In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.15% to 8,821.1 points.
Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are rising:
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Aeris Resources Ltd (ASX: AIS)
The Aeris Resources share price is up almost 10% to 45 cents. This morning, Bell Potter upgraded this copper miner's shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of 65 cents. It commented: "AIS is a copper-dominant producer with its near-term outlook highly leveraged to the copper price and increasing production at Tritton, which is now the largest copper mine in Australia not owned by a major mining company and is an attractive corporate target, in our view. We lift our recommendation to Buy."
Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM)
The Capricorn Metals share price is up almost 4% to $14.22. Investors have been bidding this gold miner's shares higher following the release of an update. Capricorn revealed that the Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for Orion South Underground has increased to 9.5Mt at 2.9g/t Au for 895,000 ounces of gold. The company's executive chair, Mark Clark, commented: "Increasing the Orion South underground resource by over 30% to 895,000 ounces in less than four months since the maiden underground resource is indicative of the emerging underground opportunity at Mt Gibson. Capricorn is committed to a strategy of growing the resource, delivering ore reserves and completing the work to validate our belief that Mt Gibson will become a long mine life open pit and underground mining operation."
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)
The Northern Star share price is up 3% to $26.00. The catalyst for this was a solid rise in the gold price overnight. Traders were bidding the gold price higher after weaker than forecast economic data in the United States boosted interest rate cut expectations. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is up 2.6% at the time of writing.
Rox Resources Ltd (ASX: RXL)
The Rox Resources share price is up almost 7% to 47 cents. This morning, this gold developer revealed that it has officially commenced underground mining operations at its Youanmi Gold Project. This was achieved after the first cut was fired at the United North pit. Management believes this marks a major milestone in its pathway towards production.
