After a strong start the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has unfortunately given back its early gains and finds itself down almost 0.1% to 5,757 points in afternoon trade.
Despite this drop there are four shares which have still managed to climb significantly higher during trade today. Here's why:
Aconex Ltd (ASX: ACX) shares have rallied again, this time by a further 6% to $3.98. The software-as-a-service company's shares have now climbed around 40% since hitting a low of $2.87 at the start of the month. Its shares may look expensive on paper at 71x estimated FY 2017's earnings, but I believe the company has strong long-term growth prospects that could make it worthy of sticking with.
Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) shares have climbed 11% to $7.12 after the furniture retailer smashed its guidance when it reported profit after tax growth of 44.7% to $20.5 million. A key highlight in my opinion was the company's same store sales growth of 10.1%. Pleasingly, management advised that the second half has started just as strongly.
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) has surged higher by 6.5% to 16.5 cents. This brings the uranium producer's year-to-date return to a staggering 91%. Uranium shares have been on fire this year as prices for the metal rally off their recent 12-year lows. The driver for this has been Japan's plan to bring more nuclear reactors online and major uranium producer Kazatomprom cutting production by 10% this year.
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) shares have jumped 5% to $2.69 despite there being no news out of the mining company. Today's gain is likely to be attributable to further rises in commodity prices. Thanks to its diverse mining operations I believe that South32 is one of the better options in the mining sector for investors.
