The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has finished the day barely in positive territory with a gain of 0.06%. The flat day follows quiet trade on Wall Street overnight where the Dow Jones fell 0.17% and the S&P 500 ended down 0.13%, after data appeared to show a weakening of momentum in house prices and consumer confidence.
At home, disappointing residential construction data led to a fall in the Australian dollar back below US90 cents, while lower iron ore prices meant the mining stocks were out of favour.
Sectors were mixed. The energy, healthcare and industrials were the best performers, while the materials, gold and property sectors gave up the most ground.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index today.
- Paladin Energy Ltd. (ASX: PDN) soared 21.3% to 54 cents
- Worleyparsons Limited (ASX: WOR) rallied 10.6% to $17.13
- Ausdrill Limited (ASX: ASL) jumped 9.2% to $1.06
- Transfield Services Limited (ASX: TSE) gained 7.2% to 96.5 cents
- Cabcharge Australia Limited (ASX: CAB) added 5.2% to $4.49
These stocks were the losers on the day.