Category: Market News

Acuity RM Group plc (LSE:ACRM), an AIM-listed risk management specialist, has announced plans to host a live online presentation covering trading for the quarter ended 31 March 2026. The session will be led by the company’s chief executive and finance director and will be delivered via the Investor Meet Company platform, with access open to both existing and prospective shareholders.

The event forms part of the group’s broader effort to strengthen communication with investors and provide clearer insight into its operational performance and near-term outlook. Participants will be able to engage directly with management, reinforcing the company’s focus on transparency as it continues to develop its business.

Acuity RM Group operates its STREAM data analytics platform, which supports decision-making for organisations operating in highly regulated and mission-critical sectors across both public and private markets. Its strategy centres on expanding organically while also pursuing targeted acquisitions to deepen its footprint in key industries.

From a financial standpoint, the company continues to face pressure from ongoing losses and negative operating and free cash flow, despite maintaining strong gross margins and relatively low leverage. Market indicators show mixed signals: while the share price is trading above several shorter-term moving averages with positive momentum, suggesting near-term support, longer-term trends remain weaker and technical indicators point to potentially overbought conditions. Valuation also remains challenging, with a negative price-to-earnings ratio reflecting the lack of profitability.

More about Acuity RM Group plc

Acuity RM Group plc is an established provider of risk management solutions built around its STREAM software platform. The system gathers and analyses data to help organisations make informed decisions across sectors including government, defence, broadcasting, utilities, manufacturing, and healthcare. The company’s long-term strategy combines steady organic growth with selective acquisitions to enhance its capabilities and market reach.

SRT Marine Systems (LSE:SRT) has confirmed that it will host its next live shareholder webcast at 8:30am on Wednesday, 29 April 2026. The session will be led by chief executive Simon Tucker and will focus on providing investors with an update on current trading and operational performance.

The webcast will be accessible to the public through online registration and will be presented in an unedited format. Shareholders and interested participants will have the opportunity to submit questions confidentially either ahead of the event or during the live session. A recording will also be made available later the same day via the investor section of the company’s website, supporting broader accessibility and transparency.

Despite solid revenue growth and improving operational efficiency, SRT’s outlook continues to be weighed down by weak cash flow generation. From a market perspective, the stock is currently showing negative momentum and remains below key technical levels, although it may be approaching oversold territory. Valuation also presents a challenge, with a high price-to-earnings ratio and no dividend yield to provide support.

More about SRT Marine Systems

SRT Marine Systems plc is a global provider of maritime intelligence, surveillance, and navigation safety systems serving both civil and defence markets. Its solutions deliver maritime domain awareness capabilities used by coast guards, fisheries authorities, and other national agencies to manage and monitor territorial waters. In addition, the company develops navigation technologies that enhance safety and efficiency for both commercial shipping and leisure marine users.

Satsuma Technology PLC (LSE:SATS) has expanded its Bitcoin treasury with the purchase of an additional 22.77 BTC, investing approximately $1.8 million using existing cash resources. The company remains debt-free following the transaction and retains enough fiat reserves to meet its operational requirements.

This latest acquisition brings Satsuma’s total Bitcoin holdings to 668.48 BTC, acquired at a cumulative cost of £56.2 million. The board reiterated its long-term approach of steadily increasing Bitcoin exposure while maintaining strict cost controls and providing regular monthly updates to investors. Despite the current market value of its holdings sitting below the average purchase cost, the company continues to position itself as a publicly listed vehicle for Bitcoin-focused investment.

Executive chairman Ranald McGregor-Smith described the purchase as the first concrete step under a newly introduced cost-saving initiative designed to preserve capital for future Bitcoin accumulation. The company has also emphasized transparency, offering detailed disclosures on share capital, fully diluted share counts, and ongoing reporting practices to strengthen investor confidence and governance standards.

Looking ahead, Satsuma faces notable financial and market challenges. The business currently generates minimal revenue and continues to operate at a loss, with negative free cash flow and equity, although it carries no debt. Market indicators remain weak, with the stock trading below key technical levels and showing negative momentum. Valuation metrics offer little support given the absence of earnings and dividends.

