In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fought back from a poor start and is on course to record a small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.25% to 7,938.9 points.
Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are ending the week on a high:
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Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE)
The Boss Energy share price is up 8% to $2.92. This morning, Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) revealed that the Langer Heinrich Mine is impacted by unseasonal heavy rains in Namibia. As a result, the operation has been suspended temporarily. Investors may believe that this could be a positive for the uranium market and give spot prices a boost. In other news, earlier this week Bell Potter put a buy rating and $4.80 price target on Boss Energy's shares.
DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)
The DroneShield share price is up 6% to $1.19. Investors have been buying this counter drone technology company's shares this year on the belief that defence spending could ramp up and drive strong demand for its products. Following today's gain, DroneShield's shares are now up almost 50% since this time last month and 60% since the start of the year.
Premier Investments Ltd (ASX: PMV)
The Premier Investments share price is up almost 4% to $21.82. This follows the release of the retail conglomerate's half year results. Premier Investments posted a 1.8% decline in sales to $455 million from continuing operations for the half. As for earnings, Premier Investments reported a net profit before tax (excluding significant items) of $148.4 million from its continuing operations. This was down 12.7% on the prior corresponding period. However, it was largely in line with the market's expectations for the six months. No dividend was declared due to its recent post-demerger distributions.
Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)
The Woolworths share price is up 5% to $29.57. This has been driven by the release of the ACCC's Supermarket Inquiry final report. While the big two supermarket operators were heavily criticised, the ACCC is not recommending that they be broken up. Nor have they found any evidence of price gouging. Woolworths Group CEO, Amanda Bardwell, said: "We have taken steps to improve the experiences customers and suppliers have with us, and continue to listen carefully to all of them."
