The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has gained 0.4% to rise to 5,185.50 points, despite touching a high of 5,214 points earlier in the day.
Energy and insurance companies have driven the index higher, while the big four banks have also seen price rises of between 0.6% and 1.4%. A 2.4% rise for our giant telco Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) has also helped.
These 4 companies posted even better gains…
RedFlow Ltd (ASX: RFX) share price zoomed 12.2% to $0.46. The Australian battery manufacturer offers zinc bromide storage batteries and plans to capitalise on the booming demand for household energy storage. The company says it plans to enter the residential market at the end of this month, with retail solar panel installers likely to offer the company's battery products. Investors are clearly anticipating huge demand for Redflow's batteries – one reason why the share price is up 67% in just the past month.
Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO) saw its share price gain 9.5% to $3.23, following a company presentation today. Independence is a diversified miner with exposure to gold, nickel, zinc, copper and cobalt. The company has three producing mines and another one under construction (the ex-Sirius Resources Nova nickel/copper project). Nova is expected to begin production in December 2016.
Clearly investors are excited about that prospect, and Independence's share price may regain some of the 40% it is still down since a year ago.
Speedcast International Ltd's (ASX: SDA) share price rose 6.4% to $4.67, and the shares have now doubled since March 2015. They are also a fair way ahead of the 2014 IPO price of $1.96, and I'm regretting my decision not to follow my own advice at the time. The satellite broadband provider announced today that it was being added to the S&P/ASX 300 (Index: ^AXKO) (ASX: XKO) at the close of market on March 18, 2016.
Getting added to the index, especially a major ASX index usually means more analyst coverage and better exposure to institutional investors, not to mention a host of index funds that will be forced to now buy shares in the company.
Netcomm Wireless Ltd's (ASX: NTC) share price gained 7.8% to $2.90. The maker of wireless broadband devices has seen demand for its products soar – both in Australia and globally, which is reflected in recent results. Revenues for the first half of 2016 soared 53%, while net profit was up 539%. Netcomm is also a recent addition to the All Ordinaries index – generally a positive sign for the same reasons as Speedcast above.
