3 ASX stocks that jumped by more than 5% yesterday

No-one told these three companies the market was falling

Mike King

Mike King is a Fool.com.au Investment Analyst and Writer. He caught the investing bug more than a decade ago, at a time when the U.S. had invaded Iraq and fear reigned in the markets. His initial success as the markets took off encouraged his passion and thirst for knowledge. With 13 years behind him at one of Australia's largest domestic banks, Mike's passion for stocks led him to join a boutique funds management firm, where he stayed for four years. A seven-year stint in equity research at one of the largest investment banks in the world followed that, giving Mike a thirst to pursue his passion further. Mike holds a Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment and a Graduate Certificate in Financial Planning. His passion is to help retail investors invest better, and that passion was one of his primary reasons for joining The Motley Fool Australia in late 2011. Mike has written thousands of articles since joining, including for Fairfax Media, Yahoo!7, Ninemsn and has also appeared on ABC's The Business. You can see all of Mikes' holdings here

Published June 26, 2012 11:12 am AEST

The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) fell 0.5% yesterday to close at 4,027.8, recovering from a 1% fall at midday, shrugging off the positive signs from Wall Street overnight, as – you guessed it – European economic news was front and centre with Spain becoming the fourth country to ask for financial help.

Despite the falling market, these three stocks all managed to rise by more than 5% yesterday.

Challenger Infrastructure Fund (ASX: CIF) climbed 6.6% to close at $1.29, as the company prepares to be wound up, following its agreement to sell its only remaining asset. Challenger agreed to sell its interests in Inexus Group yesterday to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (Brookfield), for proceeds of £10m and a further £25.6m contingent on Inexus successfully refinancing its debt facilities, and Brookfield receiving antitrust regulatory approvals.

Challenger expects to pay 5 cents per security to unit holders on 31^st August 2012, and a further distribution of $1.28 per security in September 2012. Should the company also receive the contingent payment (there is a risk that it won't), unit holders could expect to receive a further distribution of around 11 cents per security in December 2012, when the company is wound up.

Finbar Group Limited (ASX: FRI) enjoyed a 6.6% gain to close at $1.05, as the Perth based apartment developer raised its forecast profit by 16.5%. Finbar expects to report a full-year profit after tax of around $28m, up from the previously announced $24m. The company said the upgrade was due to a strong level of sales and settlements of recently completed apartment projects. Trading on a prospective P/E ratio of 8, and a potential dividend yield over 6%, fully franked, Finbar could be worthy of further research.

RCR Tomlinson Limited (ASX: RCR) saw its shares rise 5.5% to close at $1.74. The integrated engineering provider upgraded its 2012 financial year net profit after tax to be at least 15% higher than the previous year. RCR also announced that it has a strong order book, no debt and a record backlog going into the 2013 financial year. If you believe the resources boom still has some legs, RCR could be worthy of further research.

The Foolish bottom line

It sometimes pays to look outside the top 200 stocks for companies that could potentially outperform the market.

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Motley Fool contributor Mike King doesn't own shares in any companies mentioned. The Motley Fool's purpose is to help the world invest, better. Take Stock is The Motley Fool's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Click here now to request your free subscription, whilst it's still available. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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