The S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) is advancing today, adding on Thursday's 0.57% and Friday's 0.69% gain.
At the time of writing, the ASX 300 is up 0.24% to 7,387.1 points. It's worth noting that in the past month, the index has mostly recovered from its 3.5% loss.
Here are some of the top movers on the ASX 300 today.
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)
The Paladin share price is on the move, up 8.64% to 88 cents despite no new company announcements.
The uranium company's shares are continuing to accelerate following positive investor sentiment in the sector. This has led to fellow peers such as Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) and 92 Energy Ltd (ASX: 92E) also punching higher.
A strong uptick in oil and gas prices has led nuclear energy as a possible solution as a secure, emission-free power source.
The spot price for uranium has soared over 60% in a year, reaching US$47.20/lb at the time of writing.
Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL)
Following suit is the Vulcan share price, up 8.56% to $12.55.
The clean-lithium developer released an announcement in regards to a new binding offtake agreement with leading materials technology company, Umicore.
Under the deal, Umicore will purchase up to 42,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from Vulcan over a 5-year term. Pricing for the key ingredient will be based on market prices on a take-or-pay basis.
Zimplats Holdings Ltd (ASX: ZIM)
Making headlines again is the Zimplats share price, up 7.48% to $23.84.
The mining company hasn't provided the market with any new information in the past few weeks.
A possible catalyst for the upward trend could be the improvement in platinum prices over the past few weeks.
And the ASX shares in decline?
HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN)
Heading south is the HomeCo Daily Needs share price, down a hefty 7.79% to $1.48.
The property company's shares are in reverse after announcing plans to merge with Aventus Group (ASX: AVN).
The takeover will see Aventus shareholders receive 2.2 HomeCo Daily Needs shares for every Aventus share owned. In addition, shareholders will also receive either $0.285 cash or 0.038 Home Consortium Ltd (ASX: HMC) shares.
Should the merger be approved by Aventus shareholders and other customary conditions, the implementation date will be in mid-February 2022.
Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL)
Also running at a loss is the Sezzle share price, down 5.46% to $5.89.
Investors have sold off the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) company's shares after registering a 20% gain just 2 weeks ago.
Earlier this month, United States retail giant Target announced the launch of a BNPL offering in partnership with Sezzle. This service will be used to attract customers with affordable payment solutions.
Target is the eighth largest retailer in the United States and has a network of more than 1,909 stores.
