In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a strong gain for the second day in a row. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 1.45% to 7,279.8 points.
Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are zooming higher:
Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD)
The Ampol share price is up 4% to $29.84. Investors have been buying the fuel retailer's shares after its proposed acquisition of Z Energy Ltd (ASX: ZEL) was given a boost. This morning Ampol revealed that the New Zealand Commerce Commission has provided clearance for the acquisition. This is on the proviso that Ampol fully divests its Gull business in New Zealand within nine months of completing the transaction.
EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)
The EML share price is up 7% to $2.52. As well as getting a boost from a tech rebound today, investors have been buying this payments company's shares following an announcement late yesterday afternoon. That announcement reveals that EML has entered the Employee Benefits Market (EBM) in Europe through a multi-year agreement with Up Spain. The EBM is worth over A$88 billion globally.
Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL)
The Vulcan share price is up 8% to $9.65. This follows a strong rise by a number of lithium miners today. In addition, as I noted here earlier, Vulcan's shares are rated as a buy by the team at Alster Research. Its analysts have a massive $20.00 price target on them, which is more than double where its shares trade today.
Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)
The Zip share price is up over 10% to $1.58. Investors have been buying this buy now pay later (BNPL) provider's shares following big rebound in the tech sector. This follows a strong night of trade on the tech focused Nasdaq index after investors responded positively to the US Federal Reserve's rate hike.
