In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a strong gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.75% to 7,407.3 points.
Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are rising:
Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)
The Bapcor share price is up 5.5% to $6.55. Investors have been buying this auto parts retailer's shares following the release of its half year results. Bapcor reported an 11.2% increase in revenue to $1 billion and a 2.3% increase in pro-forma net profit after tax to $146.3 million. Both were records for the period. This allowed Bapcor to boost its interim dividend by 5% to 10.5 cents per share.
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)
The Magellan share price has jumped 10% to $10.37. This is despite the struggling fund manager delivering a terrible half year result. Magellan reported a 67% decline in net profit after tax to $83.8 million. This was driven by the halving of its average funds under management since this time last year. Investors appear to have been expecting an even worse update or are attracted to its 46.9 cents per share interim dividend.
Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL)
The Sonic Healthcare share price is up almost 14% to $33.03. Investors have been buying this healthcare company's shares despite its half year result falling ever so slightly short of consensus estimates. They may be focusing more on news that the company is looking at making some acquisitions.
Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)
The Telstra share price is up 2% to $4.23. This follows the release of the telco giant's first half results. Telstra delivered a result ahead of expectations with its 6.4% increase in total income to $11.6 billion and 11.4% jump in EBITDA to $3.9 billion. This allowed the Telstra board to increase its fully franked interim dividend by 6.3% to 8.5 cents per share.
