The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) gained 0.7% to close at 5,181.5, buoyed by upbeat Chinese trade and inflation data. The gold sector showed the biggest gains, rising 3.4%, while materials and metals & mining both posted gains of more than 1%. The utilities and consumer staples sectors both finished in the red, down 0.6% and 0.1% respectively.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index today.
- Emeco Holdings (ASX:EHL) climbed 11% to 25 cents
- Mount Gibson Iron (ASX:MGX) jumped 8.5% to 83 cents
- Boart Longyear (ASX:BLY) rose 7.8% to 55.5 cents
- Senex Energy (ASX:SXY) added 6.5% to 82.5 cents
- Beadell Resources (ASX:BDR) closed up 6% to 88.5 cents
These stocks were the losers on the day.
- Discovery Metals (ASX:DML) dropped 7.7% to 12 cents
- McMillan Shakespeare (ASX:MMS) slipped 5.4% to $12.68
- Monadelphous (ASX:MND) fell 3.9% to $19.90
- Billabong International (ASX:BBG) lost 3.4% to 43 cents
- Horizon Oil (ASX:HZN) closed down 2.9% at 33 cents
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Motley Fool writer/analyst Mike King owns shares in McMillan Shakespeare.