More about Satsuma Technology PLC

Satsuma Technology PLC is a UK-listed company focused on holding Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset, with its shares traded on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. The company secures its Bitcoin through regulated institutional custodians, including Anchorage Digital and Kraken, using multi-signature vault structures. Its strategy avoids leverage, lending, or rehypothecation, maintaining a conservative approach to digital asset custody and treasury management.

Literacy Capital (LSE:BOOK) reported a slight decline in net asset value per share for the first quarter of 2026, with NAV edging down 0.6% to 481.3p. Despite the dip, the underlying portfolio recorded a modest increase in value before accounting for expenses and charitable contributions.

Performance across holdings was mixed during the period. Bright Ventures and TechPoint delivered the strongest gains, while RCI and amplify5 experienced slower momentum as customers postponed contract decisions. This reflects a more cautious trading environment, though the broader portfolio continued to show resilience.

During the quarter, the trust generated £16 million in cash proceeds, largely driven by the sale of Tyrefix. A further £15 million was realised in April following the disposal of Wifinity. These transactions shifted the company into a net cash position for the first time since 2021, helping to reduce financing costs.

Management intends to deploy this capital toward bolt-on acquisitions and ongoing investment in portfolio companies. It also plans to increase marketing efforts and investor outreach to tackle the persistent discount of the share price relative to NAV—an issue that remains a key concern for shareholders, even as the company reports limited direct exposure to broader market volatility and geopolitical risks.

Looking ahead, challenges remain. The business continues to face negative operating and free cash flow, alongside uneven profitability. While the balance sheet remains strong with low leverage, technical indicators point to downward pressure, with the shares trading below key moving averages and showing weak momentum. Valuation metrics offer limited support, as the price-to-earnings ratio is not currently meaningful, although the dividend yield remains relatively high.

More about Literacy Capital PLC

Literacy Capital plc is a London-listed closed-end investment trust focused on investing in growing private businesses across the UK. Established in 2017 by Paul Pindar and Richard Pindar, the firm seeks to generate value through active involvement in its portfolio companies. In addition to its investment strategy, the trust has a philanthropic mission, donating 0.5% of its annual NAV to support children’s literacy initiatives in the UK, with £13.1 million committed or distributed so far.

In the rapidly evolving digital infrastructure sector, scale has long been a defining factor, but speed is increasingly critical. The ability to translate strategic agreements into operational capacity and revenue streams may ultimately separate industry leaders from the rest. AEG Plc’s (LSE:AEG) recently announced Letter of Intent with Bitdeer represents an important step in that direction, offering insight into the company’s intended growth trajectory.

At the center of this development is AEG’s proposed partnership with Bitdeer, a recognized participant in the global digital infrastructure and mining ecosystem. While still subject to final agreements and customary conditions, the intent of the collaboration is to enhance AEG’s execution capabilities, with a focus on accelerating deployment timelines while progressing toward revenue generation.

A key anticipated benefit of the arrangement is improved operational efficiency. By aligning with an established, large-scale partner, AEG expects to reduce the need to source multiple individual clients and instead focus on delivering infrastructure at scale. Bitdeer is expected to contribute hardware and operational expertise, which could streamline deployment and improve speed to market, an important factor in a sector where timing can materially influence returns.

Commenting on the proposed partnership, Paul Elliott, CEO of Active Energy Group plc, said: “This is a defining step forward for Active Energy. Partnering with a Nasdaq-listed global leader such as Bitdeer materially accelerates our strategy and validates the strength of our infrastructure platform.

Crucially, this partnership provides us with access to large-scale mining equipment and operational capability without the need for significant upfront capital investment. This allows us to scale quickly, efficiently and in line with our infrastructure-first model.

Our focus now is on disciplined execution and scaling this platform towards our 100MW target and beyond.”

The prospective partnership also reflects a strategic alignment in terms of capability and scale. Access to advanced hardware, if realized, may support improved efficiency and stronger returns per megawatt. This would allow AEG to concentrate on its core focus of infrastructure development while benefiting from the technological capabilities of its partner.

