Wearable tech group Cloudtag (LON:CTAG) was giving a boost to small cap shares Thursday as it rose almost 29% in early deals to stand at 5.83p.
It came as premier index FTSE100 was losing ground as China inflation data disappointed. Yesterday, trade figures out of the globe's second biggest economy appeared to show a lessening of the slow-down.
But today, the consumer price index rise of 2% year-on-year in May, had been less than the 2.2% rise analysts had expected.
FTSE100 eased back 59 points to 6,242 in early deals with copper giant Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) the biggest laggard - shedding 5.16% to 428.4p.
In small cap world, the FTSE AIM 100 added 0.03% to 3,507, while the FTSE AIM All share fell into the red - dropping 0.02% to 744.480.
Cloudtag told investors it had started to roll-out its wrist-based health and fitness monitors through a raft of major online and retail outlets.
The news was accompanied by a fundraise of £300,000 at 5.05p, a sizeable premium to the close yesterday.
Faring less well today were the big cap housebuilders, which fell as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said house prices were expected to fall over the next few months amid EU referendum uncertainty.
Taylor Wimpey PLC (LON:TW.) dropped 2.91% to 183.60 and Berkeley Group Holdings (LON:BKG) lost 2.93% to 3,144p.
Home Retail Group (LON:HOME) nudged up 0.62% to 162 as it said first quarter sales at Argos grew by 2.6% to £868mln.
The group remains on track to complete the proposed transaction with J Sainsbury plc (LON: SBRY), which has bought it, in the third quarter of the calendar year.
The biggest London loser was Essentra (LON:ESNT), down almost 27% at 696p as it warned of lower full-year profit citing challenging market conditions in filter products and delays in some large projects.
Meanwhile, top riser was British Polythene Industries Plc (LON: BRPI), up 32.41% to 960p as packaging firm RPC Group Plc (LON: RPC) said it would buy the group for around £261mln in a cash-and-stock deal.
Elsewhere, medtech group Deltex Medical Group plc (LON:DEMG) sparked up 8.57% to 4.75p as it told investors it has signed up two new accounts in the US for its oesophageal Doppler monitoring (ODM) systems.
A major hospital in San Francisco’s Bay Area, which marks the sixth account on the West coast, has placed an order for 50 probes, and is contracted to take 30 probes per month going forward.
W Resources PLC (LON:WRES) nudged 3.37% higher as it unveiled a maiden resource estimate for the São Martinho gold deposit, part of the CAA Portalegre licence in Northern Portugal.
The project is estimated to host 111,987 ounces of contained gold resources, based on 3mln tonnes of mineralisation at a gold grade of 1.04 grams per tonne.
Polo Resources Limited (LON:POLO) ticked up 0.385 to 3.92p as it confirmed it intends to exercise a right which effectively sees it raise its stake in Blackham Resources, a company with interests in gold and coal assets in Australia.
But global security and services provider Westminster Group PLC (LON:WSG) saw shares nudge 0,97% lower after a recent good run, as it revealed it is now close to breaking even at the underlying earnings (EBITDA) level, as its airport security operations benefit from a recovery in passenger traffic in West Africa.
PREVIEW
London’s FTSE 100 is expected to start Thursday lower. The rally in crude and US equities, helped by a weaker dollar, is being lost in translation for investors in Asia and Europe.
Brent crude starts the day close to US$53 a barrel, up around 2.5%, and US equity markets have been helped higher by the surge in prices.
The Dow Jones closed above 18,000 on Wednesday, after a 66 point (0.37%) gain. The S&P 500 added 0.33% to 2,119 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.26% to 4,974.
As well as ongoing supply issues in certain territories, a weaker US dollar has been a key factor in crude’s rally. It has also boosted gold, which is currently changing hands at around US$1,261.
In Asia, most notable benchmarks were on the back foot. Japan’s Nikkei was pressured, falling 150 points or 0.9% to 16,680.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.14% to 21,297 while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.3% at 2,927.
Australia’s ASX 200 was only slightly lower at 5,366.
In London, spreadbetting and CFD group IG Markets sees the FTSE 100 opening lower. With more than an hour to go before Thursday’s open it is calling the blue-chip benchmark at 6,282 to 6,287.