The EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price is once again rocketing today, with EML shares up another 4.4% today at the time of writing to $5.63 a share. It’s shaping up to be the second day of big share price rises for EML in a row.

Yesterday, EML shares hit a new all-time high of $5.80. This new high finally vaults EML to above its pre-COVID highs. Even after cooling off since those highs, EML shares are now up 10.7% since yesterday morning, and 16.12% since last Thursday. It also means that EML shares are now up an eye-watering 257% since 23 March last year, as well as 33% in 2021 alone.

So who is EML Payments? And why are this company’s shares continuing to rocket higher?

Who is the company?

EML Payments is… a payments company which specialises in prepaid debit cards. These cards can be used for anything from a gift card to salary packaging to a cash card for use at a casino. EML operates across Australia, as well as in North America and Europe. Its payments platform is highly integrated with the US payments giant Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA) in particular. EML works with a number of large clients, including the Queensland Government, Ladbrokes, Sportsbet, bet365, Shell Canada and Harley Davidson. 

The company has been performing very well of late. In its earnings report for the 6 months ending 31 December on February, EML reported revenue growth of 61% to $95.3 million on the back of gross debit volume of $10.2 billion (up 54%). The company also reported a 30% lift in net profits after tax to $13.2 million. it expects this growth to continue as well, guiding for between $180-190 million in revenues and $30-33.5 million in net profits for FY2021.

Why are EML shares shooting the moon today?

As mentioned above, EML shares have been in demand since the company reported its earnings back in February. But investors have really stepped on the gas over the past week. The likely catalyst behind this recent bullishness was an announcement made by the company yesterday.

Before market open, EML announced that it had netted a major acquisition. The company will completely acquire Sentinal Limited through a binding share purchase agreement. Sentinal is a European company that specialises in account-to-account payments as well as open banking. EML’s management told investors that the Sentinel acquisition will expand EML’s product line to include non-card-based payments on its platform, amongst other positive synergies.

EML will pay 70 million euros for the deal, plus an “earn-out component of up to 40 million euros”. The funding for the takeover will stem from a combination of 38.9 million euros in cash and the issuance of 31.1 million euros’ worth of EML shares.

Evidently, investors have embraced this deal, judging by the performance of the EML share price since yesterday morning. At the current EML share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $2.05 billion.

More reading

• Why Creso, EML, Immutep, & Western Areas shares are storming higher
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Bullish ASX 200 shares breaking into 52-week highs 
• EML Payments (ASX:EML) and these ASX shares just hit new highs
• ASX 200 rises, EML jumps, Zip falls

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Mastercard. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends EML Payments and Mastercard. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended EML Payments and Mastercard. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The golden run in the Australian dollar may be over and that could have implications for a number of ASX shares.

The Aussie crashed to around US57 cents during the height of the COVID-19 mayhem in March 2020 but came roaring back.

It peaked at just under US80 cents in February this year before easing back to just over US76 cents.

Australian dollar past its prime

The Aussie battler is unlikely to be testing new highs anytime soon. It’s even tipped to weaken further, according to JPMorgan.

The broker looked at the forward curves (the future pricing of the Australian dollar against the US dollar). The Aussie is predicted to average at US75 cents this year before returning to US76 cents in 2022.

The new 2021 estimate is 0.8% below the previous forecast and the 2022 estimate is 2.5% below earlier expectations.

This may not sound like much to you, but it can have a material impact on ASX shares with large US dollar exposure.

How the exchange rate affects ASX shares

However, the impact of the weakening Aussie against the greenback is offset by its expected strength against the Euro.

Many S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) shares with US operations also sell products into the EU. Some examples include the Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) share price and Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) share price.

Meanwhile, ASX shares like the Ramsay Health Care Limited Fully Paid Ord. Shrs (ASX: RHC) share price have greater leverage to the Euro.

Balancing act limits earnings impact

“The decline in the expected A$ and NZ$ relative to the US$ had a positive earnings impact on companies with offshore earnings reporting in local currency, but the benefit was offset for most by an opposite move in the Euro,” said JPMorgan.

“For the USD-reporting companies the stronger US$ had a negative impact on our forecasts, but our spot valuations were supported by a 2¢ drop in the A$.”

What this means is that the currency impact is modest for just about every ASX share under the broker’s coverage. But there is an exception.

