It's been a fairly lacklustre day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and most ASX 200 shares this Wednesday.
At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has lost 0.56% of its value, despite the release of some pleasing inflation figures earlier today. But let's talk about the Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) share price.
In stark contrast to the rest of the market, Paladin shares are on fire today. This ASX 200 uranium stock has gained an impressive 10.1% at the time of writing, putting the company at $1.17 a share.
Not only that, but we've also seen Paladin clock a new record high today too. Just after lunchtime, Paladin hit a high of $1.18 a share, a level it has not reached in 11 years.
So what's going on with this uranium share that has prompted such a marked contrast to the wider stock market this Wednesday?
Why have Paladin shares just hit a new all-time high?
Despite today's enthusiastic rise, there's no obvious catalyst we can point to. The last piece of ASX news out of Paladin came back on 14 December.
However, there are a few other things going on in the uranium space that might be relevant here. Paladin is not the only uranium stock that is enjoying some time in the sun today.
We've also seen a big move with Paladin's compatriot Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE). At present, Boss shares have gained a healthy 5.3% to $4.88 a share. Another uranium share in Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL), is up 6.6% to $1.24.
This points to some industry-wide forces at play.
ASX uranium stocks in the spotlight
Indeed, uranium prices themselves have been boosting uranium sources for a few months now. As we discussed yesterday, uranium rose more than 50% in value over 2023, and hit levels not seen for 15 years.
Yesterday, my Fool colleague Tony covered the views of Fairmont Equities boss Michael Gable regarding Paladin. Gable posited that Paladin is primed as "one of the best placed Australian companies" to benefit from these rising prices over the coming 12 months.
Further, we also analysed a new announcement from the United Kingdom yesterday. This will see the UK invest 300 million pounds into a new high-tech high-assay, low-enriched uranium nuclear fuel program.
Today, we've got some fresh news out of the United States to go through as well. The US Department of Energy has just announced a similar program:
…the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) [has] issued a request for proposals (RFP) for uranium enrichment services to help establish a reliable domestic supply of fuels using high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU)—a crucial material needed to deploy advanced nuclear reactors…
Currently, HALEU is not commercially available from U.S.-based suppliers, and boosting domestic supply could spur the development and deployment of advanced reactors in the United States.
All of these factors could be feeding into what was already red-hot enthusiasm for ASX uranium shares, including Paladin, today. No doubt shareholders will be hoping that the ASX uranium party continues to rage.
