The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has finished the day 0.17% lower which is a milder close than many market watchers were anticipating. In fact Aussie investors are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief after US markets ended sharply lower. At the close last Friday, the Dow Jones was down 0.96%, the S&P 500 had lost 1.25% and the Nasdaq had fallen 2.6% as tech stocks were discarded.
Reasonable economic news appeared to help limit the losses today. The ANZ reported that job ads rose 1.4% in March, while the Australian Industry Group reported that construction activity recovered slightly in March, although it still remains in contraction.
Gold stocks had a good day with the sub-industry gaining 2.5%. Sectors were mixed; investors headed for the safety of the energy, materials, property, consumer staples and utilities sectors which all ended higher. Meanwhile consumer discretionary, financials, health care, information technology, industrials and telecommunication services all fell.
Here are the top five best performing stocks in the index today:
- Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) rallied 5% to $2.33
- Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) jumped 3.8% to $10.30
- Horizon Oil Ltd (ASX: HZN) added 3.3% to 31.5 cents
- Bradken Limited (ASX: BKN) climbed 2.9% to $4.58
- Ainsworth Game Technology Limited (ASX: AGI) gained 2.6% to $4.01
These stocks were the losers on the day:
