Biotech minnows help junior market Aim high
THE stock market turbulence triggered by Covid may have battered the FTSE 100 last year – but new figures show London’s junior market managed to thrive.
The AIM All-Share index rose 21pc in 2020, ending the year at 1157.04, up from 958.26 at the end of 2019. The blue- chip index, in contrast, fell by 14.3pc.
Even though AIM lost more than a third of its value when the pandemic took hold of markets in February and March, Covid was also key to its recovery. The rise was in part fuelled by biotechnology tiddlers that mobilised rapidly to become some of the key firms in the pandemic response.
Novacyt (up 5.4pc, or 46p, to 898p) rocketed in value by 6523pc after developing tests for the virus – and at one point climbed higher than 9000pc.
Fellow testing groups Avacta (up 11.5pc, or 14p, to 136p) and Omega Diagnostics (up 0.8pc, or 0,5p, to 61p) rose by 561pc and 354pc respectively, while Covid treatment developer Synairgen (down by 4.9pc, or 8p, to 154p) raced 2504pc higher.
The green revolution was also in full swing, according to accountancy group BDO, as alternative energy firms made huge gains – such as Eqtec (down 8pc, or 0.22p, to 2.54p), which ballooned in value by 2152pc. The number of trades made on AIM also mushroomed, rising 69pc to 17m, as amateur traders scrambled to make money on see-sawing markets.
This was backed up by figures from spread better Plus500, which yesterday said it had notched up a record performance in 2020. Use of its stockbroking platform has surged and the group, whose shares fell 0.1pc, or 1p, to 1420p, forecast revenues to morethan double to around £610m.
The AIM All-Share rose by 0.4pc, or 4.33 points, to 1161.37, and the London Stock Exchange’s two premier indexes also advanced.
The Footsie rose 0.61pc, or 40.37 points, to 6612.25, while the FTSE 250 climbed 087pc, or 179.48 points, to finish at 20,717.37. The upbeat mood was echoed worldwide, with Wall Street making gains after a US sell-off on Monday.
The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones all climbed at least 0.3pc yesterday afternoon. In China stocks closed at their highest level since 2008.
Broker notes were behind some London gains. Software giant Aveva rose 7.1pc, or 231p, to 3506p after UBS upgraded it from ‘neutral’, citing the quality of a business, Osisoft, it is buying. Royal Mail rose 4.3pc, or 14.5p, to 356p, after Berenberg analysts upgraded it to ‘neutral’ from ‘sell’. They noted it had held up fairly well during Covid, especially as parcel posting has surged. IT group Softcat was in the good books after it said it was trading better than expected in the first half. It rose 8.1pc, or 114p, to 1514p.
It was a mixed bag for airlines as Wizz Air and Ryanair both said passenger numbers were down more than 80pc in December compared with the year before.
Easyjet and British Airwaysowner IAG both said they would take another look at their flying schedules as UK ministers mull plans to halt international flights.
Wizz shares fell 0.6pc, or 26p, to 4488p, Ryanair by 2.2pc, or 0.34 cents, to €15.04, Easyjet slid 1.4pc, or 11p, to 753.8p, but IAG rose 0.3pc, or 0.4p, to 149.45p.
Oil prices shot 5pc higher after the Opec Plus cartel agreed to curb supply over the next two months, to boost prices as countries go back into lockdown, slashing the amount of oil used in public transport and by airlines.
Brent crude was $53.60 following the pact – one of its highest prices since last February. BP rose 7.1pc, or 18p, to 272.5p while Shell rose 6.3pc, or 79p, to 1337.6p.