The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a decent day of trading so far this Thursday, which would no doubt come as a relief to many investors. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a healthy 0.64% at 7,351 points. But that's nothing compared to the joys of the Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price.
Pilbara Minerals shares are smashing the ASX 200 index today. This lithium producer is up a pleasing 7.6% at present to $2.83 a share.
Although a welcome development for Pilbara Minerals fans, this doesn't take away from the fact that the past few months have been incredibly volatile for the lithium stock.
Over the past month, the Pilbara Minerals share price remains down by about 20%. It's down by a similar amount over 2022 thus far. But looking at the long term, Pilbara Minerals is up by 140% over the past 12 months.
So, what might be causing Pilbara's exceptionally strong performance this Thursday?
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Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price soaring?
Well, it's not entirely clear. There have been no announcements out of Pilbara Minerals itself. However, what we can see is a fairly consistent trend amongst ASX lithium stocks.
Other ASX shares in Pilbara's wheelhouse are performing similarly today. Take Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO). Its shares are currently up by 9.2% at $1.31 each. Or AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ), up 5.6% to 85 cents.
So, we seem to be witnessing a fairly consistent sector-wide move upwards with ASX lithium stocks. And the Pilbara Minerals share price is enthusiastically participating.
Lithium shares are often in demand when the markets are in a good mood, and are often shunned if investors are fearful. The latter we saw earlier in the week when the ASX 200 was taking a hit. But thankfully for investors, the former seems to be playing out today.
At the current share price, Pilbara Minerals has a market capitalisation of $7.82 billion.