Biggest winner from a weaker Aussie

This is the Nanosonics Ltd. (ASX: NAN) share price as its sales are especially weighted to the US.

JPMorgan upgraded its earnings per share (EPS) forecast on the medical equipment disinfection company by 3.7% and 6.2% for FY21 and FY22, respectively.

However, the brighter earnings outlook for Nanosonics wasn’t enough to convince JPMorgan to upgrade its recommendation on the shares.

The broker is sticking to its “neutral” call on the Nanosonics share price but upped its price target by 10 cents to $5.40 a share.

More reading

• Why the ASX 200 is at a 15-month high today
• ASX 200 up 1%: Big four banks and miners take ASX 200 above 7,000 points
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for growth
• Why the Orocobre (ASX:ORE) share price is surging
• The National Storage (ASX:NSR) share price is at a 52-week high. Here’s why

Brendon Lau owns shares of Ansell Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Cochlear Ltd. and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ansell Ltd., Cochlear Ltd., Nanosonics Limited, and Ramsay Health Care Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The FYI Resources Ltd (ASX: FYI) share price is edging higher today, up 2% at the time of writing.

This comes after the company emerged from a trading halt pending today’s ASX release. We take a look at the latest announcement from the ASX resource share below.

What update did FYI Resources report?

FYI Resources shares are moving higher after the company released an updated definitive feasibility study (DFS) of its high purity alumina (HPA) project. Today’s update replaces the DFS update that FYI Resources released on 31 March, which it said investors should no longer rely upon.

The new DFS estimates the net present value (NPV) of the company’s HPA project to be US$1.014 (A$1.334 billion), an increase of 87% from previous estimates. FYI said the DFS took into account “the technical and commercial improvements, market applied metrics relative to its peer group, updated inputs (exchange rate) and discount rate (8%).”

Under the new DFS the company now forecasts annual project revenue of US$261million, with annual project earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$186 million. It estimates a project payback period of 3.2 years.

Commenting on the updated DFS, FYI Resources managing director Roland Hill said:

The update to the company’s initial DFS was an obvious progression in the development of our HPA project strategy. The quality and robustness of our HPA Project was demonstrated in our initial DFS released in March 2020. Since then, the company has continued the evolution of the Project through further process design improvements, detailed test-work via numerous pilot plant trials and other supporting activities to assist in de-risking the Project…

The updated DFS outcome represents a persuasive economic case and demonstrates the merit of the Project in being developed as potentially one of the HPA sector’s highest quality, lowest capital and operating cost projects.

FYI Resources share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months FYI Resources has absolutely shot the lights out, with shares up 1,300%. For comparison the broader All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has gained 38% in that same time.

Year-to-date the FYI Resources share price is up 100%. At the current price of 56 cents per share, FYI Resources has a market cap of $176 million.

More reading

• ASX stock of the day: EML Payments (ASX:EML) shares keep rising
• A$ tipped to weaken and this ASX share stands to gain the most from that
• Why the Greenland Minerals (ASX:GGG) share price is crashing 45% lower today
• McPherson’s (ASX:MCP) share price lifts on takeover developments
• This broker thinks the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is a buy in April

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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One of the worst performers on the Australian share market on Thursday has been the Greenland Minerals Ltd (ASX: GGG) share price.

The rare earths focused mineral exploration company’s shares crashed 45% to 8.8 cents before being placed into a trading halt this morning.

Why is the Greenland Minerals share price crashing lower?

As its name implies, Greenland Minerals is a Greenland-based mineral exploration company aiming to develop the Kvanefjeld rare earth project in south west of the country.

Management has previously said that Kvanefjeld has the potential to become the most significant western world producer of rare earths.

Unfortunately for the company, its aspirations were dealt a massive blow overnight when Greenland’s left-wing environmentalist party won the country’s election.

According to the BBC, the Inuit Ataqatigiit party won 37% of votes and vowed to halt the mining project.

The media outlet notes that many locals had raised concerns about the potential for radioactive pollution and toxic waste in the farmland surrounding the proposed mine.

The outgoing Siumut Party believes the controversy surrounding the Kvanefjeld mine was one of the main reasons for its election loss. It was supporting the mine, arguing that it would generate hundreds of jobs and significant revenue for the country over several decades.

However, Inuit Ataqatigiit’s leader, Múte Bourup Egede, stated that: “The people have spoken.”

