UK shares were heading higher on Tuesday and among notable small cap gainers was internet video group Blinkx PLC (LON:BLNX) .
After what it called a total restructuring strategy, the firm's full year results to end March saw a 68% growth in core programmatic revenues and reduced annualised operating expenses by US$40mln.
Shares added well over 13% in early deals to stand at 19p a pop.
In the wider markets, a strong US finish and firmer oil prices helped FTSE100 higher.
The blue chip index is up around 54 points at the time of writing to 6,205, with miners doing well. The FTSE AIM 100 added 0.08% to 3,385, while the FTSE AIM All share is 0.12% ahead at 725.200.
Brent crude is up an impressive 2.53% to US$49.07, nudging ever closer to US$50, as heavyweight investment bank Goldman Sachs said the market's two years of oversupply had ended and was now in a deficit.
House builder Taylor Wimpey PLC (LON:TW.) was the biggest gainer on the blue chip exchange, as it promised a special payout to shareholders due to the strong demand for property in the UK.
The company said it would pay £1.3bn by the end of 2008 as the continued strength in the UK housing sector appears to continue unabated.
Also higher today was 88 Energy ltd (LON:88E), which added 9.33% to 2.05p, after its boss Dave Wall has bought 2mln additional shares through on market transactions.
It comes after the firm's apparent breakthrough success with a shale discovery in Alaska that may prove to be a major new oil resource play.
Wall bought the shares at a price of 3.75 Australian cents each, giving a deal value of A$75,000.
Meanwhile, Connemara Mining Co (LON:CON) added 11.32% to 2.95p after last week's news that it raised £400,200 via a placing and subscription at 2p per share.
The funds will be used for a drilling programme on the Donegal gold licences and for general working capital.
Also in the mining sector doing well was Canada focused Landore Resources Ltd (LON:LND, up 8.45% to 1.93p as it said it was to re-assess the lithium potential on flagship Junior Lake licence.
A nickel/copper deposit primarily, Landore has been exploring for other metals culminating in a recent gold discovery at BAM East.
Several lithium discoveries have also been logged in the vicinity of Junior Lake, said Landore.
Meanwhile, on the downside Alecto Minerals PLC (LON:ALO) shed over 19% to 0.09p as it raised £665,000 for funds to bring its Matala gold mine in Zambia on stream.
Alecto wants the 400,000 tonnes per year open pit up and running within a year and a feasibility study has indicated a life of around four years 8 months at $1,200 per ounce gold.
SNAP OPEN
The FTSE 100 stood at 6,189 up 37.91 or 0.62%, slightly ahead of expectations, but nonetheless muted given the performance of Wall Street and the Asian markets last night.
Top winner was Taylor Wimpey at 192.10p. Up 7.2 or around 4%. The group promised investors a special payout of about £1.3bn pounds over three years, as the UK housing market stayed strong.
Mediclinic International was the biggest loser at 825.00p, but down only slightly at 0.5% or 4.5p. The group was a huge mover earlier this week.
Elsewhere, the world's biggest bank by assets, China's ICBC Standard Bank, has agreed to buy a massive vault in London. It will be the first Chinese lender to own a vault in London as it looks to grow its precious metals business.
The Competition and Markets Authority has told banks they should cap unarranged overdraft fees and warn customers before they go overdrawn. Regulators say this and other measures could save bank customers £1bn over five years.
Preview 6.50am
Given the strong showing overnight by US markets and this morning by Asian stocks, the expected rise on the FTSE 100 is somewhat measly.
Spread betting quotes indicate the FTSE 100 will open just 17 points up from last night's close of 6,151.
That's despite the US benchmarks rising by a percentage point or more yesterday, on the back of a surging oil price and Warren Buffett's investment vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway, apparently calling the bottom in tech giant Apple Inc's shares.
The oil price broke through the $48 a barrel mark, with West Texas Intermediate for June delivery up 45 cents at US$48.17 a barrel.
The S&P 500 rose 20 points to close at 2,067 while Apple shares led the Nasdaq Composite 58 points (1.2%) higher to 4,775.
The Dow Jones average advanced 175 points to 17,711.
In Asia, heading towards the close, Japanese stocks were shrugging off the effects of a higher oil price, with the Nikkei 225 some 123 points to the good at 16,589.
In Hong Kong, where speculation is rife that a stock trading link with the Shenzhen exchange is in the offing, was 59 points firmer at 19,943, with stockbroking firms in the vanguard.
On the corporate front in the UK, Vodafone Group PLC (LON:VOD), Speedy Hire PLC (LON:SDY) and Blinkx PLC (LON:BLNX) are among the highlights in Tuesday's schedule in London.
If Jefferies' lifting of the target price on Monday is anything to go by then full-year results from Vodafone should cheer the market.
Vodafone's “performance gap” is growing in a European telecoms market that is benefiting from macroeconomic trends and pricing, according to Jefferies analyst Jerry Dellis.
“We expect tomorrow's results to deliver evidence of both,” Dellis said in a note on Monday. “But the key will be that management back up its upbeat commentary post-3Q in FY17 guidance.”
The analyst forecasts 1.6% growth for fourth quarter service revenues, and highlighted the likelihood of positive trends for the German, Italian and Indian operations, whilst noting that there’s a chance the UK business may weigh on performance along with Vodafone's Spanish division.
Crude Oil – Brent for July delivery is trading up 0.53% at US$49.23 a barrel.
Gold – The yellow metal was up around 0.45% at U$1,279.90 an ounce.
Market rumour – Matalan founder John Hargreaves involved in BHS rescue bid: John Hargreaves, private founder of the Matalan retail chain, is the front-man behind a mystery rescue bid for BHS, the Telegraph can exclusively reveal.
City pages
HSBC presses button on IT job cuts: Europe’s biggest bank is to cut 840 information technology jobs as part of a restructuring announced last year.
Google faces €3 billion fine for promoting its own shopping service in searches: Google could be hit with a fine as high as €3 billion (£2.3 billion) from the European Commission in the coming weeks, according to reports.
House prices fall in London’s luxury post codes: London’s luxury post codes have seen house prices fall by as much as 11.8% over the past year, but the property slowdown is a “myth” in much of the rest of the capital.
Britain’s largest water company runs up £250 million black hole in pension pot while foreign owners pocketed almost £2 billion in dividends: Britain’s largest water company has run up a £250 million black hole in its pension pot while its foreign owners have pocketed almost £2 billion in dividends.