The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has finished flat at 5,210.3, with several large companies going ex-dividend, putting downward pressure on the market. Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices ended at record highs on Friday, with the Dow up 0.2% and the S&P 500 gaining 0.4%.
The Australian dollar has dropped below parity against the US dollar, buying 99.8 cents.
Here's why these three stocks are hot right now.
Dyesol Ltd (ASX: DYE) shares have rocketed up more than 39% today, closing at 30 cents, to add to the incredible 109% rise last week. The company announced on Wednesday that it had achieved a 'game changing' technical breakthrough by achieving a solid-state Dye Solar Cell (DSC) efficiency of 11.3% at full sun. At levels over 10%, the company's DSC technology becomes grid competitive – the "holy grail" for renewable energy technologies. The company now intends to rapidly move from the laboratory to the production line, with the technology able to be directly incorporated into building materials such as windows.
Unilife Corporation (ASX: UNS) climbed more than 57% to 74 cents. Shares in Unilife went into a trading halt, with the company expected to reveal a 15-year commercial contract worth $110 million to deliver the company's EZMix dual-chamber syringe. CEO Alan Shortall says that more than 10 pharmaceutical companies are pursuing EZMix, with most requesting worldwide exclusivity to use EzMix with their target drug. If Unilife can sign up a few more customers, its current market cap of $63 million will look very cheap.
Incitec Pivot (ASX: IPL) added more than 3.5% to close at $2.93, after the fertiliser and explosives producer reported a net profit of $110 million for the six months to March 2013. Despite the result being a 23% fall over the previous year, the explosives division continues to perform, reporting a 5.5% rise in earnings. In contrast, the fertiliser division saw earnings drop 19%, affected by the Indian government's cuts to phosphate subsidies.
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