From a financial standpoint, AEG anticipates a dual-layer revenue model, subject to final structuring. This would potentially include stable income derived from hosting services, complemented by revenue-sharing mechanisms linked to high-performance computing activities such as Bitcoin mining. Together, these components are expected to provide a combination of baseline cash flow and performance-driven upside.

As the platform develops, AEG expects this balance to evolve, with infrastructure-led revenues providing stability and performance-linked revenues offering scalability. Improvements in hardware efficiency and operational performance could further enhance long-term potential.

Looking ahead, AEG is also exploring opportunities beyond its current focus, particularly in areas aligned with growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. The proposed partnership reflects a shared strategic direction, which may support expansion into broader compute and data infrastructure applications over time.

While the agreement remains at a preliminary stage, it signals AEG’s intention to move from strategic planning toward execution. If formalized, the partnership could support faster deployment, stronger operational alignment, and a scalable revenue framework.

As the industry continues to evolve, the ability to execute efficiently will remain a key differentiator. AEG’s latest move indicates its ambition to position itself among those shaping the next phase of digital infrastructure growth.

For more information, visit https://aegplc.com/

U.S. stock futures point to a slightly weaker open on Thursday, suggesting markets may give back some gains following the strong advance recorded in the prior session.

Investors could look to lock in profits after Wednesday’s surge, which more than erased the losses seen earlier in the week.

Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 finished at fresh record highs, even as uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict continues to linger.

IBM drop weighs on market tone

A sharp decline in IBM Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is expected to pressure the broader market, with the stock falling 7.8% in premarket trading.

The weakness comes despite better-than-expected first-quarter results, as the company did not lift its full-year outlook.

Industrial heavyweight Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON) may also face selling pressure after beating Q1 expectations but issuing softer-than-expected guidance for the second quarter.

Texas Instruments rallies on strong outlook

In contrast, Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) is surging 9.6% ahead of the open after posting stronger-than-expected results and delivering an upbeat forecast.

Wall Street extends gains to new highs

Stocks rallied sharply on Wednesday, reversing declines from the previous two sessions and pushing major indices to record closing levels.

The Nasdaq jumped 397.60 points, or 1.6%, to 24,657.57, while the S&P 500 climbed 73.89 points, or 1.1%, to 7,137.90.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also ended higher, gaining 340.65 points, or 0.7%, to close at 49,490.03 after trimming earlier gains.

Ceasefire extension boosts sentiment

The rally was driven in part by news that U.S. President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran.

Describing Iran’s government as “seriously fractured,” Trump said in a Truth Social post that the U.S. would delay any military action until Iranian leaders “come up with a unified proposal.”

At the same time, he confirmed that the U.S. military would continue enforcing a blockade on maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports.

Ongoing tensions cloud outlook

Iran dismissed the extension as “meaningless” and stated that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the U.S. blockade is lifted.

Mahdi Mohammadi, an adviser to parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, called the move a tactic “to buy time for a surprise strike,” adding that the “losing side cannot dictate terms.”

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy said it had seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz for “maritime violations.”

The continued back-and-forth between Washington and Tehran has added to uncertainty, although markets remain cautiously optimistic about a potential resolution.

Earnings strength underpins confidence

Investors are also encouraged by solid corporate earnings, with the reporting season getting off to a strong start.

“Investors appear to be focusing more on the direction of risk — whether conditions are improving or worsening — rather than the absolute level of geopolitical tension,” said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.

“Earnings season is playing a key role in reinforcing this narrative,” she added. “Expectations for continued double-digit earnings growth remain intact, supporting elevated equity valuations even as macro risks persist.”

Sector performance mixed

Semiconductor stocks led gains, pushing the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 2.7% to a record close.

Software shares also showed strong performance, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index rising 2.3%.

Computer hardware, oil services, and gold stocks posted solid advances, while airline stocks moved notably lower.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) led the declines, dropping 5.6% after reporting stronger-than-expected results but issuing disappointing guidance.

Oil prices pushed higher again on Thursday, rising by more than $1 as stalled negotiations between the United States and Iran and continued curbs on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz kept supply concerns front and center.

