In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed Wall Street's lead and is charging higher. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 1.5% to 7,160.8 points.
Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are storming higher:
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Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)
The Block share price is up 8.5% to $153.24. Investors have been buying this payments giant's shares on Thursday following a strong gain by its NYSE-listed shares overnight. This appears to have been driven by a rebound in the tech sector after investor sentiment improved.
Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR)
The Myer share price has jumped almost 20% to 49 cents. This follows the release of the department store operator's half year results this morning. According to the release, Myer delivered an 8.5% increase in sales to $1,517.4 million and a 55.2% lift in net profit (excluding JobKeeper) to $32.3 million. This allowed Myer to declare its first dividend since FY 2017.
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)
The Paladin Energy share price has surged 14% higher to 88 cents. Yesterday this uranium producer's shares were upgraded to a speculative buy rating with a 96 cents price target by the team at Bell Potter. It commented: "The Uranium price continues to recover from cyclical lows, as limited near-term supply spurs the spot market, whilst the global path to decarbonisation re-shapes the role of nuclear energy over the longer-term."
Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)
The Qantas share price is up almost 7% to $4.97. Investors have been buying this airline operator's shares after a sharp pullback in oil prices overnight. This follows news that Iraq and UAE are open to increasing production to offset lost supply from Russia. Given how much fuel Qantas consumes, this news is a positive for its margins.