What now for Greenland Minerals?

While nothing has been finalised at this point, it looks set to be a tough road ahead for Greenland Minerals following this election result.

The company has yet to respond to the news but requested its trading halt late this morning in order to prepare an announcement.

It commented: “The trading halt is requested pending an update to the market regarding the results of the recent election in Greenland. The Company requests that the trading halt be lifted on the earlier of the release of an announcement to the market or on the commencement of normal trading on Monday, 12 April 2021.”

More reading

• McPherson’s (ASX:MCP) share price lifts on takeover developments
• This broker thinks the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is a buy in April
• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price edges lower despite contract award
• Why the ASX 200 is at a 15-month high today
• ASX 200 up 1%: Big four banks and miners take ASX 200 above 7,000 points

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The McPherson’s Ltd (ASX: MCP) share price is rising today after its board recommended shareholders reject the takeover bid from Gallin Pty Ltd.

At the time of writing, shares in the health and beauty supplier were trading higher at $1.425, up 0.71%. By comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 0.84%.

Let’s take a closer look at these latest developments and how they might affect the McPherson’s share price.

McPherson’s brushes off Gallin

In today’s ASX statement, McPherson’s confirmed its board was unanimously recommending shareholders reject the offer from Gallin to buy 100% of the shares in the company for $1.34 each.

The board said the offer “profoundly undervalued the company”.

McPherson’s chair Graham Cubbin said Gallin was “exploiting” recent share price weakness to buy the company:

The offer has been opportunistically timed to exploit McPherson’s recent share price weakness following a period of challenging trading conditions.

Shareholders who sell their MCP Shares to Gallin will not benefit from any future growth and any share price improvement above recent lows.

In the release, Mr Cubbin told shareholders McPherson’s still had significant room for growth.

The company was currently working on a “comprehensive” operational review to identify areas of growth and implement strategies.

At just under $1.43, the current McPherson’s share price is trading higher than the Gallin offer of $1.34.

In its pitch to shareholders, Gallin claimed McPherson’s was “in urgent need of reinvigoration…” In addition, Gallin said a $46 million capital raising effort by McPherson’s in October 2020 followed by a profit downgrade within 1 month of it raised “a number of red flags…” about the company.

McPherson’s claimed Gallin was merely trying to “acquire as large an investment exposure as possible to McPherson’s at the least possible price”. The board did not indicate whether it would be prepared to accept a revised offer from Gallin.

McPherson’s share price snapshot

As noted, the McPherson’s share price has faced challenges recently. Over the past 12 months, the company’s shares have fallen 36.5%. The company has been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and international border closures.

McPherson’s has a market capitalisation of $183.6 million.

More reading

• Why Brickworks, McPherson’s, MedAdvisor, & Premier Investments are storming higher
• Why the McPherson’s (ASX:MCP) share price is zooming 14% higher today

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is making up for lost ground after an underwhelming performance this year. Its shares are up more than 15% in April, bringing it back to break-even territory for year-to-date returns. 

Why the Afterpay share price was sold off in February and March 

The buy now pay later (BNPL) sector broadly topped out in early February. Just before a majority of companies announced half-year results. Whether the earlier moves had already priced solid results or perhaps a ‘buy the rumor and sell the news’ narrative was taking place. Either way, Afterpay’s half-year results were not well received by the market. Its shares fell more than ~10% on the day to a 1 1/2 month low of $119.50.

Negative factors continued to weigh the Afterpay share price in March. This included surging bond yields that typically have a negative impact on richly valued shares including tech.  

To add further insult to injury, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) announced its entry into the Australian BNPL market. Big brokers were quick to react to the news, with UBS retaining its sell rating and $36.00 target price. Macquarie also released a detailed report on 24 March. The report maps a 10-year flight path for the sector including key inflection points and triggers.

A key highlight from the report was the near-term pain it expects the industry to undergo, before emerging stronger in the medium to long term. 

The BNPL industry has seen explosive growth in the past few years and quickly gained popularity as a payment alternative, but as with many other such trends experienced in the past (China Commodities in 2015, China Autos in 2018), we think an excessive number of participants has entered the industry in the near term resulting in industry overcapacity.

We expect this to be followed by a few years of industry consolidation (i.e. pain for all players) before industry normalisation at a healthier supply/demand equilibrium.

