In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 index is on course to record a disappointing decline. At the time of writing the benchmark index is down 0.6% to 6,606.2 points.
Four shares that have not let that hold them back today are listed below. Here's why they have charged higher:
The iSignthis Ltd (ASX: ISX) share price has continued its positive run and is up a further 9.5% to $1.72. Investors have been buying the fast-growing payments company's shares following the release of another impressive update on Monday. According to the release, iSignthis reported further strong growth in its gross processing transaction volume (GPTV). At the end of August its GPTV exceeded $1.1 billion, which is up more than 160% since the end of June.
The Leigh Creek Energy Ltd (ASX: LCK) share price is up 2.5% to 24 cents after the emerging gas company revealed that it has finalised the thyssenkrupp Concept Select Study on ISG to Fertiliser. The study confirmed that Leigh Creek can build a modern world scale plant in South Australia capable of producing urea that will compete with the lowest cost urea producers globally.
The Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) share price has zoomed 17% higher to $1.70 after announcing a strategic partnership with global pain management leader Grünenthal to develop and commercialise MPC-06-ID. This is a Phase III allogeneic cell therapy candidate for the treatment of chronic low back pain due to degenerative disc disease in patients that have exhausted conservative treatment options. The partnership has the potential to generate in excess of $1 billion in cumulative milestone payments for Mesoblast.
The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price has climbed 3.5% to $7.65 after oil prices raced higher overnight. The catalyst for this was news that the new Saudi oil minister was committed to production cuts. Santos isn't the only energy producer on the rise. In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Energy index is up a solid 2.4%.
