The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) managed to inch just 0.06% higher last week in what proved to be heavily volatile conditions. While the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the cash rate on hold at 2.5% (as was expected), negative international leads and caution over the upcoming federal budget played on the sentiment of investors.
The market was supported by slight gains from banking majors Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), as well as from the utilities and energy sectors, which were the best performing sectors for the week. Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL), Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH), Santos Limited (ASX: STO) and Origin Energy Limited (ASX: ORG) all rose between 1.5% and 3.5% with political violence in the Ukraine pushing up global gas prices.
Here were the best performing stocks for the week:
- Aquila Resources Limited (ASX: AQA) skyrocketed 39.6%
- Envestra Limited (ASX: ENV) soared 16.1%
- Sirius Resources N.L. (ASX: SIR) appreciated by 13.7%
- UGL Limited (ASX: UGL) gained 9.5%
- Mount Gibson Iron Limited (ASX: MGX) jumped 7%
- Pacific Brands Limited (ASX: PBG) also increased by 7%
Unfortunately, there were plenty of companies that weren't quite so lucky:
- Nexus Energy Limited (ASX: NXS) plummeted 67.8%
- Boart Longyear Ltd (ASX: BLY) lost a further 16.4%
- G8 Education Limited (ASX: GEM) dropped 8.3%
- Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) deteriorated 6.8%
- iProperty Group Ltd (ASX: IPP) fell by 10%
- Lynas Corporation Limited (ASX: LYC) plunged 18.2%
Investors seem to be approaching the upcoming budget with caution with the Government set to increase taxes while reducing spending. As unnerving as this may be, you should keep your focus on the long-term and remain on the lookout for quality companies dropping in prices to maximise your long-term potential.
