It has been another positive day for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO). In afternoon trade the index is higher by over 0.2% to 5,447 points. If it stays the same way the index will have gained almost 1% in the last three trading sessions.
Four shares have been putting in even stronger performances today. Here's why they have jumped higher:
Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM) shares are up 6% to $30.17 after it emerged that its takeover target UGL Limited (ASX: UGL) had decided to postpone its AGM so that its board can assess the unsolicited offer. According to the release the board believes that the postponement will allow it to complete its evaluation so that shareholders can be fully appraised of the board's position at the AGM. Judging by the share price action it would appear as though the market expects the board to endorse the takeover.
EVOLUTION FPO (ASX: EVN) shares are up over 6% to $2.39 after the gold price rose again. Currently the spot gold price is fetching US$1,272 an ounce. This is approximately 2.2% higher than last Friday's low of US$1,245. Now might be a great time to take profit though, with the US Federal Reserve looking likely to raise interest rates in December. CME Group's FedWatch tool currently has the odds of a rate rise in December at 60.3%.
Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) shares are up 4% to $1.56 after the online retailer released its quarterly update. The update revealed that the company is beating prospectus forecasts on revenue by 10%, gross profit by over 20%, and pro forma EBITDA by more than 30%. I've been impressed with Kogan's growth and feel it will continue to build on this strong performance for the foreseeable future. Just as long as Amazon doesn't launch an Australian store!
Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) shares have jumped 3.5% to $3.80 after oil prices surged overnight. According to the Wall Street Journal oil prices leapt to a 12-month high after it emerged that U.S. oil inventories had plunged by a massive 5.2 million barrels in the last week. Analysts surveyed by the newspaper had actually forecast an addition of 2 million barrels. This has unsurprisingly caused traders to believe that a long-standing glut may finally be waning.
