The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) hasn't been able to build on recent gains and has dropped 0.2% lower to 6,035 points in early afternoon trade.
Four shares that have defied the market today and climbed higher are listed below. Here's why they are ending the week with solid gains:
The Change Financial Ltd (ASX: CCA) share price has climbed 9% to 88.5 cents. Earlier in the day the mobile banking company's shares reached an all-time high of 90 cents despite there being no news out of it. I think that Change Financial will be one to watch in 2018.
The Janus Henderson Group (ASX: JHG) share price has climbed 4% to $47.47. Today's gain appears to be related to a couple of broker notes released this morning. Citi has upgraded the fund manager's shares to a buy rating and UBS has retained its buy rating and raised its price target to US$40.
The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price has continued its strong run and is up 5% to $1.03. This morning the lithium miner announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Polaris Shipping to discuss a potential joint venture for a downstream lithium chemical conversion facility servicing South Korea's rapidly growing lithium-ion battery industry.
The Westfield Corp Ltd (ASX: WFD) share price is up 3% to $8.36 following the release of its third-quarter update. The shopping centre operator had a solid quarter, reporting an 8.4% year-on-year increase in rent per square foot. Westfield had 93.4% of its portfolio leased at the end of the quarter.
