The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) may have fallen sharply this year because of the pandemic, but not all shares on the index have been dragged lower.
Some have even managed to carve out exceptionally strong gains this year despite the crisis.
Three ASX 200 shares that are up more that 40% since the start of the year are listed below. Here's why they are charging higher:
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)
The Afterpay share price has risen 41% since the start of the year. The catalyst for this strong gain has been a particularly strong third quarter update and news of a new substantial shareholder. In respect to its update, Afterpay proved the doubters wrong when it delivered very strong growth in the third quarter despite the pandemic. At the end of March, Afterpay's underlying sales reached $7.3 billion year to date. This was a 105% increase on the prior corresponding period. Its shares were then given a major boost by news that Chinese tech giant Tencent had become a substantial shareholder with a 5% stake. The market appears to believe the WeChat owner could help Afterpay expand into the Asian market in the future.
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)
The Evolution share price has zoomed 50% higher in 2020. The driver of this gold miner's strong gain has of course been a significant rise in the price of the precious metal. Over the weekend the gold price hit a seven-year high due to a combination of economic concerns, falling interest rates, and government stimulus. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is up over 18% since the start of the year.
NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)
The NEXTDC share price is up over 42% year to date. Investors have been buying this data centre operator's shares after it revealed increasing demand for its services during the pandemic. Demand was already very strong due to the ongoing shift to the cloud, but the crisis appears to accelerated this shift. NEXTDC has taken advantage of its strong share price and the increased demand to complete a fully underwritten institutional placement to raise $672 million. These funds will be used partly to develop a new Sydney data centre.
