In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is on course make it two consecutive days of steep declines. At the time of writing the benchmark index is down 0.7% to 5,661 points.
Four shares which have defied the market today and climbed higher are listed below. Here's why they have posted solid gains today:
The a2 Milk Company Ltd (Australia) (ASX: A2M) share price has climbed almost 4% to $6.24. Today's gain is likely to be attributable to a research note out of Goldman Sachs which revealed that its analysts have upgraded the dairy company to a buy rating with a $7.25 price target. Goldman believes growth in the higher margin offline channel in China will lead to above consensus earnings growth in FY 2018.
The Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO) share price is up 4% to $3.97. The gold miner's shares are now up over 12% since this time last week despite there being no notable news out of the company or material movements in the gold price. Despite this strong gain, Independence remains the second-most shorted share on the Australian share market.
The Kidman Resources Ltd (ASX: KDR) share price has rebounded from yesterday's decline with a 3.5% gain to 92.5 cents. Yesterday the lithium miner's shares took a tumble after it revealed the results of the scoping study from its Earl Grey Lithium Project. Although the results were strong, some investors appear to have expected even better.
The Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG) share price is up 4.5% to 40.2 cents despite there being no news out of the natural gas company. But with its shares recently hitting a multi-year low, I suspect bargain hunters may have swooped in. Whilst its shares do look cheap, due to the oversupply of LNG I would caution against an investment.
