The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has jumped 0.7% to close at 4,971.3 as strong Chinese trade data buoyed investors, and despite weak leads from offshore markets overnight.
The Australian dollar has continued its recent slide against the US dollar, currently fetching around US 102.9 cents.
These three stocks were among the best performers in the ASX 200, rising by more than 6%.
Buru Energy Limited (ASX: BRU) climbed 8.9% to finish at $2.46, after the company announced that an independent evaluation group had confirmed 47 trillion cubic feet of gas and a best estimate of 1,177 million barrels of condensate in Buru's Canning Basin resources. Buru believes that the Laurel Formation could rival the Northwest Shelf in size, with both conventional and unconventional gas and oil reserves. If true, that could turn Buru into the largest independent oil and gas company on the ASX.
African gold miner, Gryphon Minerals Limited (ASX: GRY) added 8.5%, ending at 44.5 cents, continuing its yo-yo run of late. The company received a speeding ticket (price query) from the ASX for a large fall in the share price earlier this week. Gryphon couldn't provide an explanation for the price fall, but a bankable feasibility study for its flagship Banfora gold mine, shows the company will need to raise more than $200 million in capital to get the project into operation. Today's price rise may suggest that investors are more comfortable about the company being able to raise the funds.
Senex Energy Limited (ASX: SXY) rose 6.5% to close at 65.5 cents, as the company starts a large fracking program to test shale gas flows from five wells in the Cooper Basin, which the company expects will lead to certification of significant petroleum resources. Senex estimates that its acreage could hold more than 100 trillion cubic feet of gas resources.
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