In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a solid gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.5% to 7,340.4 points.
Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are pushing higher:
Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)
The Imugene share price up 1.5% to 18.75 cents. This follows the release of two updates this morning. One revealed that the first patient has been dosed with the novel cancer-killing virus Vaxinia as part of the intravenous cohort 2 trial.
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO)
The Rio Tinto share price is up 4% to $116.20. Investors have been buying Rio Tinto and other ASX iron ore miners after the price of the steel making ingredient charged higher. The spot iron ore price is now nearing US$110 a tonne. This is up from approximately US$80 a tonne at the start of November. The potential reopening of China appears to be behind this rise.
Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)
The Santos share price is up 3% to $7.35. This appears to have been driven by a rise in oil prices during Asian trade. Prices have climbed after OPEC announced that it will push ahead with its plans to cut production by 2 million barrels per day in 2023. China easing COVID restrictions also appears to be supporting prices.
Warrego Energy Ltd (ASX: WGO)
The Warrego Energy share price is up 12% to 31.7 cents. This follows news that Hancock Energy has increased its takeover bid from $0.23 per Warrego share to $0.28 per Warrego share. All other terms of its offer remain unchanged. Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) has been given five business days to match the revised Hancock Energy takeover offer.
