The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a tough time on Thursday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 1% to 7,706.8 points.
Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are rising:
Arcadium Lithium (ASX: LTM)
The Arcadium Lithium share price is up 3% to $5.13. Investors have been piling into Arcadium Lithium and other ASX lithium stocks again today. This is despite there being no news out of the company and in the face of a bearish broker note out of Citi warning that lithium prices are going to sink further. It's possible that short sellers have decided to close positions and are buying back shares today.
Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)
The Baby Bunting share price is up 20% to $1.48. This has been driven by the release of a trading update from the baby products retailer this morning. According to the release, Baby Bunting's performance has improved markedly since the end of April. It advised that total sales from 1 May 2024 to 24 June 2024 were up 1% over the prior corresponding period. This compares to a 7.7% decline in sales during January to April. This improvement reflects the benefits of recently introduced new product assortments, a renewed focus on new customer acquisition, the introduction of a refreshed promotional engagement, and a proactive branding and go-to-market campaign.
Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT)
The Cettire share price is up 6% to $1.12. Investors appear to believe that the online luxury products retailer's shares have been oversold this week following the release of a disappointing trading update. Even after today's gain, Cettire's shares are still down approximately 50% since this time last week. Bell Potter sees this as a buying opportunity. In response to the update, the broker has reaffirmed its buy rating with a reduced price target of $2.60.
Qualitas Ltd (ASX: QAL)
The Qualitas share price is up 4.5% to $2.35. This morning, this alternative real estate investment manager announced the commitment of up to $300 million from a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for the existing QDCI platform. This represents ADIA's third commitment to QDCI and brings the total committed capital to A$1.67 billion since its initial investment in August 2022. Group Managing Director and Co-Founder, Andrew Schwartz, said: "QDCI has performed well since inception and the pipeline continues to grow. This latest increase in commitment from ADIA demonstrates the depth of opportunities within the Australian CRE private credit market and further evidences Qualitas' ability to attract, retain and grow our institutional investor base – a key differentiator in the current environment."
