The Times: Asian equity markets have soared to record highs overnight amid rising hopes of a peace deal in the Middle East. President Trump has said there is a “very good chance” of the Iran war ending after he offered Tehran a number of concessions, including allowing an eventual return of uranium enrichment, according to a leaked memo.
Comment: There are a couple of interesting points associated with the markets and Iran. The first is that they are behaving as if it will all end smoothly, without World War III, and that the rise in oil prices will not affect the economy. The second point is that so far anything that President Trump has said has been totally unreliable.
Active Energy (AEG) announced that its subsidiary, Active Mining Group, has entered into a services and facilitation agreement with the Private Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan (the “Sheikh’s Office”) and Black Road Investment Group and its affiliated companies (“Black Road”) as a liaison partner. The Agreement establishes a framework to support the Company’s continued expansion within the United Arab Emirates’ regulated digital asset mining sector, with a focus on ultra-low cost power access, licensing and infrastructure scaling.
Comment: AEG is clearly upping the ante in terms of its UAE expansion, with rather important sounding counterparties. What remains the case is that the company continues to make hay in the region, despite or even because of the ongoing Iran conflict. It is pleasing to see the shares bounce back well from their recent dip below 0.1p.
Helios Towers plc (HTWS), the independent mobile tower company, today announced results for the three months to 31 March 2026 HTWS said “I am delighted with our strong first-quarter performance, which highlights the structural growth momentum across our markets. Demand for data and connectivity across Africa and the Middle East remains exceptionally strong, with our mobile operator customers accelerating investment, driving significantly increased demand for our infrastructure. Our tenancy pipeline this year is significant and we are upgrading our financial and operational FY 2026 guidance. We now target a record 3,000 to 3,500 tenancy additions for FY 2026, increasing by 1,000 compared to prior guidance, and all meeting our disciplined return thresholds.”
Comment: Of course, what all investors need these days to bolster their portfolios is a solid infrastructure play, ideally one based on compelling technology. Cue HTWS, which although rather under the radar, is big on mobile towers, and now boasts a £2bn market cap as the shares hit new record highs.
Light Science Technologies Holdings plc (LST), the innovative technology and manufacturing business providing real-world solutions targeting issues including global food security and fire safety, announced that its Contract Electronics Manufacturing division (“CEM”), UK Circuits and Electronics Solutions Limited , has secured a new client in the healthcare devices sector. The first order is valued at c. £160,000, with total annual orders from the customer potentially worth up c.£650,000 per annum going forward, subject to the contract proceeding as expected.
Comment: In the wake of its recent hefty fund raise we see that LST is going full blast in terms of the newsflow, with the contract wins such as today being particularly pleasing. The shares have already more than doubled off their recent lows, a process that one would expect to continue given the fundamental momentum here.
Tap Global Group plc (TAP), an innovative digital finance hub that brings money payments and crypto settlement services together in a single user-friendly app, today announces the full launch of Tap Earn – a yield product offering the Group’s customers competitive variable yields on eligible cryptocurrency and stablecoin holdings, directly within the Tap mobile application. Tap Earn generates revenue from the spread between the gross yield earned by the Group’s treasury management programme and the variable yield paid to participating customers.
Comment: The Bitcoin price may rise and fall, but it would appear that TAP shares seem doomed to trade in the lower reaches of their recent range. While today’s initiative is clearly a good one, the market seems to want rather more than this to get the stock into bull mode.
hVIVO plc (HVO), a purpose-built, full-service international clinical development partner and the world leader in human challenge trials, announced that it has signed a £6 million Clinical Trial Agreement (“CTA”) to conduct a human challenge (HCT) trial on behalf of a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for respiratory viral diseases. The trial will evaluate the monoclonal antibody using the hVIVO Influenza Human Challenge Study Model.
Comment: The contracts keep coming in for HVO, and this has led to a reasonable recovery for the shares from December’s sub 5p doldrums. That said, we have a rather difficult block in progress at 10p which for the time being looks difficult to crack unless we see a tsunami of deals such has been announced today.
Alien Metals Limited (UFO), a minerals exploration and development company, advised that its joint venture partner at the Munni Munni Platinum-Palladium-Copper-Nickel Project, GreenTech Metals Limited (ASX: GRE), has announced results from the Phase 1 drilling programme at Munni Munni in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia. Results from the Phase 1 Munni Munni drilling programme demonstrate new, thicker PGE-Cu-Ni zones and provide expected validation of historic drilling through twin holes and core resampling. New infill drilling results have reported some of the highest individual metal PGE3 (Pt, Pd) + Au grades seen at the Ferguson Reef (8.8g/t PGE3, 0.65% Cu, 0.35% Ni), supporting GreenTech’s focus on shallow zones of high-grade PGE-Cu-Ni mineralisation.
Comment: UFO is always keen to deliver its newsflow, even if it is via GreenTech. The hope here as we going into the summer is that the shares have finally made a lasting floor near 0.1p and can head by towards the top of the 2026 range at 0.2p plus, something that its array of metals more than justifies.
Ariana Resources plc (AAU), the mineral exploration and development company with gold project interests in Africa and Europe, announced an update on field and other technical programmes that are underway at its 100% owned Dokwe Gold Project in Zimbabwe, which are contributing toward the Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”). AAU “Our technical team continues to make excellent progress towards completing the Feasibility Study for the Dokwe Gold Project and its associated technical work. We now have about 40 people on site at Dokwe across the Ariana and Xinhai teams, with diamond drilling underway as part of a three-rig programme totalling an initial c.3,500m, focusing on geotechnical and metallurgical drilling.”
Comment: It is a shame that for years AAU has been singled out for crackpot coverage / commentary, apparently through no fault of its own. If this were not the case perhaps the market would actually appreciate what the company is doing at Dokwe and beyond rather more that it has to date.
The Smarter Web Company (SWC) announced a direct subscription (“Subscription”) by Oliver Hewett, Group Financial Controller, for new ordinary shares in the Company. The Subscription has raised £502,034.23 (before expenses) through the issue of 1,283,975 Ordinary Shares at £0.391 per share. The Subscription follows Oliver’s appointment as Group Financial Controller on 27 April 2026 using his personal funds at the closing bid price on 06 May 2026. The Board considers a personal investment of this nature by a senior employee to be consistent with the Company’s broader culture of alignment between management and shareholders.
Comment: It is difficult to know whether our Oliver is leading from the front, or taking one for the team in terms of the rather hefty share purchase? Perhaps it is a mixture of the two. At least he is doing so as the SWC share price and the BTC price make a recovery.
GEO Exploration Limited (GEO) announced the commencement of a structured, data-driven exploration programme at its 100% owned Gorge Project in Western Australia, representing a key milestone in advancing the Company’s gold portfolio. The programme marks GEO’s transition from historical data compilation into active field execution, integrating modern geophysical datasets with targeted geological validation to refine priority target areas and advancing the project towards a maiden drilling campaign. This work is designed to unlock the potential of what the Company believes to be a potentially underexplored gold system, with mineralisation already identified over approximately 5km of strike.
Comment: GEO is mentioned here today mainly on the basis that it is one of the lesser known explorer / developers, but nevertheless seems to be as prospective in terms of what it is doing as many of its peers. That said, getting the stock to rise off its 80% decline since September seems to be something of a challenge in the near term.
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest:
The information, investment views, and recommendations in this Zaks Traders Cafe interview are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this interview should be construed as a promotion or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or referred to or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engage in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the commentator but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The commentators may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.