Brent crude futures (LCOc1) climbed $1.26, or 1.2%, to $103.17 a barrel at 06:30 GMT, after settling above the $100 mark for the first time in over two weeks in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures (CLc1) also advanced, gaining $1.20, or 1.3%, to $94.16.

Both benchmarks had already surged by more than $3 on Wednesday, supported by larger-than-expected declines in U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories, as well as the absence of progress in diplomatic efforts with Iran.

“The oil market is repricing expectations with little sign of progress in finding a resolution in the Persian Gulf,” analysts at ING said, noting that hopes for a breakthrough are fading.

“In addition, Iran’s seizure of two vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz suggests disruptions to shipments are set to continue.”

Hormuz chokepoint tensions remain elevated

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump agreeing to extend a ceasefire following mediation by Pakistan, both Tehran and Washington continue to impose restrictions on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz—a route that previously handled around 20% of global oil supply before the conflict erupted on February 28.

Iran seized two ships in the waterway on Wednesday, tightening its hold over the strategic passage. Meanwhile, the United States has maintained its naval blockade targeting Iranian trade. Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said a comprehensive ceasefire would only be viable if the blockade is lifted.

At the same time, U.S. forces have intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in Asian waters, diverting them away from routes near India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka, according to shipping and security sources.

With the ceasefire extension announced earlier in the week, Trump once again pulled back from earlier threats to strike Iranian infrastructure such as power plants and bridges. The White House has not set a timeline for when the truce might end, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

U.S. exports reach fresh highs

On the supply side, U.S. exports of crude oil and refined products rose by 137,000 barrels per day to a new record of 12.88 million bpd, as buyers in Europe and Asia stepped up purchases amid disruptions tied to the Iran conflict.

Data from the Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. crude inventories increased, while fuel stockpiles declined.

Crude stocks rose by 1.9 million barrels, contrasting with expectations in a Reuters poll for a draw of 1.2 million barrels.

Gasoline inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels, exceeding forecasts for a 1.5 million-barrel decline, while distillate stocks dropped by 3.4 million barrels compared with expectations of a 2.5 million-barrel fall.

Gold prices moved lower during Asian trading on Thursday, continuing their recent decline and briefly slipping beneath a key trading band, as uncertainty surrounding the Iran conflict and U.S. interest rate expectations strengthened the dollar and reduced appetite for bullion.

Spot gold declined 0.6% to $4,712.50 per ounce, while gold futures eased 0.5% to $4,728.69/oz by 02:30 ET (06:30 GMT). Spot prices briefly dipped to $4,694.23/oz, falling below the $4,700–$4,900 range that had held over the past two weeks.

Safe-haven flows favor dollar over gold

The yellow metal struggled to gain momentum as markets remained unsure about the prospects for renewed U.S.-Iran negotiations, even after President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely.

Tehran and Washington showed limited willingness to return to talks after planned discussions failed earlier in the week. Iran reiterated that the U.S. must lift its blockade before negotiations can begin, while Washington insisted on the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

With Iran continuing to restrict passage through Hormuz and the U.S. maintaining its naval presence while monitoring Iranian shipping in the region, the situation remains at a standstill.

Oil prices climbed back above $100 per barrel this week, reflecting ongoing supply constraints through the strait.

Rate expectations weigh on metals

Broader metals markets also came under pressure from a firmer dollar, which hovered near a one-and-a-half-week high on Thursday.

Spot silver dropped 2% to $76.1295 per ounce, while platinum fell 1.4% to $2,050.65 per ounce.

The U.S. currency found support after Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Federal Reserve Chair, said he had made no promises to cut interest rates, despite pressure from the administration. Warsh is widely viewed as less dovish, and his nomination in late January had already triggered steep declines in gold and other precious metals.

Separately, a Reuters poll indicated that investors do not expect the Federal Reserve to lower rates for at least six months, amid ongoing uncertainty linked to the Iran conflict.

The inflationary impact of the conflict—driven by higher oil prices—has also continued to weigh on metals. Traders are concerned that energy-driven inflation could push major central banks toward a more hawkish stance, with both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England already signaling such risks.