Morgan Stanley bullish on Afterpay

Morgan Stanley is the first big broker to provide an update for Afterpay shares in April. The broker has assessed the entry of CBA into the Australian BNPL market.

CBA will attempt to become the preferred BNPL partner for merchants, charging them a significantly lower fee compared to Afterpay. The broker believes that this will result in a more competitive pricing landscape in Australia. This will translate to lower Australian merchant fee estimates for Afterpay. 

Despite a more competitive pricing environment, the broker believes that Afterpay will maintain a premium to other payment methods. While its fees might be high for a payment solution, it is still relatively low for the marketplace. 

Morgan Stanley reduced the group’s merchant margins by 13 basis points for FY23 estimates and Australian merchant margins by 60 basis points. It reduced its target price from $159 to $149, but retained an overweight rating. Afterpay shares opened higher on Thursday, currently trading at $120.28, up 1.5%. 

More reading

• ASX 200 up 1%: Big four banks and miners take ASX 200 above 7,000 points
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• CommBank (ASX:CBA) cops massive fine for deceptive conduct
• Tesla and GameStop were some of the most popular US shares last week
• Why the Bubs (ASX:BUB) share price is up 5% today

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR) share price is edging lower in mid-morning trade despite announcing a new contract award.

At the time of writing, the global engineering company’s shares are fetching $10.79, down 1.1%.

New contract

Investors appear to be unfazed by the company’s latest update, sending Worley shares in negative territory.

According to its release, Worley advised it has won a front-end engineering services contract with Phillips 66 Company (Phillips 66).

The new deal will see Worley provide services to transform Phillips 66’s San Francisco refinery into a renewable fuels-manufacturing facility. Located in Rodeo, California, the project once completed is expected to produce 2.5 billion litres annually of renewable transportation fuels. The facility will be fed from cooking oils, fats, greases and vegetable oils and convert them into clean energy.

Worley noted that the renewable fuels-manufacturing facility is set to be one of the world’s largest of its kind.

The project will be managed by Worley’s North America West team, with support from its Global Integrated Delivery team.

Worley CEO, Chris Ashton welcomed the deal, saying:

As a global company headquartered in Australia, this project aligns with our strategic focus on sustainability and delivering a more sustainable world. We are pleased that Phillips 66 has engaged Worley in this important renewable fuels project and look forward to supporting Phillips 66’s energy transition goals, while also supporting Worley’s strategic focus on future fuels.

Worley share price summary

Over the past 12 months, the Worley share price has moved over 50% higher after hitting multi-year lows during COVID-19. Since the beginning of this calendar year, however, the company’s shares have dropped around 6%. Worley shares are currently sitting in the mid-range of the 52-week performance, between its low of $6.36 and high of $14.01.

On valuation grounds, Worley presides a market capitalisation of approximately $5.63 billion, with more than 522 million shares on issue.

More reading

• Why the Worley (ASX:WOR) share price will be on watch this morning
• The Worley (ASX:WOR) share price is lifting today. Here’s why

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having another top day today as the market opens. At the time of writing, the ASX’s flagship index is up 0.96% to 6,994.4 points. That’s a 15-month high for ASX 200 shares. It’s also tantalisingly close to the psychologically potent 7,000 points mark, which the ASX 200 crossed for the first time ever in January of last year. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic made short work of that high just a month or so later, and we haven’t seen the ASX 200 climb back above 7,000 points since. But on the index’s recent momentum, it might not be too far off.

It’s a decisive move upwards for the ASX 200. The index had, until last week, been stuck in a rut of sorts since late November. That’s when upward momentum for ASX 200 shares stalled after a strong October. In fact, since 25 November, the ASX 200 has bumped along in a band between 6,700 and 6,900 points. But we are well above that band today.

So, why is the ASX 200 now suddenly pushing higher after months of going sideways? There are a couple of factors at play.

Why the ASX 200 is pushing higher at last

The first is positive economic momentum here in Australia. By all accounts, the Australian economy is recovering nicely from the coronavirus-induced recession last year, the first recession Australia has seen in near-three decades. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has flagged that it will not raise interest rates until 2024, and will also allow inflation to run somewhat before they would consider trying to reign it in. This is all highly supportive economic policy.

The vaccine rollout is progressing despite a few witches and shortages. And we have just had confirmation of a trans-Tasman travel bubble with New Zealand that should result in a tourism boost for both countries after a year of effective travel bans.

