It's been a bouncy, yet overall positive, start to the trading week for the All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) Index and most ASX shares so far this Monday. At present, the All Ords has gained a tentative 0.075%. But let's talk about ASX uranium shares.
ASX uranium shares are having a huge Monday so far.
Take the Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) share price. Boss Energy shares closed at $4.23 each last week. But today, the uranium stock has risen by a major 8.63% up to $4.60.
Boss' uranium compatriot Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) is also having an easy time today. Its shares have swelled from $1.02 last Friday to $1.06 at present. That's a rise of 4.43%.
Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) isn't missing out either. It's up a healthy 3.51% from $1.14 to $1.18 today thus far.
So what's going on with this corner of the stock market this Monday that could explain why ASX uranium shares are delivering such conspicuous outperformance?
Why are ASX uranium shares shooting higher today?
Well, there's no obvious catalyst we can point to here. There's been no fresh news or announcements out of any of the companies listed above this Monday so far.
As such, it might be easy to conclude that these rises are simply an extension of the surge in sentiment we have seen with this sector over the past few weeks, and indeed over the past few months.
Investors have been flocking to ASX uranium shares following an explosion in the price of the nuclear fuel itself. As my Fool colleague Bernd covered last month, uranium prices topped 15-year highs in 2023, rising by more than 50%.
So no wonder some investors are keen to get a slice of this action.
But there's another development that could be boosting sentiment today.
The United Kingdom has just announced a 300 million pound investment into domestic nuclear power production. According to the UK Department for Energy Security, the UK will use this investment to become the first country in Europe to launch a high-tech high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) nuclear fuel program.
This is intended to "help deliver up to 24GW of clean, reliable nuclear power by 2050 – a quarter of the UK's electricity needs".
Investors are already excited over the potential of uranium and nuclear power to help address global warming. This announcement will likely do nothing to dampen that excitement, and could help explain why ASX uranium shares are so hot this Monday.
Whatever the cause, it's clearly another great session for the ASX's uranium stocks.
