Best and worst stocks on the ASX today

The market has closed above 5,500.

a woman

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has closed at 5,517.8, recording a gain of 0.70% for the day. It's the highest level the index has been at since June 2008.

Today's local gains follow a strong session on Wall Street overnight where the Dow Jones finished up 0.4%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.41%, after the market received a boost from companies reporting positive earnings and a bout of merger and acquisition activity.

Australian investors appeared more confident today in the outlook for equities after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported an annual inflation rate of 2.9% which investors saw as a sign that interest rates will remain on hold for the time being.

All sectors have recorded gains today with information technology, consumer discretionary, energy and financials particularly strong.

Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index today:

  • Horizon Oil Ltd (ASX: HZN) surged 10.4% to 37 cents
  • Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) jumped 6.9% to 62 cents
  • Evolution FPO (ASX: EVN) added 6.1% to 87.5 cents
  • Lynas Corporation Limited (ASX: LYC) climbed 5.7% to 18.5 cents
  • Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) gained 5.5% to $12.95

These stocks were the losers on the day:

  • Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO) closed down 3% to 95.5 cents
  • Wotif.com Holdings Limited (ASX: WTF) fell 2.1% to $2.74
  • Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) lost 1.8% to $2.21
  • Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) dropped 1.8% to $1.38
  • Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) declined 1.8% to $11.69
Motley Fool contributor Tim McArthur does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.

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