The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has started the week by posting another fall today, ending the session down 0.22%. Monday's fall follows a weak close on Wall Street last Friday night where the Dow Jones closed down 0.27%, and the S&P 500 lost 0.28%. US investors appear concerned over the outlook for Chinese economic growth and a potential escalation of Ukrainian-Russian tensions.
On the local bourse sectors were mixed but mostly lower. Consumer staples led the declines with a fall of 1.1%. The industrials sector managed to eke out a gain, ending 0.01% higher. Meanwhile gold stocks soared with the sub-industry rising 1.7%.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index today.
- Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) jumped 8.2% to $1.32
- G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) rallied 5.7% to $4.29
- Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) climbed 4.3% to 73 cents
- Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) rose 3.3% to $13.33
- Aveo Group (ASX: AOG) gained 3.1% to $2.01
These stocks were the losers on the day.