In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a decent gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.35% to 7,441.6 points.
Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are storming higher:
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Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)
The Beach share price is up over 4% to $1.44. This appears to have been driven by rising oil prices and a broker note out of Morgan Stanley. In respect to the latter, this morning the broker retained its equal-weight rating but lifted its price target on Beach's shares to $1.70. It made the move on the belief that LNG prices will increase materially over the remainder of the 2020s.
Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN)
The Mineral Resources share price is up 9% to $42.81. This follows news that the company is restarting its 40% owned Wodgina Lithium Mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Wodgina has been on care and maintenance since November 2019. It will be restarted to initially produce 250,000tpa of spodumene concentrate. Production is expected to commence from the third quarter of 2022.
Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG)
The Origin share price is up 3.5% to $5.36. This morning the energy company announced the sale of a 10% stake in Australia Pacific LNG for $2.12 billion to EIG. This leaves Origin with a 27.5% holding in the LNG business. Management notes that this cash injection provides further flexibility to deliver returns to shareholders and pay down debt, while allowing Origin to accelerate investment in growth opportunities.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
The Telstra share price is up over 2.5% to $3.83. Investors have been buying the telco giant's shares after it announced the acquisition of Digicel Pacific. Telstra has teamed up with the Australian Government to acquire the South Pacific-based telco for US$1.6 billion. The deal includes additional payments of up to US$250 million, subject to Digicel Pacific's business performance over the next three years. Telstra expects the deal to be earnings per share accretive.
