In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to finish the week on a disappointing note. At the time of writing the benchmark index is down 0.25% to 6,650.4 points.
Four shares that haven't let that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they have surged higher:
The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has risen 3.5% to $28.31 despite there being no news out of the market darling. However, overnight on Wall Street the technology-focused Nasdaq index charged higher and appears to have given the local tech sector a boost today. This has led to the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech index climbing a sizeable 0.7% this afternoon.
The NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) share price has climbed 2% to $6.49 after the data centre operator announced the appointment of a new board member. According to the release, NEXTDC has appointed Stephen M. Smith as non-executive director, effective July 1 2019. Mr Smith is highly experienced in the data centre industry, having been the CEO and President of Equinix Inc for over a decade. During his time at Equinix, he transformed it into the clear industry leader in the internet infrastructure sector and the largest enterprise data centre platform in the world.
The Pact Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: PGH) share price has surged 12% higher to $2.84 a day after announcing the refinancing of its debt. One broker that was pleased with this was Goldman Sachs. According to a note out of the investment bank this morning, the broker has upgraded the packaging company's shares to a buy rating from neutral with a price target of $3.02.
The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price has stormed over 6% higher to $3.55. This latest gain means that the payments company's shares have now risen a sizeable 16% since this time last week. This is all the more impressive given how earlier this week its shares came under pressure after it announced that Firstmac Limited has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against it alleging the infringement of Firstmac's "Zip" trademark.
