The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has started the week on a positive note. In late morning trade the benchmark index is up 2.3% to 5,184.3 points.
Four shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are surging higher:
The DEXUS Property Group (ASX: DXS) share price is up 3% to $8.91. Investors have responded positively to an announcement out of the property group this morning. That announcement reveals that DEXUS has established a new joint venture with GIC, which has exchanged contracts to acquire a 50% interest in Rialto Towers for $644 million. Dexus will hold a 10% stake in the joint venture.
The Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price has jumped over 10% to $46.59. This follows the release of its funds under management (FUM) update this morning. According to the release, the company experienced net inflows of $469 million during March. This was despite the high levels of market volatility. And while total FUM fell 6.6% to $93,991 million due to unfavourable market movements, this was far better than the ASX 200's 21.2% decline in March.
The Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) share price has zoomed 30% higher to $1.75. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the cellular medicine developer's shares after the release of an FDA update. According to the release, the FDA has cleared its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to treat patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by COVID-19 with intravenous infusions of its allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) product candidate remestemcel-L.
The SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) share price is up 4.5% to $15.17. This morning the job listings giant released an update on how its businesses were performing during the coronavirus outbreak. SEEK notes that billings for its ANZ and Asia businesses (excluding Zhaopin) were down 40% for the week ended March 22 and 60% for the week ended March 29. Despite this, it expects its annual revenue to be ~$1,600 million and EBITDA to come in at around ~$410 million in FY 2020.
