After an early fall in the S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) this morning – which followed another down session on the U.S. bourse overnight – Aussie stocks have staged an afternoon recovery to be up 0.75% in late afternoon trade.
Weak sentiment helped send the index lower in early trade with the Australian Industry Group's Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) for September slipping further below the critical 50-point level which signals a sector in contraction. Data from the U.S. was also downbeat overnight with one survey showing U.S. house price growth hit its slowest pace in two years. Gauges of manufacturing and consumer confidence also eased.
Despite a number of economic headwinds, some savvy investors look to be utilising the increased market volatility to top-up their holdings in certain leading companies.
Here are four top stocks enjoying price support today.
1) Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd's (ASX: DMP) share price has rallied 3.9% today and is a favourite amongst investors given its solid growth outlook. The group's pipeline of global opportunities is strong and unlikely to be significantly affected by current economic concerns.
2) Shareholders in Scentre Group Ltd (ASX: SCG) have enjoyed a 3% gain in share price today possibly due to a flight to safety by some investors. Scentre's impressive portfolio of property assets and diversified tenant base provides shareholders with a defensive, steady stream of earnings.
3) Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) are 2.7% and 1.6% higher respectively. This after The Australian Financial Review ran a story on a broker report suggesting a tie up between Bendigo and Adelaide Bank with insurer Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) would make more sense than a merger between Bank of Queensland and Suncorp. It looks like investors are hedging their bets with investors piling into both second-tier banks today.
