In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.35% to 8,776.8 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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A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)
The A2 Milk share price is up 4% to $7.12. This follows news that the infant formula company is rewarding shareholders with a NZ$300 million special dividend. The company estimates this will equate to 41.36 New Zealand cents per share (33.9 Australian cents per share). Based on its last close price of $6.85, this represented a dividend yield of just under 5%. A2 Milk's chair, Pip Greenwood, said: "With the necessary China regulatory approvals now in place, the Board is pleased to declare a $300 million special dividend. This reflects our commitment to delivering shareholder returns while maintaining disciplined capital management."
EchoIQ Ltd (ASX: EIQ)
The EchoIQ share price is up 33% to $1.65. Investors have been bidding the medical technology company's shares higher after Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) made an investment. Pro Medicus' CEO, Dr Sam Hupert, said: "In addition to providing financial backing, we are looking to offer our Visage 7 Cardiology customers the option of Echo IQ's technology. This is in line with our AI strategy of offering a curated suite of algorithms that will be a mixture of algorithms created by us, those created in conjunction with our clinical partners and 3rd party algorithms such as Echo-IQ."
Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC)
The Lendlease share price is up 5% to $3.06. This has been driven by the announcement of a major divestment. Lendlease will divest its remaining 25.1% interest in the Keyton Retirement Living Trust to existing co-investor, Aware Super, for a consideration of $525 million. It advised that net proceeds will be used to reduce group debt. Management notes that this transaction brings the total of announced and completed capital recycling initiatives from the Capital Release Unit (CRU) to $3.4 billion.
Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN)
The Qantas Airways share price is up 4% to $10.73. This may have been driven by a pullback in oil prices overnight. As fuel is the airline operator's largest cost, any reduction in oil prices is good news for margins. Qantas shares are now up almost 20% over the past two weeks.
