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Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) advanced on Thursday, continuing its recovery from the previous session as bargain hunters returned to the market and improving sentiment in global equities helped stabilise the broader cryptocurrency space after weeks of heavy pressure.

The move higher was amplified by a wave of short covering, with traders betting against the digital asset forced to unwind positions following an unexpectedly sharp price rebound.

Bitcoin climbed 5.3% to $68,349.6 at 01:22 ET (06:22 GMT), regaining most of the losses posted earlier this week.

Dip buyers return as short positions unwind

The rally was driven in part by investors stepping back into the market at discounted valuations, with Bitcoin still trading roughly 50% below the record highs reached in October.

As prices moved higher, crowded bearish trades came under pressure, triggering a short squeeze that accelerated gains. According to data from crypto analytics platform Coinglass, approximately $468.7 million in short positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours.

Market sentiment toward Bitcoin had weakened considerably after a prolonged downturn that began late last year. Purchases by large corporate holder Strategy failed to meaningfully ease concerns that prices could fall further.

Even with the recent rebound, overall crypto sentiment remained subdued. Coinmarketcap’s crypto fear and greed index held steady in “extreme fear” territory as of Thursday.

Strong equities backdrop supports risk appetite, Nvidia reaction muted

Cryptocurrency markets also benefited from improved risk appetite following two consecutive sessions of gains on Wall Street.

U.S. equities advanced alongside a rebound in technology stocks ahead of closely watched results from NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), with crypto assets often showing correlation with tech-sector performance.

The chipmaker delivered stronger-than-expected earnings and upbeat guidance on Wednesday, supported by sustained demand tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure.

However, the broader market response remained restrained, with S&P 500 futures declining 0.2% during Asian trading hours. Much of Nvidia’s positive performance appeared already reflected in valuations, while concerns around elevated inventories and exposure to China weighed on investor sentiment.

Altcoins extend gains alongside Bitcoin

The broader digital asset market moved higher as well, largely tracking Bitcoin’s rebound.

Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, rose 9.4% to $2,062.71, while XRP gained 6.4% to $1.4468.

Solana and Cardano advanced 7.3% and 11.1%, respectively, and BNB added 5.6%.

Among meme-focused tokens, Dogecoin climbed 8.3%, while $TRUMP rose 3.5%.

Despite the latest recovery, most alternative cryptocurrencies — like Bitcoin itself — remain significantly below levels seen in recent months following the sector’s broader correction.

WPP PLC (LSE:WPP) reported a sharp fall in profits for 2025 after recording significant impairment charges, while warning that trading conditions are expected to remain challenging into the first half of 2026, sending the company’s shares more than 8% lower following the announcement.

Reported operating profit dropped 71.2% year-on-year to £382 million from £1.33 billion, largely due to £641 million in goodwill impairments. Diluted earnings per share swung to a loss of 20 pence, compared with earnings of 49.4 pence in 2024.

Group revenue declined 8.1% to £13.55 billion. Revenue less pass-through costs — a key industry measure — fell 10.4% on a reported basis to £10.18 billion and decreased 5.4% on a like-for-like basis.

Headline operating profit decreased 22.6% to £1.32 billion, with headline operating margin narrowing to 13% from 15% a year earlier, representing a 1.8 percentage-point decline on a like-for-like basis.

Total adjusting items amounted to £939 million, including £641 million in goodwill impairments and £114 million related to property impairments. The company also incurred £68 million in restructuring and transformation expenses.

WPP proposed a final dividend of 7.5 pence per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 15 pence, significantly lower than the 39.4 pence distributed in 2024.

Chief executive Cindy Rose said the group’s recent underperformance had been driven by “excessive organisational complexity, lack of an integrated operating model and inconsistent strategic execution.”

She added, “Our recent underperformance has been driven by excessive organisational complexity, a lack of an integrated operating model and inconsistent strategic execution.”

Looking ahead to 2026, WPP expects like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs to decline by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage in the first half of the year, followed by improving momentum in the second half. The company guided headline operating margin to a range of 12% to 13%.

Adjusted operating cash flow before working capital is forecast between £800 million and £900 million, including approximately £250 million of cash restructuring costs. Excluding those charges, adjusted operating cash flow before working capital is expected to reach £1 billion to £1.1 billion.

In 2025, adjusted operating cash flow before working capital totalled £1.19 billion, down from £1.34 billion the previous year. Adjusted free cash flow declined sharply to £202 million from £738 million, while reported net cash inflow from operating activities fell to £724 million from £1.41 billion.

Average adjusted net debt stood at £3.4 billion, slightly lower than £3.5 billion a year earlier. Adjusted net debt at year-end was £2.17 billion, while the net debt-to-headline EBITDA ratio increased to 2.1 times from 1.8 times.

Across business segments, Global Integrated Agencies reported a 5.7% like-for-like decline in revenue less pass-through costs during 2025, with WPP Media down 5.9%. Other Global Integrated Agencies fell 5.6%, while Public Relations recorded a mid-single-digit decline. Specialist Agencies performed more resiliently, declining 0.7% for the year.

