In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down slightly to 7,489 points.
Four ASX share that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are charging higher:
Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)
The Block share price is up almost 5% to $117.68. This follows a solid night of trade for the payments company's NYSE listed shares on Friday. Investors were piling back into the tech sector on Wall Street, driving the Nasdaq index 1% higher.
Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)
The Core Lithium share price is up 5% to $1.19. This morning, this lithium developer released its quarterly update. Positively, management revealed that additional night shifts continued during the quarter to ensure that the construction of the dense media separation (DMS) plant remains on schedule for production of first spodumene concentrate in the first half of 2023.
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)
The Lynas share price is up 4.5% to $9.50. Investors have been buying this rare earths producer's shares following the release of its second quarter update. For the three months ended 31 December, Lynas reported a 42% quarter on quarter increase in sales revenue to $232.7 million.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)
The Xero share price is up 3% to $77.63. This may have been driven by a broker note out of Goldman Sachs this morning. Goldman has named Xero as its top pick in the tech sector and put it on its coveted conviction list with a buy rating and $109.00 price target. This implies potential upside of 40% for investors from current levels.
