The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on form again and on course to record another gain. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.55% to 7,830.8 points.
Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are pushing higher:
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Ansell Ltd (ASX: ANN)
The Ansell share price is up 7% to $25.53. Investors have been buying this health and safety products company's shares following the completion of a capital raising. Ansell has successfully completed a A$400 million (US$263 million) fully underwritten institutional placement to eligible institutional investors. This was undertaken at a 6% discount of A$22.45 per new share. The proceeds will be used to acquire the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) business of Kimberly-Clark Corp (NYSE: KMB) for US$640 million (A$970 million). Management expects the acquisition to be mid-to-high single-digit earnings per share accretive pre synergies and low-teens earnings per share accretive including run-rate net cost synergies on a FY 2024 pro forma basis.
Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD)
The Elders share price is up 7% to $7.94. This agribusiness company's shares are rebounding on Tuesday after being sold off yesterday due to a poor trading update. The team at Citi believes the weakness has created a buying opportunity. This morning, its analysts upgraded Elders' shares to a buy rating with an $8.50 price target. Elsewhere, Morgans has upgraded the company's shares to an add rating with a $9.00 price target. This implies potential upside of 13% for investors from current levels.
Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX: PDI)
The Predictive Discovery share price is up over 6% to 24.5 cents. This has been driven by the release of further regional drilling results from the company's Bankan Gold Project in Guinea. According to the release, the drilling delivered excellent initial results along strike to the north-east at Sanifolon South. This includes some of the best intercepts so far from Argo, which add to the potential of the Argo Central Trend. Predictive Discovery's Managing Director, Andrew Pardey, said: "We are delighted with the latest exploration results from Argo, which pleasingly includes both follow-up drill holes at promising targets and first-pass results from new areas."
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO)
The Rio Tinto share price is up 3.5% to $126.11. This appears to have been driven largely by a strong night of trade for iron ore. According to CommSec, iron ore futures climbed US$2.71 or 2.7% to US$102.68 a tonne. This was driven by hopes of potential measures to bolster the steel industry in China and expectations of a wave of post-holiday restocking from the country's steelmakers.
