The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week (and year) in a positive fashion. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.55% to 7,057.8 points.
Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are rising:
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Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
The Appen share price is up 6.5% to $2.48. Investors have been flooding back into the tech sector on Friday after a strong night of trade on Wall Street's tech-focused NASDAQ index. This has led to the S&P/ASX All Technology Index charging an impressive 2% higher this afternoon.
Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)
The Core Lithium share price is up 6% to $1.03. This follows a strong night of trade for risk assets such as lithium miners on Wall Street overnight. Investors were buying lithium shares again after risk sentiment improved following the release of jobs data in the United States. The market appears to believe that this data is supportive of less aggressive interest rate hikes.
Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: PAR)
The Paradigm share price is up 5.5% to $1.43. This could be a delayed reaction to the release of an announcement earlier this week. Paradigm revealed that the Data Monitoring Committee (DMC) for the pivotal PARA_OA_002 clinical trial was conducted on 20 December. Pleasingly, the DMC review of trial progress and safety data concluded that the clinical trial should proceed without modification. PARA_OA_002 is looking at injectable pentosan polysulphate sodium in participants with knee osteoarthritis pain.
Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)
The Sayona Mining share price is up 8% to 19.5 cents. Once again, this appears to have been driven by a rebound in the lithium industry amid improving risk sentiment. Prior to today, the Sayona Mining share price was down 22% in the space of a month.
