Interserve PLC (LON:IRV) was a late afternoon riser, up 6.3% to 58.5p after a newspaper report said a Scottish multi-millionaire is spearheading a rescue bid for troubled outsourcer.
The Daily Telegraph said pub entrepreneur Alan McIntosh is the serial investor behind Emerald Investment Partners, a private equity vehicle emerging as a key player in the FTSE 250 contractor's refinancing discussions.
The company's stock market value has by plunged more than 75% since issuing profit warnings in September and October last year, leading it to be seen as the possible next Carillion - the contractor which went bust last month.
Meanwhile Nektan PLC (LON:NKTN) rose 20% to 24p after the international B2B gaming software and services provider announced a successful launch into the Asian market through the global platform deal for its Evolve Life gaming system with Tyche Digital Malta Ltd.
The group said, with more than 200 Asian games and other gaming content from a number of leading suppliers, including Realistic Games, Pragmatic Play, Booongo Gaming and Pocket Games Soft, Tyche is integrating Nektan's content aggregation platform into its Asian partner sites.
But among the fallers, Ultra Electronics Holdings PLC (LON:LSE) was down almost 10% to 1,333p after the defence contractor revealed it has decided not to buy Sparton Corporation, which makes underwater sensors for the US navy.
The FTSE 250-listed company said the decision was made because of the 'disappointing outcome of the antitrust review."
The news came as Ultra Electronics also reported an 8.4% fall in full-year underlying profit to ?120.1mln because of a 'challenging year' in the company's core markets.
Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN) was among the FTSE 100 gainers in early afternoon trading, up 2.1% at 2,638p, while on the FTSE 250 Bovis Homes PLC (LON:BVS) added 5.5% at 1,142p as housebuilders rose with UK prime minister Theresa May issue call for the sector to build new houses more quickly to meet demand.
Launching a draft policy on planning laws designed to ease the country's housing shortage, May said she wants 300,000 homes to be built per year - well above the 2017 level of around 217,000.
Bovis shares were also supported by news of further share buying by its new boss Greg Fitzgerald.
Meanwhile, supermarkets got a lift as US broker Jefferies International said Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO), WM Morrison Supermarkets PLC (LON:MRW) and J Sainsbury plc (LON:SBRY) are all set to benefit from easing inflation and a more supportive consumer outlook.
Jefferies thinks Morrisons is best placed for outperformance and raised its rating on the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' with the stock up 1.2% at 225.4p.
It also upgraded its rating for Tesco to 'buy' from 'hold' but left its rating for Sainsbury's at 'hold' but raised its target price to 270p from 256.50p
Sainsbury's shares added 0.2% at 253.6p, but Tesco slipped 0.1% lower to 201.90p as Britain's biggest retailer today completed its ?4bn takeover of wholesaler Booker Group.
Fusion Antibodies PLC (LON:FAB) shares shed 6% to 117.5p after the antibody drug discovery and development company said its revenue for full year 2017/18 will be below market expectations.
The AIM-listed group said that trading during the second half of the financial year will be ahead of the same period a year before, but revenue growth in the period will be subject to the short-term cost impact of its IPO.
The firm, which floated in December last year, said its revenue growth is still expected to be at least 40% above the ?1.9mln reported the year before, while adjusted EBITDA will be broadly in line with market expectations due to the contribution of higher margin services during the period.
Elsewhere, Metminco Limited (LON:MNC) (ADX:MNC) shares lost 46% to 1.25p as the AIM-listed company announced it is seeking to raise up to A$5.3m through a deeply-discounted A$5.1mln rights issue and A$190,000 share placement.
The 7-for-2 issue and the placement are both priced at A$0.01 per share, and every three new shares come with an option for one more share exercisable at A$0.013.
The money raised will be used to undertake exploration on the company's Colombia gold properties, and to retire an outstanding convertible note.
And Union Jack Oil PLC (LON:UJO) shares fell 14.3% to 0.09p as the AIM-listed company also launched a discounted fund-raising as it increased its stake in the drill-ready Biscathorpe prospect ahead of an exploration well in mid-2018.
The deal was agreed in tandem with Humber Oil & Gas, a private company, which is teaming up with Union Jack through a new commercial tie-up focused on acquisitions.
The firm is raising ?1.25mln through an oversubscribed equity placing of1.47bn new shares priced at 0.085p each.
