It has been another disappointing day for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO). In afternoon trade the index is down 1.2% to 5,687 points.
Four shares which have managed to defy the market and climb higher today are listed below. Here's why they jumped higher:
The Ellex Medical Lasers Limited (ASX: ELX) share price has jumped 5% to $1.05 after the medical device company announced that the Chinese government had confirmed regulatory approval for its iTrack device until May 2022. This means it is the only minimally invasive glaucoma surgery device approved in this market.
The Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG) share price has bounced back from yesterday's heavy decline with a 4% gain to $4.81. A research note out of UBS on Monday suggested that the company could be negatively impacted by changes to accounting standards in FY 2019. Management came out today and rebuffed these claims, stating that they were "speculative guesswork". Whilst I'm not a fan of all of its brands, I believe its dirt cheap price makes Retail Food Group worth considering today.
The Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL) share price has climbed almost 5% to 71.2 cents after the dendrimer product developer released a positive update regarding its DEP irinotecan product. According to the release the product outperformed the standard irinotecan in multiple colon cancer models. This is promising news considering that colorectal cancer has a significant unmet need and represents a potentially lucrative market for the company.
The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price has jumped 4% to $2.60 despite there being no news out of the coal miner. Based on current prices, some traders clearly think that Whitehaven is a steal following its 22% share price decline in the last two months. But coal isn't a commodity I'm overly bullish on at present, so I would suggest investors stay away despite how cheap it looks.
