The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) started the week strongly, but in afternoon trade it has started to give back earlier gains and is just 0.1% higher at 5,626 points now.
Four shares which have been doing a lot of the heavy lifting today are as follows:
Bellamy's Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL) shares are up over 3% to $4.42 despite there being no news out of the infant formula manufacturer. This now means that its shares are up 10% since this time last week, possibly as a result of investors speculating that Bellamy's could be an attractive takeover target.
Rungepincockminarco Ltd (ASX: RUL) shares have rocketed 13% to 60 cents after the mining software solutions company provided a particularly impressive trading update. Due to all its segments performing strongly, management expects to report a first-half profit before tax of $0.6 million, compared to a $1 million loss in the first-half of FY 2016.
St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) shares have jumped almost 6% higher to $2.64. The majority of Australia's leading gold miners have climbed higher today thanks to a jump in the gold price. The spot gold price is currently fetching US$1,225 an ounce, thanks to further weakening in the U.S. dollar. If the gold price stays at this level then St Barbara would be a great option in my opinion.
Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) shares have climbed 4% to 53.5 cents after the company announced the receipt of a purchase order from Universal Candy for sale in Australia and New Zealand. Whilst it is still early days, this is undoubtedly a promising development for the company. At its peak in the 1990s the Yowie product had annual sales of 65 million units in Australia.