All of this is conducive to higher ASX shares.

US markets lead the way

Secondly, what is happening in the United States is also probably helping ASX 200 shares. The rollout of coronavirus vaccines in the US is going very well. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 42.4% of adults over 18 have now received at least one shot of a vaccine at the time of writing. That’s obviously great news for the US economy. The US share markets are reflecting this optimism as well by hitting new all-time highs. Just this month, the flagship US S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP: .INX) crossed the 4,000 points threshold for the first time ever last week.

Further, the big spending plans of the new Biden administration are also supporting markets. President Biden is now trying to push a mammoth infrastructure spending bill through congress after the recent passage of the massive US$1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan last month. Markets appear to be cheering all of this on, which is probably spilling over to our own ASX. Remember, US markets hit their pre-COVID highs in August last year. The ASX 200 is still chasing its own high watermark.

But this could soon change if things keep going the ASX 200’s way. And based on today’s moves with ASX 200 shares at a 15-month high, that’s what investors are expecting.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 1%: Big four banks and miners take ASX 200 above 7,000 points
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for growth
• Why the Orocobre (ASX:ORE) share price is surging
• The National Storage (ASX:NSR) share price is at a 52-week high. Here’s why
• ASX 200 rises, EML jumps, Zip falls

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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At lunch on Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on form and charging notably higher again. The benchmark index is currently up 1% to 6,999.3 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

ASX 200 surpasses 7,000 points

The ASX 200 broke through the 7,000 points mark and hit a new post-COVID high on Thursday morning. While all sectors are pushing higher today, the banks and miners have been doing a lot of the heavy lifting. All the big four banks are outperforming the market today as investor sentiment continues to improve thanks to a positive global economic outlook.

Tech shares push higher

The Australian tech sector is rising today despite the Nasdaq index’s underwhelming session last night. The likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) are pushing higher and helping to drive the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) 1% higher.

ASIC goes after Westpac

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is storming higher today despite being hit with civil proceedings by ASIC this morning. According to the release, the proceedings relate to the sale of consumer credit insurance products to approximately 384 of the bank’s customers. The corporate watchdog alleges that Westpac supplied these products to certain customers who had not requested or agreed to acquire them.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CDI (ASX: URW) share price with a 4.5% gain on no news. The worst performer has been the Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) share price with a decline of almost 3%. The embattled gold miner’s shares are out of favour with investors for both company-specific issues and reducing demand for safe haven assets.

More reading

• Why the ASX 200 is at a 15-month high today
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• How Westpac (ASX:WBC) is set to cash in on Bitcoin
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for growth
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price on watch after ASIC launches civil proceedings

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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In late morning trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on form again and charging higher. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 1.1% to 7,006.3 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are on form:

Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH)

The Creso share price is up 5% to 20.5 cents. This morning the cannabis company released an update on its Canadian subsidiary, Mernova Medicinal. According to the release, Mernova Medicinal has secured new purchase orders valued at C$145,192 (A$150,770) from the Ontario Cannabis Store and Yukon Liquor Corporation. Positively, management notes that demand for its offering is growing and appears confident more orders are coming.

EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

The EML share price has continued its rise and is up a further 4% to $5.64. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the payments company’s shares since the announcement of its acquisition of Sentenial Limited for up to 110 million euros on Wednesday. One broker that is a fan of the move is Macquarie. This morning the broker retained its outperform rating and lifted its price target on the company’s shares to $6.20.

Immutep Ltd (ASX: IMM)

The Immutep share price has jumped 10% to 48.5 cents. The catalyst for this was news that the biotechnology company has received Fast Track designation from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead product candidate, eftilagimod alpha. The company is aiming to treat first line recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA)

The Western Areas share price has stormed almost 5% higher to $2.23. This follows the release of the nickel producer’s quarterly update this morning. That update reveals that Western Areas delivered a significant improvement in the performance of its Forrestania operations in Western Australia. The company mined 4,236 Ni tonnes, which represents a 20% quarter on quarter increase in nickel in concentrate production.

More reading

• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why the Creso (ASX:CPH) share price is smoking the market today
• Here’s why the Immutep (ASX:IMM) share price is rocketing 10% higher
• Bullish ASX 200 shares breaking into 52-week highs 
• Why the Western Areas (ASX:WSA) share price is on watch

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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