The FTSE 100 closed up 0.5% on Friday. The top riser was National Grid, which climbed 4.7%, followed by energy company SSE, up 2.3%. The biggest faller was JD Sports, dropping 4.7%, along with Primark and Twinings tea owner Associated British Foods, both down 4.7%.
Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 rose 0.3%. The top riser was vending machine company ME Group International, up 5.2%, followed by Aston Martin, up 4.8%. Ferrexpo, the miner, was the biggest faller, closing down 6.6%, followed by North Sea engineering business John Wood, down 5.5%.
Utility companies were the top performers as the sector rebounded from a period of heavy selling triggered by the National Grid‘s rights issue. In fact, National Grid led the gains on Friday with a 3.8% increase. Centrica followed closely, rising by 3.6%.
On the other hand, JD Sports experienced the largest decline, falling 5.8% as investors reacted to warnings of a challenging market. JD Sports unsettled investors after reporting an 8% drop in operating profit last year and a slip in group sales in the first quarter of this year.
“One of UK retail’s biggest success stories, JD Sports, has found life a bit trickier in recent years, and not just due to the pandemic,” said Laith Khalaf.
Quadrise PLC (AIM: QED) surged to the top of the small-cap mover’s list after the alternative fuel developer secured another major client.
The latest addition is OCP, a leading fertiliser and phosphate company based in Morocco. This follows an April announcement of a binding agreement with shipping giant MSC and Cargill, the global crops and food transportation business. The shares soared 70% this week, boosting the stock’s year-on-year performance to over 100%.
Looking at other notable small-cap risers, digital transformation company Tpximpact Holdings (AIM: TPX) soared 33% following a bullish three-year forecast.
The group projects this year’s revenue to grow by 20% to £84 million, with adjusted EBITDA margins expected to fall within the 5-6% guidance range.
Kodal Minerals PLC (AIM: KOD) shares increased by 20% after updating on its Bougouni Lithium Project in Southern Mali. The company reported that the manufacturing of a DMS processing plant and crushing circuit is on schedule, with equipment shipments from China to West Africa expected to begin in early June.
In the mining sector, Golden Metal Resources (LON: GMET) climbed 28% after a promising update on its US-focused Pilot Mountain Project, which the company wholly owns. Golden Metal announced it is accelerating the project’s development, using its current Mineral Resource Estimate as the basis for planning.
National World PLC (LSE: NWOR), owner of Scotsman and Yorkshire Post, saw its shares rally 12% intraday on Thursday after a trading update revealed an 18% year-on-year increase in sales.
Prospex Energy PLC (AIM: PXEN) was another top performer, gaining 24% over the week following a positive update on its 37%-owned Selva Malvezzi concession in Italy.
Kromek Group PLC (AIM: KMK) shares rose 18% after the company announced it would report record revenues and positive EBITDA, surpassing market expectations. The radiation and bio-detection technology leader experienced strong commercial momentum in the year’s second half, driven by multi-year contracts in advanced imaging and CBRN detection.
Turning to the fallers, Longboat Energy PLC (AIM: LBE) was one of the worst performers this week, dropping over 57% by Friday. The company admitted that production ramp-up at one of its concessions “has been disappointing to date despite an increase in production from 2023,” and progress has been “frustratingly slow” at another site.
In the biotech sector, Renalytix (AIM: RENX) shares fell 22% following a management change, with CFO James Sterling stepping down. An interim CFO has been appointed while the company searches for a replacement.
MicroSalt PLC (AIM: SALT) shares declined 17% on Thursday after the low-sodium salt producer released its first results since its IPO in February. The company noted that the rollout with new B2B customers “has been slower than hoped” in 2024, though shares did recover by 12% on Friday.
Finally, pharmacogenetic testing company Genedrive plc (LON: GDR) conducted a £6 million equity round. Retail and institutional investors heavily invested in the discounted share offering, with the open offer seeing a 94.4% take-up, generating £2.03 million, though the retail offer fell short, raising £1.89 million. Genedrive had initially aimed to raise £3.5 million through the retail offer on Peel Hunt’s REX platform. Shares dipped 16% throughout the week.
A mixed bag overall for small-cap stocks.