Regionally, North America revenue less pass-through costs decreased 4.6% like-for-like, while the United Kingdom declined 7.6%. Western Continental Europe fell 4.7%, and Rest of World revenues declined 5.9%, with India growing 3.8% and China contracting 14.3%.

Revenue from WPP’s top 25 clients declined 4.1% like-for-like in 2025. The company noted improved performance in healthcare accounts, although spending across several other client sectors weakened during the year.

WPP also unveiled a new multi-year strategy, “Elevate28,” aimed at delivering £500 million in annualised gross cost savings. The programme is expected to require approximately £400 million in cash costs over two years, with a significant portion of savings planned to be reinvested into media, commerce, production and enterprise solutions.

Derwent London (LSE:DLN) reported higher net asset value and a modest dividend increase for the 2025 financial year, supported by leasing activity and asset management gains across its portfolio.

Net asset value reached 3,225 pence per share at year-end, representing a 2.4% increase compared with the previous year. Earnings per share totalled 98.4 pence, while the company declared a full-year dividend of 81.5 pence per share.

During FY25, Derwent London completed new leasing agreements worth £11.3 million, achieved at rents 9.9% above estimated rental value. Since the start of the new financial year, the group has secured a further £1.5 million in leases, with £14.4 million currently under offer, including all office space at Network, and an additional £4.4 million under negotiation.

Asset management initiatives generated £58.9 million of activity, delivering rental uplifts of 6.4%. The company also progressed its capital recycling strategy, completing property disposals totalling £216.1 million during the year. A further £33 million has exchanged year to date, with roughly £240 million of additional transactions under offer.

The 25 Baker Street W1 development was fully pre-let, achieving an ungeared internal rate of return of 11.3%. The project delivered an accounting return of 5%, with earnings per share of 98.4 pence excluding 3.7 pence of trading profits.

Looking ahead, Derwent London expects estimated rental value growth across its portfolio of between 4% and 7% in fiscal year 2026. The company aims to complete £1 billion of disposals over the next three years and is targeting EPRA earnings growth of 25% to 30% by 2030.

Financial leverage remained stable, with net debt to EBITDA at 9 times, an interest coverage ratio of 3.1 times and a loan-to-value ratio of 29%, unchanged from the prior period.

The chief executive said the company expects continued increases in portfolio estimated rental values and EPRA earnings, while projecting total accounting returns of between 7% and 10% over the coming years.

Getlink (EU:GET) reported mixed second-half earnings alongside an enhanced shareholder return policy and updated guidance for 2026, with investors reacting cautiously as the shares moved around 1% lower following the announcement.

Second-half EBITDA reached €493 million, exceeding market expectations by 4.9%, supported by solid contributions from Eurotunnel and the ElecLink interconnector. ElecLink performance was boosted by a €50 million one-off insurance payment, helping lift the EBITDA margin to 57.6%, well ahead of the 54.5% consensus forecast.

Group revenue for the period totalled €856 million, broadly matching analyst estimates. However, free cash flow fell short of expectations, coming in at €156 million compared with forecasts of €193 million, a miss of roughly 19%.

For 2026, Getlink reaffirmed EBITDA guidance in a range of €820 million to €860 million. According to Jefferies, the midpoint represents an approximate 1% downgrade versus consensus expectations, largely reflecting a challenging comparison against the prior year’s ElecLink insurance benefit.

Alongside the results, the company introduced a revised capital returns framework, announcing plans to pay a dividend of €0.80 per share in 2026, increasing by €0.05 annually to reach €1 per share by 2030. Jefferies analyst Graham Hunt said this payout trajectory stands around 23% to 30% above current market forecasts.

“2026 guidance is a ~1% cut at the midpoint, but all focus will be on shareholder returns, which sees dividend move ~30% above cons. to €0.8/sh, growing 5c/year to 2030 and puts GET on ~4.5% yield,” Hunt wrote.

Over the longer term, Getlink reiterated its ambition to deliver €1 billion in EBITDA by 2030, approximately 2% higher than consensus projections, while forecasting an additional 2.3 million high-speed rail passengers by the end of the decade — about 5% below prevailing market expectations.

Hunt noted that while the dividend increase represents a meaningful upgrade for investors, “no buyback will disappoint some.”

Separately, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets said they “expect an improvement rather than inflection in Eurotunnel’s performance.”

“Our FY26 forecasts are ahead of consensus, with Eleclink positioned for a return to top-line growth,” they added.

French energy group Engie SA (EU:ENGI) has agreed to acquire UK Power Networks in a deal valuing the UK electricity distribution operator at a £10.5 billion equity price, marking a major expansion of ENGIE’s regulated infrastructure portfolio.

