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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small gain on Thursday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.25% to 8,787.7 points.
Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are pushing higher:
The BHP Group share price is up almost 3% to $41.40. This appears to have been driven by news that Freeport-McMoran Inc (NYSE: FCX) has suspended production at the Grasberg Block Cave Mine (GBC) in Indonesia following a mudslide. This unsurprisingly led to the copper futures price jumping overnight, which has given miners with exposure to the base metal a boost today. So much so, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials index is up 1.4% at the time of writing.
Nickel Industries Ltd (ASX: NIC)
The Nickel Industries share price is up 1.5% to 72.5 cents. Investors have been buying this nickel producer’s shares after it completed a US$800 million issuance of senior unsecured notes at a coupon of 9%. Nickel Industries’ managing director, Justin Werner, said: “We are very pleased to have completed this bond issuance, which marks a significant milestone for Nickel Industries. The transaction extends our debt maturities, reduces our cost of debt, repays our existing amortising notes and a portion of our existing amortising bank loans with new non-amortising notes, removing US$88 million in annual note amortisation. […] Importantly, the issuance attracted strong support from global investors, including from North America and Europe, underscoring the growing international recognition of our business and long-term strategy.”
Premier Investments Ltd (ASX: PMV)
The Premier Investments share price is up 2.5% to $20.90. This morning, the Smiggle and Peter Alexander owner released its FY 2025 results and reported a 0.9% increase in retail sales to $812.2 million. This was driven by a 7.7% increase in Peter Alexander sales to a record of $548.0 million, which offset a 10.7% decline in Smiggle global sales. On the bottom line, the company revealed a 31.1% increase in statutory net profit after tax to $338.2 million. This allowed it to declare a fully franked final dividend of 50 cents per share.
Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS)
The Woodside Energy share price is up 2.5% to $23.42. Investors have been buying Woodside and other ASX energy shares today after oil prices charged higher overnight. The catalyst for this was the release of data that showed a higher than expected draw from US crude stockpiles.