Stellar Diamonds PLC (LON:STEL) saw its shares leap 15.5% to 5.7p in late-afternoon trading as the AIM-listed diamond miner confirmed the court sanctioning of its acquisition by Australian miner Newfield Resources Limited (ASX:NWF).
Stellar said as a result of the ruling the last day of trading for its shares would be 26 April, after which they would be suspended on 27 April and cancelled from 30 April.
In the small-caps, Redx Pharma Plc (LON:REDX) shares soared 58.9% to 15.5p as the company announced that Iain Ross, its executive chairman, had acquired 150,000 Redx ordinary shares at a price of 11p per share.
The drug developer said following this acquisition, Ross will hold 600,000 ordinary shares in the company, representing 0.47% of the issued share capital.
A FTSE 100 faller was Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY), whose shares dropped 1.6% to 65p as first quarter profits fell below analyst expectations.
The bank reported a 23% increase in first quarter statutory profit to ?1.6bn, along with a ?90mln charge for claims related to the PPI mis-selling scandal, although this was much lower than the ?350mln charge recorded last year.
FTSE 100 drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline plc (LON:GSK) saw its shares fall 3.4% to 1,411.4p in early afternoon trading after a disappointing set of first quarter results which saw both sales and earnings drop by 2% as a stronger pound offset gains from its new shingles vaccine Shingrix.
For the three months to the end of March, revenue declined 2% to ?7.22bn from ?7.38bn the year before. Pretax profit, meanwhile, fell to ?1.11bn from ?1.55bn year-on-year.
Elsewhere, Prudential PLC (LON:PRU) shares dropped 2.1% to 1,841.5p as Citigroup downgraded its rating for the UK insurer to 'neutral' from 'buy' on trade war concerns in a cautious review of the European insurance sector.
In a note to clients, Citigroup's analysts said: "2018 performance has again started well for European Insurance yet we are mindful of new risks facing the sector at a time when other retail industries are being transformed."
Meanwhile, a FTSE 100 riser was pay-TV service Sky PLC (LON:SKY), whose shares jumped 3.4% to 1,352.5p after US cable company Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMSA) made a ?22bn offer for the group.
The new offer, at ?12.50 per share, represents a 16% premium on a previous ?19bn bid by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA), which offered ?10.75 per share.
Cybersecurity firm GRC International Group PLC (LON:GRC) saw its shares shoot up 15.8% to 182.5p in late-morning trading as it said trading for the full year had been "significantly" ahead of the prior year and ahead of its expectations.
The group said total billings for the financial year ended 31 March 2018 exceeded ?16.2mln, up from ?7.3mln the year before, an increase of 122%.
GRC added that it expected revenue to show a similar level of growth at more than ?15mln.
Meanwhile, shares in AIM 100 clothing retailer Boohoo.com PLC (LON:BOO) jumped 14.4% to 176.6p as it had almost doubled sales year-over-year, ended February 28, 2018, up a whopping 97% to ?579.8mln from ?294.6mln in 2017.
The retailer said revenues in the UK had nearly doubled, up 95%, with international revenues up 99%. Profits, before tax, were up by 40%, from ?30.9mln to ?43.3mln.
In the fallers, FTSE 100 miner Anglo American PLC (LON:AAL) shares dropped 4.1% to 1,675p as it forecasted its underlying earnings (EBITDA) for 2018 to be between US$300mln to US$400mln lower due to infestations and repairs at its Minas-Rio iron ore operation in Brazil.
The group said operations would resume when inspections had completed, along with analysis and repair work, with the inspections expected to complete in 90 days.
FTSE 100 miner Antofagasta PLC (LON:ANTO) fell 3.2% to 945.2p in early morning trading as falling metal prices were accompanied by a disappointing update in which the group's copper production fell 10.5% due to lower grades.
The company added that gold production fell 39.4% in the first quarter of the year due to lower grades at its Centinela project.
Meanwhile, Metro Bank PLC (LON:MTRO) shares dropped 8.6% to 3,214p as the company said its net interest margin continues to deteriorate despite rising revenue and profit.
The results came a day after the group avoided a shareholder revolt over multi-million pound payments made to the wife of the lender's chairman.
In the risers, Feedback plc (LON:FDBK) was a top gainer in early trading Wednesday, rising 88.8% to 3.4p as it secured a software licence and distribution agreement for its TexRAD technology with General Electric Healthcare (GEHC), a subsidiary of US conglomerate General Electric (NYSE:GE).