Anglo African Oil & Gas PLC (LON:AAOG) jumped 21% to 14.13p as the company revealed that Soci?(C)t?(C) Nationale des P?(C)troles du Congo (SNPC), has proposed and unconditionally recommended the award of a new 20-year licence covering the Tilapia oil field in the Republic of the Congo.
The AIM-listed company has a 56% interest in Tilapia, with Congolese state oil company SNPC currently holding the other 44%.
The group also said it has signed an agreement with Soci?(C)t?(C) de Maintenance P?(C)troli??re, a French drilling company with a depot in Gabon, for the supply of a rig to drill a new multi-horizon well, TLP-103.
Elsewhere, Zoo Digital Group PLC's (LON:ZOO) shares took on 10% at 75.5p, as the AIM-listed provider of subtitling and dubbing services indicated that profits this year would be ahead of market forecasts.
In a trading update, Zoo Digital said growth had continued in the second half of the financial year, with underlying profit [EBITDA] to March expected to be at least US$2.3mln (2016:US$1.8mln), while revenue will be at least US$28mln (US$16.5mln).
And MySale Group PLC (LON:MYSL) saw its shares rise 2% to 112p as the Australian online retailer reported double-digit online revenue growth and improved gross margins.
The AIM-listed group reported an 80% jump in underlying earnings (EBITDA) to a record A$5.5mln for the six months ended 31 December 2017 as revenue grew by 11% to A$151.9mln from A$136.7mln.
Union Jack Oil PLC (LON:UJO) has increased its stake in the drill-ready Biscathorpe prospect ahead of an exploration well in mid-2018. The deal was agreed in tandem with Humber Oil & Gas, a private company, which is teaming up with Union Jack through a new commercial tie-up focussed on acquisitions.
Mobile app distribution and monitoring specialist appScatter Group PLC (LON:APPS) has signed its first major partnership since listing on AIM last September. App advertising network Airpush will promote appScatter's platform to its clients in return for 10% of the revenues generated by the collaboration.
Foreign currency movements have put a dent in the earnings of pharma services provider Ergomed PLC (LON:ERGO), spoiling "a year of exceptional growth".
Results for 2017 came in ahead of expectations at BATM Advanced Communications Limited (LON:BVC) in what the company termed a milestone year for the group.
Abzena PLC (LON:ABZA) has announced that a settlement has been reached with Stanford University in connection with the claims against biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing company PacificGMP which the UK firm acquired in 2015. Stanford University had filed a claim against PacificGMP for US$3mln plus damages in the Superior Court of the State of California in the County of San Diego on August 6, 2017.
Metminco Limited (LON:MNC) is raising A$5.3mln via a A$5.1mln rights issue and A$190,000 placing. The money raised will be used to fund exploration on the company's Colombia gold properties. A restructuring of the board is also underway.
Test work at the Mino do Barroso lithium project in Portugal undertaken by Savannah Resources PLC (LON:SAV) has delivered highly encouraging results. Recoveries are likely to be good and Savannah chief executive David Archer has professed himself "delighted" with the results.
Rambler Metals & Mining (LON:RAB) has revealed plans for a 20-year mine life at the Ming copper and gold project in Newfoundland. Reserves mined out in the past two years have been replenished, and while the resource base has declined, grades have improved significantly. Net pre-tax cashflow is likely to come in at US$195mln.
ClearStar Inc. (LON:CLSU) said that its background check solution has become one of the first to achieve automatic integration of background checking into recruitment processes. The AIM-listed screening service provider said that its new automated integration solution will allow recruiters to select a stage in the recruitment process at which a background check will auto-initiate without the need for human intervention.
Telit Communications PLC (LON:TCM), the global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), has appointed Miriam Greenwood and Shlomo (Momo) Liran as non-executive directors with immediate effect. It said Greenwood will also chair the group's Remuneration committee.
Goldplat PLC (LON:GDP), the AIM-quoted gold producer with international gold recovery operations located in South Africa and Ghana and a gold mine in Kenya, announced that it will host a shareholder conference call at 12pm UK time on Friday 9 March 2018.
Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN), a leader in the discovery, delivery, and development of novel RNA therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases with unmet medical need, announced that its chief executive officer, Ali Mortazavi will present at the Cowen 38th Annual Health Care Conference on Tuesday, 13 March, 2018 at 10:30am EDT in Boston, MA.