The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is fighting hard to get into positive territory on Friday but has just fallen short. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down slightly to 7,307.6 points.
Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are rising:
Azure Minerals Ltd (ASX: AZS)
The Azure Minerals share price is up 19% to $2.58. Investors have been scrambling to buy this lithium explorer's shares following the release of more promising drilling results. Management believes the latest results reflect some of the best lithium drill intersections globally. It feels this entrenches the Andover project "amongst the best lithium exploration projects globally."
Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)
The Beach Energy share price is up 2% to $1.64. This follows a solid rise in oil prices overnight after Russia and Saudi Arabia revealed plans to push on with their production cut plans. It isn't just Beach Energy that is rising. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy index is up over 1% at the time of writing.
Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR)
The Dicker Data share price is up 4.5% to $8.39. Investors have been buying this computer hardware and software distributor's shares following the release of a half-year trading update. For the first half of FY 2023, Dicker Data reported a 9.4% increase in revenue to $1,596 million and an 8% lift in net profit before tax to $54 million.
Melbana Energy Ltd (ASX: MAY)
The Melbana Energy share price is up 7.5% to 10.75 cents. This morning, this energy explorer provided an update on wireline logging at the Alameda-2 well in Cuba. The release reveals that excellent-quality logs have been obtained over the entire Amistad interval. Management notes that this is a great improvement from last time when logs could not be obtained over some of the most productive units.
