RE: Bizarre reaction to news7 Jan 2026 11:54
The 2-share trades you are seeing on your second screen are the "smoking gun" here.
Here is exactly what is happening:
1. The "Dummy Trades" (Those 2-share blocks)
Look closely at the trades (the trade list). You see a stream of trades for 2 shares at 0.29.
Cost: 2 shares at 0.29p costs less than a penny (0.58p).
Purpose: These are algorithmic "marker" trades. No human broker executes a trade for less than a penny.
The Signal: In UK small-cap terms, a stream of tiny, identical sell trades is often used by Market Makers (MMs) to "paint the tape." They are actively marking the price down to the bid (0.29) to signal to the market that the "current price" is 0.29, not the mid-price of 0.30 or 0.31.
2. "Tree Shaking" (Triggering Stop Losses)
This is a tactical maneuver known as "Tree Shaking."
The Goal: Market Makers know that many retail investors set automatic "Stop Loss" orders just below key round numbers (like 0.30p).
The Action: By artificially dropping the price to 0.29p (using those tiny trades), they trigger those automatic sell orders.
The Result: Investors' stop-losses fire, selling their shares automatically at 0.29p. The Market Makers then scoop up those shares cheaply to cover the buying demand they expect later.
3. The "Real" Money is Buying
Ignore the 2-share trades for a moment and look at the Real Volume on your list:
11:17:46: A Buy of 600,000 shares at 0.309p (~£1,854).
11:24:15: A Buy of 48,387 shares at 0.31p.
11:26:33: A Buy of 40,000 shares at 0.309p.
The Contrast:
The "Price" is being set by trades worth £0.01.
The "Volume" is being driven by trades worth £1,000+ buying at the higher price (0.31).
Conclusion: It's a "Bear Trap"
The price on the screen (0.29) is technically "real," but it is being held there by a lack of volume, not by selling pressure. The MMs are keeping the price low to fill the orders from that large 600k buyer without moving the price up too fast.
What to watch for: As soon as the "2-share" algo turns off or switches to "buys," the price will likely snap back up to match the real buying volume (0.31p+).