In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.2% to 7,196.9 points.
Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are rising:
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN)
The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank share price is up 6.5% to $9.63. Investors have been buying this regional bank's shares following the release of a trading update. Bendigo Bank advised that for the five months ended 30 November, it recorded a 22% increase in unaudited cash earnings after tax to $245 million.
Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)
The Block share price is up 3.5% to $96.76. This follows a solid night of trade for the payments company's NYSE listed shares. They were pushing higher on Monday night after the tech sector on Wall Street rebounded. This tech rebound led to the Nasdaq index rising almost 1.3%.
Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)
The Megaport share price is up 5% to $7.07. This network as a service provider's shares are rising on Tuesday after the aforementioned tech rebound on Wall Street spurred on the local tech sector. This has seen the S&P/ASX All Technology Index rise a solid 1% this afternoon.
Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL)
The Starpharma share price is up 9% to 55 cents. Investors have been buying this dendrimer products developer's shares following an update on AstraZeneca's AZD0466 trial. According to the release, preliminary clinical trial results from the ongoing Phase 1/2 trial in patients with advanced relapsed/refractory leukaemia show that AZD0466 has been well tolerated. AZD0466 utilises Starpharma's DEP technology and is being developed by AstraZeneca under its multi-product license.