The transaction assigns an enterprise value of approximately £15.8 billion to UK Power Networks, equivalent to around 1.5 times its projected regulated asset value as of March 2026 and roughly 10 times forecast 2027 EBITDA, including contributions from non-regulated activities.

UK Power Networks reported a regulated asset value of £9.2 billion at the end of March 2025, which is expected to increase to £10.5 billion by the conclusion of the current regulatory price control period in March 2028.

ENGIE said it will fund the acquisition through a combination of financing measures, including around €5 billion raised via debt and hybrid instruments, alongside a planned divestment programme targeting approximately €4 billion by 2028. The company also intends to raise up to €3 billion through an accelerated book-building equity offering to maintain its commitment to a strong Investment Grade credit profile.

The company expects the acquisition to deliver an immediate positive contribution to earnings and to be accretive from the first full year after completion, while supporting both its credit rating and dividend policy.

Completion of the transaction is anticipated in mid-2026, subject to regulatory clearances and approval from independent shareholders of the sellers’ Hong Kong-listed parent companies.

ENGIE estimates that, together with progress on its divestment programme, the deal will increase group employed capital by approximately €17–19 billion by the end of 2026. Net financial debt is expected to rise by between €13 billion and €15 billion over the same period.

Catherine MacGregor, CEO of ENGIE, stated that the acquisition represents a decisive step in strengthening ENGIE’s position as a leading utility for the energy transition and is fully aligned with the company’s ambition to become a key player in regulated electricity grid infrastructure. The transaction will enhance the Group’s growth trajectory and reduce its risk profile, providing greater visibility into future earnings, MacGregor stated.

Basil Scarsella, CEO of UK Power Networks, said the transaction marks a significant milestone in the history of UK Power Networks and for all its employees. By joining ENGIE, the company continues to be part of a global energy leader with the financial strength, industrial capabilities, and long-term vision to support its next phase of development, Scarsella said.

In the world of mature oil fields, “water cut”, the ratio of water produced compared to the total volume of liquids, is the silent profit killer. For Buccaneer Energy plc (LSE:BUCE), a field once considered marginal is undergoing a radical transformation thanks to a sophisticated organic oil recovery (OOR) pilot that sounds more like biotechnology than traditional drilling.

In a recent interview on The Watch List, Buccaneer Energy CEO Paul Welch detailed how the company’s pilot program at Pine Mills has achieved a near-miraculous reduction in water production while simultaneously doubling oil output.

The Tech: Recruiting “Beneficial Microorganisms”

The standout result of the pilot was the performance of the 206 well, which saw its water cut plummet from 80% to 0% following treatment. To understand how a well goes from producing mostly waste-water to pure oil, Welch explained the biological process behind the recovery.

Rather than using harsh chemicals, the process leverages the reservoir’s existing ecosystem:

1. Sampling: Produced water is analyzed to identify indigenous “beneficial microorganisms.”
2. Feeding: A custom nutrient mix is pumped into the well, causing these microbes to “bloom” (increasing their population by up to a thousandfold).
3. Action: Once the nutrients are consumed, the starving microbes begin to eat the cellular network surrounding oil droplets stuck to the sand.
4. The Swap: This biological activity releases the oil to flow toward the well while simultaneously helping water “attach” to the sand phase.

“It’s really been a remarkable treat for us,” says Welch. “They release oil and they attach water to the sand phase… we only produced oil [from the 206 well] for a period.”

Efficiency by the Numbers

For investors, the most compelling aspect of the OOR program isn’t just the chemistry, it’s the capital efficiency. Welsh noted that the cost of the pilot was comparable to a routine well workover, yet the returns are projected to be “exceptional.”

Financial & Operational Highlights:

While the current incremental increase is a modest 15 barrels per day (bopd), the scalability is the real story. Buccaneer plans to expand the treatment across the remaining wells in “Battery 3” and the wider Pine Mills field in Q2.

The Path to Free Cash Flow

If the expansion goes to plan, Welch targets an additional 45 to 60 barrels per day across the entire field. At current netbacks, this could translate into roughly $60,000 in additional free cash flow per month.

“That’s another $600,000 to $650,000 in cash over 10 months,” Welsh explains. “For what we described prior to this as a marginal field, that is a lot.”

The ultimate impact on the bottom line will depend on the decline rate. While the company is currently modeling a 40% decline for the incremental barrels until they hit the standard field decline of 5–8%, the reduction in OPEX remains a massive lever. By reducing the volume of water that needs to be processed and disposed of, Buccaneer hopes to bring Pine Mills’ operating costs closer to those of its “Fain” area, which operates at just $5 per barrel.

Looking Ahead

With a 99% IRR and a successful proof-of-concept in the bag, Buccaneer Energy is no longer looking at Pine Mills as a legacy asset, but as a cash-flow engine. Partnering with Hunting plc on the technology, the company is moving quickly to turn this recovery method into a field-wide reality by the end of the year.

For more information on Buccaneer Energy visit – https://buccaneerenergy.co.uk/