For the first time in nearly six years, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) rose above the 5,500 point mark in what was a topsy-turvy week for investors.
The market's overall performance was marred by weak international leads, including the massive tech stock sell-off in the United States, which weighed down on companies like REA Group Limited (ASX: REA), SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) and CarSales.com Limited (ASX: CRZ). Concerns about slower growth in China and a strengthening Australian dollar also restricted the ASX 200 to a 0.1% gain for the week to close at 5,428.6 points – 1.4% below its high of 5,503.5 on Thursday.
While the market's returns were rather flat for the week, there were certainly some big movers! Here are the week's biggest winners:
- Upmarket retailer David Jones Limited (ASX: DJS) was the best performer for the week, climbing 23.2% following South Africa's Woolworths' $2.15 billion bid for the business.
- Leisure and entertainment company Echo Entertainment Group Limited (ASX: EGP) soared 14.4% on the back of a strong rise in revenue for the March quarter. Shares rose by 12% on Friday alone
- Worleyparsons Limited (ASX: WOR) rose 7.4% following news of a major restructure which will see its engineering group split into three different businesses
- Embattled mining services group Boart Longyear Ltd (ASX: BLY) jumped 8.8% after calling upon Goldman Sachs to take expressions of interest for a significant shareholding in the business
- Gold miner Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) gained 8.3% as the price of gold rose above US$1,300/oz. The miner has risen 38% since the beginning of the year following a disastrous run in 2013
Unfortunately, there were also plenty of companies which succumbed to the pressures of the market:
- Beverage behemoth Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX: CCL) appeared to lose its fizz when it warned that interim profit would likely fall by 15% compared to the prior corresponding period. Its shares lost 14.6% on Friday and 12.2% for the week
- Unlike other gold miners, St. Barbara Limited (ASX: SBM) fell by 12.5% for the week after it was forced to temporarily close its Gold Ridge operations in the Solomon Islands due to enormous rainfall
- Prana Biotechnology Limited (ASX: PBT) lost another 20% following on from a 76% skydive in the prior week, this can be attributed to a largely unsuccessful research results for Alzheimer's treatment
- TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) dialled in a 9.4% drop, joining other telecommunications groups in the doldrums. It appears the shares could be taking a breather following months of heavy gains and after going ex-dividend recently
- iProperty Group Ltd (ASX: IPP) fell victim to the tech stock sell-off with its shares depreciating 14.4%
Foolish takeaway
Sometimes, the best time to be buying shares can be in the midst of the market's moodswings. You could certainly take advantage of the falls in companies like Coca-Cola Amatil or TPG Telecom, which have plenty of growth potential ahead of them.
