The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back its early gains and slipped into the red. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.1% to 8,134.5 points.
Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back today are listed below. Here's why they are rising:
Lotus Resources Ltd (ASX: LOT)
The Lotus Resources share price is up 6.5% to 24.5 cents. This follows the release of an update from the uranium developer this morning. Lotus Resources has released the scoping study for its Letlhakane Uranium Project in Botswana. It has confirmed the project's potential to support an economically viable long-life operation under a variety of uranium price scenarios. Lotus is developing Letlhakane in parallel with planning for the restart of production at the Kayelekera Uranium Project in Malawi in 2025. This is part of its aim of becoming a globally significant uranium producer.
Opthea Ltd (ASX: OPT)
The Opthea share price is up 6% to 70 cents. This morning, this clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company announced the successful completion of its drug substance Process Performance Qualification (PPQ) campaign for sozinibercept. It is a drug aiming to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). The PPQ campaign consisted of the production of three successful consecutive commercial-scale drug substance batches required for the validation of Opthea's manufacturing process. The batches have been produced following an extensive manufacturing process development program. Management believes this is "an important step towards de-risking the program and a potential biologics license application (BLA) filing of sozinibercept in wet AMD."
Qoria Ltd (ASX: QOR)
The Qoria share price is up 3% to 35.5 cents. This has been driven by news that the digital safety and student wellbeing solutions provider has signed a partnership with Schools Broadband. It is the UK's largest managed service provider to K12. Under the exclusive partnership, Schools Broadband will offer Qoria's student monitoring solution to their UK customers.
Sims Ltd (ASX: SGM)
The Sims share price is up 11% to $12.24. Investors have been buying the scrap metal company's shares following the release of a trading update. Sims revealed that despite ongoing market challenges across all regions, the Metal businesses are projected to deliver estimated EBIT of $55 million in the first quarter of FY 2025. Sims CEO, Stephen Mikkelsen, commented: "It is encouraging to see the improved performance of our Metal businesses despite the challenging market conditions, particularly as we refocused our portfolio. I am especially pleased with the strong results in NAM, which highlight the successful execution of our strategy in a difficult market and the team's commitment to organisational adjustments."
