It hasn't been a great end to the short week for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO). In afternoon trade the benchmark index is down 0.8% to 5,885 points due largely to heavy declines in the materials sector.
But that hasn't stopped a number of shares from climbing higher today. Four which stood out with notably strong gains are listed below. Here's why they are finishing the week strongly:
The Afterpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: AFY) share price has jumped almost 7% to $2.34 after the payments company reported another solid quarter of growth. According to the release fees from retailers grew an impressive 40% quarter-on-quarter to $6 million. Furthermore, the number of retailers using its service grew to 3,500 from 2,000 in the last quarter. Afterpay is clearly an exciting company, but its shares do come at a huge premium.
The Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO) share price is up almost 3% to $3.71. Today's gain is likely to be attributable to a research note out of the Macquarie equities desk. According to the note Macquarie's analysts have upgraded Independence to an outperform rating with a $4.10 price target following a production upgrade at the company's Nova mine.
The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price has jumped almost 5% to $4.77 thanks to a rise in the spot gold price overnight. Concerns over rising tensions in Syria and North Korea and a weaker U.S. dollar have sent the spot gold price up to US$1,286 an ounce. This is the highest level gold has traded at since early November.
The Touchcorp Ltd (ASX: TCH) share price has rocketed 8.5% to $1.43 today. As well as receiving a boost from Afterpay's update, Touchcorp announced today that it had received a confidential, conditional, and unsolicited expression of interest to acquire its operating assets, excluding surplus cash and its shareholding in Afterpay. The board has determined that it does not constitute a superior proposal and plan to push ahead with its merger with Afterpay.