The AIM-listed medical imaging company said the agreement granted GEHC non-exclusive global rights to offer Feedback's TexRAD texture analysis software for medical imaging research applications.
Elsewhere, Modern Water PLC (LON:MWG) shares rose 15.1% to 8p as the group released a statement showing a 40% increase in gross profits for the first quarter.
In a statement to be read by the non-executive chairman at the annual general meeting, the water treatment group reported revenues had increased 37% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, while also expecting its Monitoring division's underlying earnings (EBITDA) to break even for the year.
Feedback plc (LON:FDBK) was a top gainer in early trading Wednesday as it secured a software licence and distribution agreement for its TexRAD technology with General Electric Healthcare (GEHC), a subsidiary of US conglomerate General Electric (NYSE:GE). Big Pic in November.
Futura Medical PLC (LON:FUM) shares jumped 16% higher on Wednesday after the firm revealed positive data from a pharmacokinetic study of MED2002, its topical gel for erectile dysfunction (ED), which contains glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) as its active ingredient. Big Pic in March.
Mosman Oil And Gas Ltd (LON:MSMN) has released the findings of Moyes & Co which has confirmed the Arkoma Stack Pay project's reserves. The project has been confirmed to have gross proved and probable (2P) reserves of 336,000 barrels oil equivalent, along with 2.4mln barrels of contingent resources. Big Pic in February.
ValiRx Plc (LON:VAL) said it has received a patent grant from the EU patent and trademark office for its VAL201 prostate cancer treatment that is currently in clinical trials. The AIM-listed pharmaceuticals company said the patent grant represented another major milestone in its commercial strategy, with the VAL201 portfolio having received patents in the US, UK, Japan, and Australia previously. Big Pic in December.
Learning Technologies PLC (LON:LTG) has made its first significant move into the US with the acquisition of digital human resources group PeopleFluent for US$150mln. A placing at 98p, a 4% discount to last night's close, raised ?85mln to fund the deal. Big Pic in September.
Digital advertising group Mporium PLC (LON:MPM) expects to benefit from fall-out from the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data use scandal. Advertising and marketing platforms that rely on the targeting of individuals' personal data will be 'severely exposed' by the Cambridge Analytica investigation and the incoming GDPR legislation, Mporium believes. Big Pic in November.
Personal Group Holdings plc (LON:PGH) has said it is confident of achieving market expectations after an encouraging start to the year. In a statement to be delivered at today's annual general meeting, the AIM-listed firm's chairman, Mark Winlow said: "The Company's core insurance business has seen another strong start to the year, with record first quarter sales and productivity." Big Pic in October.
Savannah Resources Plc (LON:SAV) has unearthed more higher grade lithium results from its ongoing drill programme at the Mina do Barroso project in Portugal. Results from twelve holes confirmed further lithium containing mineralisation, including higher grade over what it describes as significant widths. Big Pic in January.
Cabot Energy PLC (LON:CAB) has taken a step closer to drilling an exploration well to test the Vesta prospect, offshore Sicily. The company, in a statement, told investors that its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been approved by the Italian regulatory authorities. Big Pic in January.
Minds + Machines Group Limited (LON:MMX), one of the world's leading owners and operators of Internet Top-Level Domains, said it now intends to publish its results for the year ended 31 December 2017 in early May, together with the conclusion of the strategic review where constructive discussions continue to progress. It added that further announcements will be made in due course.
MaxCyte Inc (LON:MXCT) has announced the appointment of Claudio Dansky Ullmann as its chief medical officer, as the firm prepares for clinical testing of its first cell therapy drug candidate The AIM-listed company said in his new role Ullmann will be responsible for overseeing clinical development of MaxCyte's CARMA drug development program, with the company's first candidate, MCY-M11, is expected to enter the clinic this year. Big Pic in April.
Cradle Arc Plc (LON:CRA), the African focused base and precious metals exploration and production company, has announced the appointment of Oscar Ernst Kirkovits to the board of the company as a non-executive director with immediate effect.
Hurricane Energy PLC (LON:HUR) announced that electronic copies of its Annual Report and Group Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2017 have been published today in the Investors section of the company's website. It also added that its annual general meeting will be held at 11.00am on Wednesday, 6 June 2018 at The Science Suite, Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BA.
Rambler Metals and Mining PLC (LON:RMM) (TSXV: RAB), a Canadian copper and gold producer, explorer and developer said it has now filed the full NI43-101 Technical Report for the Ming Copper-Gold Mine Project previously announced on 5 March 2018. The full technical report can be downloaded from the company's website.