The S&P / ASX 300 Index (Index: ^AXKO) (ASX: XKO) is down more than 0.5%, with the big banks and large miners dragging the index down. That's despite positive leads from Wall Street overnight.
But that hasn't stopped a number of stocks soaring. Here is our take on four of them…
Heemskirk Consolidated Limited (ASX: HSK) has seen its share price climb more than 26% to 21.5 cents, after the company released a corporate update today. Heemskirk is developing the open-pit Moberly frac sand and silica mine in Canada as its flagship operation. The company says it's a high return, high value project, and has entered into joint venture discussions with a major industry investor.
Poseidon Nickel Ltd (ASX: POS) continues to rise, adding another 13.6% in trading to hit 25 cents. Shares are up 41% in the past five business days, and 235% since January 1. As we wrote a few days ago, nickel prices are skyrocketing thanks to decisions by Indonesia and the Philippines to ban the export of raw mineral ores. As a result, nickel miners' share prices are soaring.
Beleaguered gold miner St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) has gained 11.5% to 14.5 cents, despite announcing last week that it had had to shut down its Leonora gold plant for unscheduled maintenance. The gold miner recently walked away from its Gold Ridge mine in the Solomon Islands, after severe flooding in the area, which saw hundreds of illegal miners take over the site.
Unilife Corporation (ASX: UNS) rose 10.2% to 48.5 cents. The company that develops injectable drug systems yesterday reported a 400% rise in revenues to $14.7 million for the 2014 financial year. The company says that it has achieved commercial sales of the Unifill syringe since July 1, with CEO Alan Shortall noting that the company expects to achieve significant growth in revenue this financial year.
