warning, where it cited “challenging market conditions”.
Indeed, wider challenges saw AIM face another underperformance against its larger counterparts as the prospect of rate cuts appeared to only partially offset ongoing woes around the likes of high borrowing costs and low sentiment which have gripped recently.